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八股文

Mandarin · pinyin bā gǔ wén

eight-part essay one had to master to pass the imperial exams in Ming and Qing dynasties

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Characters in this entry

八: bā · eight; all around, all sides
股: gǔ · thighs, haunches, rump; share
文: wén · literature, culture, writing

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2 · ba1 gu3 wen2

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(historical) eight-legged essay
(figurative) stereotyped writing

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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