先秦
xiān Qín
Pinyin
Definition
先秦
-
- pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC
Character Decomposition
Idioms (19)
先下手为强
- 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
- 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
- 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
- 2 to anticipate
- 3 preemptive
先睹为快
- 1 joy of first experience (idiom)
- 2 the pleasure of reading sth for the first time
先礼后兵
- 1 peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
- 2 jaw-jaw is better than war-war
Sample Sentences
炎炎盛夏,人们在一个大瓷缸中放入冰块,再将瓷缸放入房中,用以降低房间温度。这种用冰块降温的方法其实早在先秦就已经有了。
In the scorching hot summer, people put ice cubes in large porcelain jars, which were then placed in rooms to help cool the temperature. This method of cooling with ice was already used in the pre Qin dynasty
这种外交语言“含蓄性”的特点,可一直追溯到先秦时代。同时,先秦时期的外交辞令也开创了我国有史料记载的外交辞令的先河。无论是春秋时期委婉恭敬的君子风度还是战国时期酣畅激扬的雄辩气势,无外乎都以“含蓄性”为基本主题。
The veiled nature of this diplomatic language can be traced back to the pre-Qin era. At the same time, diplomatic rhetoric in the pre-Qin era served as the source of China's recorded history of diplomatic rhetoric. Whether it is the noble deferential euphemistic style of the Spring and Autumn Period or the unrestrained rousing oratory style of the Warring States Period, they are all, without exception, within the basic theme of veiled speech.