古文 (gǔ wén) — classical Chinese prose

Definition

noun

classical Chinese prose

古文。
Wǒ zài dà xué xuǎn xiū le gǔ wén kè chéng.
I took an elective course in classical Chinese prose at university.
古文，。
Zhè piān gǔ wén suī rán jiǎn duǎn, dàn hán yì shēn kè.
This classical Chinese prose, though short, has profound meaning.
古文。
Lǎo shī yāo qiú wǒ men bèi sòng sān piān gǔ wén.
The teacher required us to recite three pieces of classical Chinese prose.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

古gǔancient

文wénwriting/prose

古 means ancient and 文 means writing or prose, so 古文 refers to classical Chinese prose.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.