The Chinese word 上层 (shàngcéng) is a compound noun formed through a straightforward morphological process common in Mandarin. It combines the independent morpheme 上 (shàng), meaning "upper" or "above", with the morpheme 层 (céng), meaning "layer" or "level". Syntactically, it follows a modifier-head structure where 上 modifies 层, creating the literal meaning of "upper layer". This term is used both concretely (e.g., the upper floor of a building) and abstractly (e.g., the upper echelons of society), demonstrating how Chinese readily forms new concepts by logically combining existing, meaningful characters.