序幕 xùmù prologue
How to remember 序幕: 序 order + 幕 curtain = prologue.
Characters
How it is used
- A prologue/prelude - literally the opening curtain of a play - 拉开序幕 (lākāi xùmù) to raise the curtain / mark the start.
- Overwhelmingly figurative: 改革的序幕 (gǎigé de xùmù) the prelude to reform, i.e. the opening act of a big process.
- Contrast 序言 (xùyán), a written preface to a book; 序幕 is the opening scene/phase of an unfolding event.