Unicode: U+524D

Pinyin: qián

Definition

* 指空间,人面所向的一面;房屋等正门所向的一面;家具等靠外的一面,与"后"相对。 ~面。~边。~方。面~。~进。~程。 * 指时间,过去的,往日的,与"后"相对。 以~。~人。~此。~科。~嫌。~言。~车之鉴。 * 顺序在先的。 ~五名。 * 向前行进。 勇往直~

in front, forward; preceding

Structure

前 graph

Related substructures

Precursors

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 ->
31_E70B31_E70E31_E70A31_E70931_E70C31_E70D
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 ->
51_E85051_E85151_E85251_E85351_E84D51_E84E51_E84F55_E7D755_E7D855_E7DF55_E7D955_E7DA55_E7DB55_E7DE55_E7DC55_E7DD
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_E11D71_E11B71_E11E71_E11C
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_524D
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 ->
91_E84A
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 ->
81_EA1481_EA1581_EA1681_EA1781_EA1881_EA1981_EA1A81_EA1B

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