The Chinese word **前卫** (qiánwèi) is a compound term formed by combining the characters **前** (qián), meaning "front" or "ahead," and **卫** (wèi), meaning "to guard" or "defense." Literally, it originally described the military **"vanguard"** or forward defensive line. Through semantic extension, this concept of being at the very front evolved metaphorically to describe individuals, ideas, or artistic styles that are pioneering, radically innovative, and ahead of mainstream trends, much like the **"avant-garde"** in Western artistic and cultural contexts. Thus, its formation exemplifies how a concrete, spatial-military term can acquire an abstract, cultural meaning.