Kanbun
/ˈkæn.bʊn/noun
A Japanese term for Classical Chinese writing, especially texts read or interpreted in Japan.
Did you know?Japanese scholars developed kundoku, a system for rearranging and annotating kanbun so Chinese texts could be read according to Japanese grammar.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
漢文
“The writing or literary language associated with the Han Chinese world”
1st–3rd Century CE
Classical Chinese
漢文
“Literary Chinese prose and written composition”
6th–8th Century
Middle Chinese
漢文
“Chinese literary writing transmitted throughout East Asia”
8th–12th Century
Japanese
漢文（かんぶん）
“Chinese-style writing used in Japanese scholarship and administration”
Medieval Japan
Japanese
漢文訓読
“Reading kanbun with Japanese grammatical interpretation and annotations”
Modern English
English
kanbun
“Japanese Classical Chinese writing or the tradition of reading it”