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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

來龍去脈

/laɪ̯³⁵ lʊŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹⁻⁵³ maɪ̯⁵¹/
origin and development; the entire process; sequence of events; ins and outs
  • 来龙去脉
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The phrase describes the continuous flow of energy, likened to the movement of a dragon through mountains and its veins through water.
The phrase describes the continuous flow of energy, likened to the movement of a dragon through mountains and its veins through water.

Origin

The phrase is composed of the characters 來 (to come; to arrive), 龍 (dragon), 去 (to leave; to depart from), and 脈 (blood vessels; veins and arteries). In fengshui terminology, 龍脈 refers to a stretch of rolling hills. Within this context, the starting point is termed 來龍 and the end point is termed 去脈.

According to the MOE Dictionary, in the study of kan-yu (geomancy), the undulations of a mountain range are called "dragon," with the main peak referred to as the "coming dragon" (來龍). The streams in a valley are called "veins," with the main stream referred to as the "departing vein" (去脈). The phrase is now used metaphorically to refer to the origin and changes of matters.

The character 去 consists of the semantic component 大 (big; large; huge) and the component 口 (mouth), alongside the phonetic component 𠙴. The character 脈 contains the semantic component 肉 (meat; flesh) and the phonetic component 𠂢.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

在字形構成上，此詞由「來」、「龍」、「去」與「脈」四個字組成。「去」字包含表示大尺寸的語義部件「大」，以及「口」；其音符為「𠙴」。「脈」字則含有表示肉或肉體的語義部件「肉」，音符為「𠂢」（即「派」的原形）。

根據相關記載，「龍」指中國龍，「來」意為到來或抵達，「去」則指離開或出發。「脈」字本身與血管、靜脈或動脈有關。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese來 “to come; to arrive”
  • characterChinese龍 “Chinese dragon; loong (Classifier: 條／条 m c h; 尾 mn)”
  • characterChinese去 “to leave; to depart from”
    • ideaChinese大 “of great size; big; large; huge”
    • ideaChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
    • soundChinese𠙴
  • characterChinese脈 “blood vessels; veins and arteries”
    • meaningChinese肉 “meat; flesh”
    • soundChinese𠂢 “original form of 派 (pài, “tributary of a river”)”
Wiktionary etymology text

In fengshui terminology, 龍脈／龙脉 (lóngmài) refers to a stretch of rolling hills, the start and end points of which are termed 來龍／来龙 and 去脈／去脉, respectively.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

phrase
  1. origin and development; the entire process; sequence of events; ins and outs

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 堪輿學上稱山脈的起伏為「龍」，稱其主峰為「來龍」；稱山谷中的溪流為「脈」，稱其主流為「去脈」。今借指事情的由來和變化。 例：他把事情的來龍去脈說了一遍，我才知道原來是一場誤會。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 來龍去脈