继而
jìér · HSK 7
afterwards
➡️ 继 continue + 而 and-then = one action continues straight into the next: then, afterwards
继 means to continue or succeed something; 而 is a linking and-then. Stuck together they mark a follow-on step: first this finishes, 继而 the next thing happens right after.
继 — silk radical 糹 + 㡭 (continuous threads)
继 means 'to continue' or 'succeed (to)'. The silk radical 糹 evokes threads being joined, while the right side 㡭 originally depicted unbroken strands of silk. Together they suggest splicing threads — extending what came before, hence inheriting or carrying on.
而 — pictograph of beard/whiskers hanging from chin
Originally a pictograph of a beard or facial hair hanging below the chin, visible clearly in oracle bone and bronze script forms. The beard meaning was lost early, and the character was borrowed phonetically to write the grammatical conjunction 'and/but/yet'. This connective use has been standard since classical Chinese.