Definition
藩 (fān) is a literary and historical morpheme, not used alone in modern Chinese. Its core meaning is 'fence' or 'hedge,' extended to 'barrier' or 'screen' that protects or separates. In ancient China, it referred to a vassal state (藩国) or feudal territory, and in the Tang dynasty, 藩镇 were semi-independent military governors. It appears in compounds related to enclosure, defense, or political fealty.
char.
fencehedge (in compounds like 藩篱)(literary) barrierscreen (in compounds like 藩屏)(historical) vassal statefeudatory (in compounds like 藩属, 藩镇)
Examples
- 藩。Nóngmín yòng fān lí wéi zhù le tiándì.The farmer fenced in the fields with a hedge.
- 藩。Zhège guójiā yǐqián shì Zhōngguó de fān shǔ guó.This country was formerly a vassal state of China.
- 藩，。Tángdài de fān zhèn shìlì hěn dà, chángcháng bù tīng zhōngyāng de mìnglìng.The military governors (藩镇) of the Tang dynasty were very powerful and often disobeyed the central government's orders.
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