The word 情节 is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: 情 (qíng), which carries the core ideas of emotion, feeling, and situation, with 节 (jié), which conveys the notion of a joint, node, segment, or a point of connection. Together, they create a composite idea where the emotional or situational essence (情) is divided into or manifested through distinct segments or connecting nodes (节). This fusion visually and conceptually paints the structure of a story or event as a sequence of interconnected emotional moments or plot points, like knots on a rope, forming its coherent narrative progression.