封建 (fēng jiàn) — (noun) feudalism, the feudal system; (adjective) feudal, feudalistic; (in modern use) backward, conservative

Definition

封建 literally names the historical feudal system, but in modern criticism it means 'feudal-style, backward' — stronger and more ideological than 保守 ('conservative') or 落后 ('underdeveloped').

noun
feudalismthe feudal system
adjective
feudalfeudalistic(in modern use) backwardconservative

Examples

  • 封建。
    Ōu zhōu de fēng jiàn zhì dù yǔ zhōng guó de bù wán quán xiāng tóng.
    The feudal system in Europe was not exactly the same as China's.
  • 封建。
    Tā pī píng cūn lǐ hái bǎo liú zhe xǔ duō fēng jiàn xí sú.
    He criticized that many feudal customs were still preserved in the village.
  • 封建。
    Zhè xiē fēng jiàn sī xiǎng zài nián qīng rén zhōng yǐ jīng méi yǒu shì chǎng le.
    These feudal ideas no longer have a market among young people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

封fēnggrant land
建jiànestablish

封 'grant land' and 建 'establish' combine to name the system of enfeoffment.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 廴廴yǐn
  • 聿聿yù

The shape 建 shows 廴 and 聿, but it comes from an older drawing of a hand planting a pole into a base; the lower part of 聿 is not a brush.

Open 建 →

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