中

先

Unicode: U+5148

Pinyin: xiān

Definition

* 时间在前的，次序在前的，与"后"相对。 ～前。～期。原～。～驱。～河（中国古代帝王先祭黄河，后祭海，以河为海的本源，后称倡导在先的事物）。～觉（ jué ）。～见之明。～发制人。 * 家族或民族的较早的一代或几代。 ～人。～世（祖先）。～民。 * 对死去的人的尊称。 ～祖。～父。～哲（指已去世的有才德的思想家）。～烈。～贤。 * 姓

first, former, previous

Structure

先 graph

Related substructures

NYiyGkUh

Precursors

Oracle Bone Script
c. 1300–1050 BCE (Late Shang)
Inscriptions carved on turtle plastrons and animal bones for divination and record-keeping in the late Shang royal court; the oldest large attested corpus of written Chinese.Wikipedia ->
42_F7FA42_F7FB42_F7FC42_F7FD42_F7FE42_F7FF42_F80042_F80142_F80242_F80342_F80442_F80542_F80642_F80742_F80842_F80942_F80A42_F80B42_F80C42_F80D42_F80E42_F80F42_F81042_F81142_F81242_F81342_F81442_F81542_F81642_F81742_F81842_F81942_F81A42_F81B42_F81C42_F81D42_F81E42_F81F42_F820
Bronze Inscriptions
c. 1200–221 BCE (Shang–Zhou; continues into the Warring States)
Inscriptions cast or engraved on ritual bronzes, especially prominent from the Western Zhou onward; a major source for early political, ritual, and social history.Wikipedia ->
33_E43533_E43433_E43933_E43733_E43833_E43633_E44233_E45133_E44633_E43C33_E43B33_E44333_E43E33_E44833_E43D33_E44133_E44033_E44433_E45233_E44933_E43F33_E44533_E44733_E44A33_E44B33_E44C33_E44D33_E44E33_E45033_E44F33_E453
Chu Script
c. 770–221 BCE (Chu, Spring & Autumn–Warring States)
A regional script tradition used in the state of Chu, best known from brush-written bamboo and silk manuscripts with distinctive local forms.Wikipedia ->
52_F6A252_F6A052_F6A152_F6A352_F6A652_F6A452_F6A552_F6A756_F71556_F71856_F72856_F71356_F71256_F71756_F72956_F72A56_F72B56_F72C56_F71C56_F71B56_F71D56_F71456_F71E56_F72E56_F71A56_F71956_F71F56_F73156_F72156_F72D56_F72256_F72356_F73256_F73056_F71656_F72456_F72656_F72556_F72F56_F72056_F72755_EAD355_EAD4
Qin Script
c. 475–206 BCE (Qin, Warring States → Qin dynasty)
Qin-area character forms attested on bamboo/wood slips (e.g., Shuihudi, deposited 217 BCE), overlapping chronologically with the standardization of seal script and the emergence of clerical tendencies.Wikipedia ->
71_E9A171_E9A071_E9A2
Small Seal Script
Standardized 221–206 BCE (Qin); developed earlier in Qin
The standardized seal script promulgated after Qin’s unification, based on earlier Qin seal forms and used as an empire-wide norm.Wikipedia ->
27_5148
Clerical Script
c. 300 BCE–220 CE (emerged late Warring States/Qin; dominant Han)
A practical script that evolved from late Warring States/Qin writing; it matured and became dominant in the Han dynasty, favoring faster, more rectilinear strokes.Wikipedia ->
93_E2BF93_E2C093_E2C193_E2C293_E2C393_E2C593_E2C693_E2C471_E9A171_E9A071_E9A2
Transmitted Pre-Qin Forms
Pre-Qin forms (≤221 BCE) / late 2nd century BCE onward (Han → later textual transmission)
Pre-Qin character forms preserved through later textual transmission (often discussed as the 'Old Text' / guwen tradition). Shaped by repeated copying, they can diverge from excavated Warring States materials.Wikipedia ->
83_F1EA83_F1EB83_F1EC83_F1ED83_F1EE83_F1EF83_F1F083_F1F183_F1F283_F1F383_F1F483_F1F583_F1F683_F1F783_F1F883_F1F983_F1FA83_F1FB83_F1FC83_F1FD83_F1FE83_F1FF83_F20083_F20183_F20283_F20383_F204

Last Modified: 2026-01-29 11:48 UTC