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承前啟後

简承前启后 · 繁承前啟後

Mandarin · pinyin chéng qián qǐ hòu

to follow the past and herald the future (idiom); part of a historical transition
forming a bridge between earlier and later stages

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Characters in this entry

承: chéng · inherit, receive; succeed
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
啟: Look up this written character
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
启: qǐ · open; begin, commence; explain
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2–3–4 · cheng2 qian2 qi3 hou4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

承前啟後 · find source passages ↗ · 承前启后 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to inherit the teachings of previous generations in order to inspire future actions

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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