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文人 (wén rén) — (noun) a scholar or literatus, especially one devoted to literature and artistic pursuits in traditional Chinese culture

Definition

文人 is a traditional, cultural-literary figure devoted to poetry, calligraphy, and the arts. Unlike 学者 (a modern academic researcher) or 学子 (a student), 文人 carries an artistic and old-world flavor.

noun
a scholar or literatus, especially one devoted to literature and artistic pursuits in traditional Chinese culture
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 文人。
    Gǔ dài wén rén cháng yǐ shī huì yǒu.
    Ancient literati often used poetry to socialize with friends.
  • 文人。
    Zhè wèi wén rén de shū fǎ xiě dé hěn hǎo.
    This scholar's calligraphy is very well done.
  • ，文人。
    Zài lì shǐ shàng, wén rén duì shè huì yǒu zhòng yào yǐng xiǎng.
    Throughout history, literati have had a significant impact on society.

Origin

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.

文wénliterature
人rénperson

文人 is a 人 devoted to 文, literature and scholarship.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 文 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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