từ chương

Một học sinh đang đọc một cuốn sách từ chương trong thư viện.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Flowery language / Rhetoric: Refers to ornate, elaborate, or excessively decorative writing or speech that prioritizes beauty of expression over practical substance or meaning.
   • Belles-lettres: A literary style focusing on aesthetic qualities and elegant form, often associated with classical poetry and prose, but sometimes criticized for being detached from real life.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nền giáo dục cũ mắc bệnh từ chương. (The old education system suffered from the malady of flowery rhetoric.)
  • Anh ấy chỉ giỏi từ chương, không giải quyết được vấn đề thực tế. (He is only good at ornate phrases, not at solving practical problems.)
  • Bài thơ đẹp nhưng nặng về từ chương. (The poem is beautiful but leans too heavily toward belles-lettres.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a critical or pejorative connotation, implying that the style is hollow, impractical, or an obstacle to clear communication and practical progress.
  • Phong trào cải cách văn học phản đối lối viết từ chương. (The literary reform movement opposed the flowery writing style.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bệnh từ chương (n): The malady or plague of excessive rhetoric; a critique of an overemphasis on ornate language.
  • Cần loại bỏ bệnh từ chương trong học thuật. (It is necessary to eliminate the plague of hollow rhetoric in academia.)

Synonyms

• Flowery language: Language that is overly ornate or embellished.
• Rhetoric: Speech or writing intended to be effective and persuasive, but often used pejoratively to mean empty or exaggerated language.
• Belles-lettres: A French term for writings valued for their aesthetic qualities.

Related Idioms

• Nạn từ chương: The scourge of or obsession with flowery phrases. This idiom directly criticizes the negative impact of valuing ornate language over substance.
  • Nạn từ chương từng kìm hãm tư duy phản biện. (The scourge of hollow rhetoric once stifled critical thinking.)