| 之 |
zhī qián | before / prior to / ago / previously / beforehand |
| 之 |
zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it |
| 前 |
qián | front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly |