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编年史 (biān nián shǐ) — annals; chronicle (a historical record arranged by year)

Definition

A historical record organized strictly by year (年), as opposed to thematic or biographical histories. Typical examples include 《春秋》 or 《资治通鉴》.

noun
annalschronicle (a historical record arranged by year)
Measure word · 部

Examples

  • 编年史。
    Zhè bù biān nián shǐ xiáng xì jì lù le míng cháo de xīng shuāi.
    This chronicle records in detail the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty.
  • 《》编年史。
    Sī mǎ qiān de 《shǐ jì》 shì yí bù wěi dà de biān nián shǐ.
    Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is a great chronicle.
  • 编年史。
    Tā huā le shí nián shí jiān biān xiě zhè bù biān nián shǐ.
    He spent ten years compiling this chronicle.

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.

编年arrange by years
编biāncompile年niányears
动宾Verb + object
史shǐhistory

编 'compile' and 年 'years' mean arranged by years, while 史 'history' names the record.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 編; 编 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn編biān
Same sound today

The traditional form 編 pairs 糸 (thread), for knitting a book together, with 扁 as the sound part; the simplified 编 is only a shorthand.

Open 编 →

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old drawing showed someone holding a flag-like or writing tool, indicating the act of recording events; the exact inner shape is unclear.

Open 史 →
Appears in
HistoryReading & Writing

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