tao nhân
Definition
- Noun:
- Literati / Scholar-poet: A refined poet or writer, especially from the feudal or classical period in Vietnamese history. The term denotes a person of literary cultivation and artistic sensibility.
- Elegant Companion: Used historically to refer to a gathering or circle of cultured individuals engaged in poetry and refined arts.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Hội thơ đó quy tụ nhiều tao nhân. (That poetry club gathers many literati.)
- Tao nhân mặc khách thường xướng họa thơ văn với nhau. (Scholar-poets and refined guests often composed poetry in response to each other.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often appears in the classical compound "tao nhân mặc khách", which collectively refers to poets, writers, and cultured guests—the elegant literary society of the past.
- Không gian ấy gợi nhớ đến các cuộc gặp gỡ của tao nhân mặc khách ngày xưa. (That space evokes memories of the gatherings of literati and refined guests in the old days.)
Variants and Related Words
- Văn nhân (n): A man of letters; a writer or scholar. This is a close synonym.
- Ông ấy được kính trọng như một văn nhân đất Bắc. (He is respected as a man of letters from the North.)
Synonyms
- Literati: Learned and literary people.
- Poet-scholar: A poet who is also an erudite scholar.
- Man of letters: A person devoted to literary or scholarly pursuits.
Related Idioms
- Tao nhân mặc khách: A set phrase meaning "literati and elegant guests"; the cultured elite who engage in poetry, literature, and refined arts.
- Quán trà này từng là nơi lui tới của các tao nhân mặc khách. (This tea house was once a haunt for literati and elegant guests.)