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八股文 (はっこぶん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

八はっ股こ文ぶん

Meanings

1

noun

eight-legged essay

A rigid classical Chinese essay form used in imperial examinations, structured in eight parts. Historical term; not used in modern Japanese writing.

八はっ股こ文ぶんは、中ちゅう国ごくの科か挙きょで用もちいられた定てい型けいの論ろん文ぶん体てい裁さいです。
The eight-legged essay is a fixed essay format used in China's imperial examinations.

Kanji

八eight, eight radical (no. 12)
股thigh, crotch
文sentence, literature, style

Etymology

From Chinese 八股文 (bāgǔwén), literally 'eight-legged essay', referring to the eight-part structure required in Ming and Qing dynasty civil service exams.