历来 and 向来: all along, as always
【高17】【高19】副词 / adverbs (时间)
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
历来 and 向来 say that a situation or a habit has held without a break from the past up to now. They go after the subject, before the verb or adjective: 他向来很早到, 本市历来雨水不多. They describe a lasting state, never an event of one day (✗ 他昨天向来很早).
历来 stresses long time and tradition: it is a written word that suits an institution, a place, a milieu or a practice (王老师历来重视培养学生的动手能力). 向来 describes the habit or character of a person and is still common in speech (他这个人向来吃软不吃硬, "he gives way to gentleness, not to force"). Both accept a negative: 向来不……, 历来不……
Compare 从来 (hsk3-g14), almost always found in a negation (从来不, 从来没), and 一直 (hsk2-g24), which only says that the action goes on without a pause and can look ahead (我会一直等你). 历来 and 向来 look only backwards and carry the idea "it has always been like this".
Examples
他向来第一个到学校，从没迟到过。
Tā xiànglái dì yī ge dào xuéxiào, cóng méi chídào guo.He is always the first to reach school and has never been late.
我妈向来节约，家里的东西舍不得扔。
Wǒ mā xiànglái jiéyuē, jiā lǐ de dōngxi shěbude rēng.My mother has always been thrifty and can't bear to throw anything out.
他这个人向来吃软不吃硬，你好好说，他会答应的。
Tā zhè ge rén xiànglái chī ruǎn bù chī yìng, nǐ hǎohǎo shuō, tā huì dāying de.He has always responded to gentleness rather than pressure; speak to him nicely and he'll agree.
王老师历来重视培养学生的动手能力。
Wáng lǎoshī lìlái zhòngshì péiyǎng xuésheng de dòngshǒu nénglì.Teacher Wang has always valued building students' hands-on skills.
赏灯历来是元宵节最热闹的活动。
Shǎngdēng lìlái shì Yuánxiāo Jié zuì rènao de huódòng.Lantern-viewing has always been the liveliest part of the Lantern Festival.
本市历来雨水不多，这么长的阴雨天很少见。
Běnshì lìlái yǔshuǐ bù duō, zhème cháng de yīnyǔtiān hěn shǎojiàn.This city has never had much rain, so such a long wet spell is rare.
Common mistakes
✗ 他昨天向来很早。 → ✓ 他向来很早。 (向来 describes a habit, not one particular day).
✗ 他向来迟到了。 → ✓ 他向来迟到。 (no final 了: a single completed event clashes with a permanent habit).
✗ 我会向来等你。 → ✓ 我会一直等你。 (向来 looks back up to today, never ahead).