The Chinese term 冷战 (lěngzhàn), meaning "Cold War", is a compound word formed through semantic combination: the character 冷 (lěng) means "cold", metaphorically indicating the absence of direct, "hot" military conflict, while 战 (zhàn) means "war" or "struggle", representing the state of political and ideological hostility. Together, they create a vivid metaphorical phrase that describes a prolonged period of intense geopolitical tension and rivalry, primarily between the US and the Soviet Union in the 20th century, characterized by proxy conflicts, an arms race, and diplomatic stalemates, without escalating into full-scale direct warfare between the major powers.