血脉 xuèmài blood vessels
How to remember 血脉: 血 blood + 脉 a pulse = blood vessels.
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How it is used
- Literally blood vessels, but usually figurative: bloodline / lineage - 血脉相连 (xuèmài xiānglián) linked by blood; 血脉传承 (xuèmài chuánchéng) passing down the bloodline.
- More poetic and continuity-focused than 血缘 (xuèyuán, kinship relation).
- Literary/emotional register.