Zhè bù xiǎoshuō yòng yí ge xiēzi kāitóu, xiān jiāodài le gùshi de bèijǐng.
The novel opens with a prologue that first lays out the story's background.
Tips
history
A Yuan-dynasty 杂剧 normally has four acts (折), and a short extra scene before the first act or between two acts is called a 楔子: like a wedge, it fills a gap and holds the play together. Later novelists borrowed the word for an opening chapter.
usage
In a physics textbook, 楔子 is the wedge, one of the simple machines alongside the lever (杠杆) and the pulley (滑轮).
