The Chinese word 炼狱 (liànyù), meaning "purgatory," is a compound formed through semantic combination, where 炼 (liàn) means "to refine, smelt, or temper" (often through fire) and 狱 (yù) means "prison" or "hell." Together, they create the literal conceptual image of a "refining prison," which directly corresponds to the Catholic theological concept of Purgatory as a temporary state of purification for the soul. This term is not native to traditional Chinese belief systems but was constructed, likely by Jesuit missionaries or early Chinese translators, as a loan translation (calque) to convey this specific Western religious idea by combining familiar characters that accurately depict its meaning.