fragmentary works; incomplete texts
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
fragmentary manuscripts; incomplete texts
literaryLiterary idiom describing ancient books or writings that have survived only in scattered fragments. Often used to refer to valuable but incomplete historical or literary sources.
Zhè这
xiē些
chū出
tǔ土
de的
cán残
piān篇
duàn断
jiǎn简
duì对
yán研
jiū究
gǔ古
dài代
lì历
shǐ史
jí极
wéi为
zhòng重
yào要
。
These unearthed fragmentary manuscripts are extremely important for the study of ancient history.
Liú流
chuán传
xià下
lái来
de的
zhǐ只
yǒu有
yī一
xiē些
cán残
piān篇
duàn断
jiǎn简
，
wǒ我
men们
yǐ已
jīng经
wú无
fǎ法
dé得
zhī知
yuán原
zuò作
de的
quán全
mào貌
。
Only some scattered fragments have been passed down; we can no longer know the complete picture of the original work.
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Tā他
bì毕
shēng生
zhì致
lì力
yú于
zhěng整
lǐ理
zhè这
xiē些
cán残
piān篇
duàn断
jiǎn简
，
shì试
tú图
huán还
yuán原
gǔ古
rén人
de的
sī思
xiǎng想
。
He devoted his life to collating these fragmentary texts, attempting to reconstruct the thoughts of the ancients.