在这之前

before then / up until that point

to exist; to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

(pronoun) this; these / (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun) / (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing)

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

before / prior to / ago / previously / beforehand

front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly