绝唱 (jué chàng) — (literary) the ultimate masterpiece; an unparalleled work of art, especially in poetry

Definition

Literary term for a once-in-history masterpiece — usually a poem or artwork no later work can match. Used almost only in written criticism or praise, not in everyday speech.

noun
(literary) the ultimate masterpiecean unparalleled work of artespecially in poetry

Examples

  • 绝唱。
    Zhè shǒu shī bèi hòu rén yù wéi qiān gǔ jué chàng.
    This poem is hailed by later generations as an eternal masterpiece.
  • 《》绝唱。
    Tā de 《lí sāo》 shì zhōng guó wén xué shǐ shàng de yí bù jué chàng.
    His poem 'Li Sao' is a masterpiece in the history of Chinese literature.
  • 绝唱，。
    Zhè fú huà kān chēng shān shuǐ huà de jué chàng, wú rén néng jí.
    This painting can be called the ultimate masterpiece of landscape painting — no one can match it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

绝juéunmatched
唱chàngsong

绝 means unmatched and 唱 refers to song or artistic expression, so it is an unmatched song or masterpiece.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絕; 绝 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 絕, 刀 (knife) and 幺 (silk) show a knife cutting silk threads. The simplified 绝 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original picture.

Open 绝 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
昌
昌chāng唱chàng
Same sound today

The 口 part points to the mouth, while 昌 shows how the character is pronounced.

Open 唱 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.