# 文質彬彬
## Chinese

| | | language; culture; writinglanguage; culture; writing; formal; literary; gentle | hostage; substance; naturehostage; substance; nature; quality | refined, gentle and elegant; having both literary flourish and substance |
| trad. (文質彬彬) | trad. (文質彬彬) | 文 | 質 | 彬彬 |
| simp. (文质彬彬) | simp. (文质彬彬) | 文 | 质 | 彬彬 |

### Etymology

From the Analects, Book 6 (《論語·雍也》):
    子曰：「質勝文則野，文勝質則史。文質彬彬，然後君子。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]子曰：「质胜文则野，文胜质则史。文质彬彬，然后君子。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's versionZǐyuē: “Zhì shèng wén zé yě, wén shèng zhì zé shǐ. Wén zhì bīnbīn, ránhòu jūnzǐ.” [Pinyin]The Master said, "Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue."

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): wénzhìbīnbīn, wénzhíbīnbīn
    (Zhuyin): ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˋ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ, ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˊ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): man$^4$ zat$^1$ ban$^1$ ban$^1$
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): vùn-chṳt-pîn-pîn
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese, Mainland)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: wénzhìbīnbīn
*** Zhuyin: ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˋ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: wúnjhìhbinbin
*** Wade–Giles: wên$^2$-chih$^4$-pin$^1$-pin$^1$
*** Yale: wén-jr̀-bīn-bīn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wenjyhbinbin
*** Palladius: вэньчжибиньбинь (vɛnʹčžibinʹbinʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/
** (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: wénzhíbīnbīn
*** Zhuyin: ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˊ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: wúnjhíhbinbin
*** Wade–Giles: wên$^2$-chih$^2$-pin$^1$-pin$^1$
*** Yale: wén-jŕ-bīn-bīn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wenjyrbinbin
*** Palladius: вэньчжибиньбинь (vɛnʹčžibinʹbinʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: man$^4$ zat$^1$ ban$^1$ ban$^1$
*** Yale: màhn jāt bān bān
*** Cantonese Pinyin: man$^4$ dzat$^7$ ban$^1$ ban$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: men$^4$ zed$^1$ ben$^1$ ben$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /mɐn²¹ t͡sɐt̚⁵ pɐn⁵⁵ pɐn⁵⁵/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: vùn-chṳt-pîn-pîn
*** Hakka Romanization System: vun$^ˇ$ ziid$^ˋ$ bin$^ˊ$ bin$^ˊ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: vun$^2$ zid$^5$ bin$^1$ bin$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /vun¹¹ t͡sɨt̚² pin²⁴⁻¹¹ pin²⁴/

### Idiom

文質彬彬
* gentle; refined in manner
    From: 1927, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《湖南農民運動考察報告》 (Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition
    Gémìng bùshì qǐngkè chīfàn, bùshì zuòwénzhāng, bùshì huìhuà xiùhuā, bùnéng nàyàng yǎzhì, nàyàng cóngróngbùpò, wénzhìbīnbīn, nàyàng wēnliánggōngjiǎnràng. Gémìng shì bàodòng, shì yī ge jiējí tuīfān yī ge jiējí de bàoliè xíngdòng. [Pinyin]
    [A] revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.
* (literary, originally) well balanced between literary talent and simplicity; displaying literary talent yet not frivolous

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 文質彬彬(ぶんしつひんぴん) (bunshitsu hinpin)
* → Korean: 문질빈빈(文質彬彬) (munjilbinbin)

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 文 | 質 | 彬 | 彬 |
| ぶん Grade: 1 | しつ Grade: 5 | ひん Jinmeiyō | ひん > ぴん Jinmeiyō |
| kan'on ||||

### Etymology

From the Analects of Confucius.
Analyzable as 文質 (bunshitsu, “civilized sophistication and simplicity”) + 彬彬 (hinpin, “harmonized, well-proportioned, well-balanced”).

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) ぶんしつひんぴん [bùńshítsú híꜜǹpìǹ] (Nakadaka – [5])
* IPA: [bɯ̟̃ɰ̃ɕit͡sɨ çĩmpʲĩɴ]

### Idiom

文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん) • (bunshitsu hinpin)
* the outer beauty and the inner quality are well-harmonized

### Adjective

文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん) • (bunshitsu hinpin) $^†$-tari (adnominal 文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん)とした (bunshitsu hinpin to shita) or 文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん)たる (bunshitsu hinpin taru), adverbial 文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん)と (bunshitsu hinpin to) or 文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん)として (bunshitsu hinpin to shite))
* refined in manner, exhibiting a balance between civilized sophistication and simplicity

#### Conjugation

Stem forms :
| Irrealis (未然形) | 文質彬彬たら | ぶんしつひんぴんたら | bunsitu finpintara |
| Continuative (連用形) | 文質彬彬と$^{[1]}$ 文質彬彬たり$^{[2]}$ | ぶんしつひんぴんと ぶんしつひんぴんたり | bunsitu finpinto bunsitu finpintari |
| Terminal (終止形) | 文質彬彬たり | ぶんしつひんぴんたり | bunsitu finpintari |
| Attributive (連体形) | 文質彬彬たる | ぶんしつひんぴんたる | bunsitu finpintaru |
| Realis (已然形) | 文質彬彬たれ | ぶんしつひんぴんたれ | bunsitu finpintare |
| Imperative (命令形) | 文質彬彬たれ | ぶんしつひんぴんたれ | bunsitu finpintare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Negative | 文質彬彬たらず | ぶんしつひんぴんたらず | bunsitu finpintarazu |
| Contrasting conjunction | 文質彬彬たれど | ぶんしつひんぴんたれど | bunsitu finpintaredo |
| Causal conjunction | 文質彬彬たれば | ぶんしつひんぴんたれば | bunsitu finpintareba |
| Conditional conjunction | 文質彬彬たらば | ぶんしつひんぴんたらば | bunsitu finpintaraba |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 文質彬彬たりき | ぶんしつひんぴんたりき | bunsitu finpintariki |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 文質彬彬たりけり | ぶんしつひんぴんたりけり | bunsitu finpintarikeri |
| Adverbial | 文質彬彬と | ぶんしつひんぴんと | bunsitu finpinto |
| $^{[1]}$Without auxiliary verb. $^{[2]}$With auxiliary verb. ||||

### References

* ↑ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 文 | 質 | 彬 | 彬 |

### Noun

文質彬彬 • (munjilbinbin) (hangeul 문질빈빈)
* hanja form of 문질빈빈 (“the outer beauty and the inner quality are well-harmonized”)