Wenren
/wənˈrən/noun
A Chinese literatus, especially a scholar or cultured person associated with literary and artistic refinement.
Did you know?In traditional Chinese culture, the wenren ideal united scholarship, poetry, painting, calligraphy, and moral self-cultivation in one person.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
文人
“A person associated with writing, culture, or literary accomplishment”
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
文人
“A cultivated literary person or man of letters”
Middle Chinese, c. 600–900 CE
Middle Chinese
文人
“A literate, cultured person; a scholar or literary figure”
Modern Mandarin
Mandarin
wénrén
“A literatus, literary person, or cultured scholar”
20th Century–Present
English
wenren
“An English scholarly loanword for a Chinese literatus or cultured literary figure”