來龍去脈

来龙去脉
láilóngqùmài
  1. lit. the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom)
  2. fig. the whole sequence of events; causes and effects

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 來 lái
  1. to come
  2. (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
  3. hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來 huílai)
  4. ever since (as in 自古以來 zìgǔyǐlái)
  5. for the past (amount of time)
  6. (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世 láishì)
  7. (between two verbs) in order to
  8. (after a round number) approximately
  9. (used after 得 dé to indicate possibility, as in 談得來 tándelái, or after 不 bù to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來 chībulái)
2 龍 lóng
  1. Chinese dragon; loong
  2. (fig.) emperor
  3. dragon
  4. (bound form) dinosaur
3 去 qù
  1. to go
  2. to go to (a place)
  3. (of a time etc) last
  4. just passed
  5. to send
  6. to remove
  7. to get rid of
  8. to reduce
  9. to be apart from in space or time
  10. to die (euphemism)
  11. to play (a part)
  12. (when used either before or after a verb) to go in order to do sth
  13. (after a verb of motion indicates movement away from the speaker)
  14. (used after certain verbs to indicate detachment or separation)
4 脈 mài
  1. arteries and veins
  2. vein (on a leaf, insect wing etc)