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文化

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Chinese

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language; culture; writing
language; culture; writing; formal; literary; gentle
 
to make into; to change into; ‑ization
to make into; to change into; ‑ization; to ... ‑ize; to transform
 
trad. (文化) 文 化
simp. #(文化) 文 化
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Etymology

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The modern Chinese term is an Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 文化(ぶんか) (bunka, “culture”), which is a direct translation of the German word Kultur. [1]

In its classical form, the term can be interpreted as 文教 (wénjiào, “humanistic education”) + 化育 (huàyù, “transformational development”). Often cited are the following examples:

先秦, 《周易·賁卦彖傳》:
觀於天文、以察時變、觀乎人文、以化成天下
We observe the patterns of the skies in order to inspect seasonal changes. We observe the patterns of human behavior in order to transform and actualize all under Heaven.
南朝劉宋, 范曄, 《後漢書·荀淑傳》:
宣文教以章其化、立武備以秉其威。
Spread humanistic education in order to manifest its transformative potential. Establish military capabilities in order to have a grasp on (its) power.

Humanistic education, based on the tradition of rites and propriety 禮教／礼教 (lǐjiào) have the transformative potential to actualize all under Heaven 人文化成. This is often juxtaposed or contrasted with the use of punishment 刑 (xíng) or military might 武 (wǔ) to establish power and control over a populace, as can be seen in the quote below:

南北朝, 齊王融, 〈從武帝琅邪城講武應詔詩〉, quoted in 《藝文類聚》卷五十九 ，武部，戰伐:
早逢文化洽，復屬武功宣
Having reached an ideal state of (governance by the means of) transformative education at an early stage, we can now focus on the establishment of military power (in the region).

文化 over here is synonymous with 文治 (wénzhì, “governance by means of culture, education, rites and music”). This is not the same as culture in the modern sense of the term.

It is within this classical context that the Japanese first coined the term 文化(ぶんか) (bunka) to name an era during the Edo period.

When used to translate Kultur during the Meiji restoration, 文化(ぶんか) (bunka) is possibly a contraction of 文明開化(ぶんめいかいか) (bunmeikaika, “to open up and transform through civilization”),[2] which takes the meaning of a civilizing agent i.e. Culture.

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character 文 化
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial (聲) 明 (4) 曉 (32)
Final (韻) 文 (59) 麻 (99)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Closed Closed
Division (等) III II
Fanqie 無分切 呼霸切
Baxter mjun xwaeH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/mɨun/ /hˠuaH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/miun/ /hʷᵚaH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/miuən/ /xuaH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/mun/ /hwaɨH/
Li
Rong 		/miuən/ /xuaH/
Wang
Li 		/mĭuən/ /xwaH/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/mi̯uən/ /xwaH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		wén huà
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		man4 faa3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 文 化
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		wén huà
Middle
Chinese 		‹ mjun › ‹ xwæH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*mə[n]/ /*qʷʰˁ<r>aj-s/
English ornate transform

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 文 化
Reading # 1/1 1/1
No. 13015 5327
Phonetic
component 		文 化
Rime
group 		文 歌
Rime
subdivision 		1 1
Corresponding
MC rime 		文 化
Old
Chinese 		/*mɯn/ /*hŋʷraːls/

Noun

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文化

  1. (countable, uncountable) culture (Classifier: 個／个; 種／种)
    文化體系／文化体系  ―  wénhuà tǐxì  ―  cultural system
    文化環境／文化环境  ―  wénhuà huánjìng  ―  cultural context
    中華文化／中华文化  ―  zhōnghuá wénhuà  ―  Chinese culture
    公司文化  ―  gōngsī wénhuà  ―  company culture
    本土文化  ―  běntǔ wénhuà  ―  indigenous culture
    燦爛文化／灿烂文化  ―  cànlàn wénhuà  ―  magnificent culture
    文化負載詞／文化负载词  ―  wénhuà fùzǎicí  ―  culturally loaded term
    國家級文化生態保護區 [MSC, trad.]
    国家级文化生态保护区 [MSC, simp.]
    guójiājí wénhuà shēngtài bǎohùqū [Pinyin]
    national ecocultural protection area
    開展對外文化交流 [MSC, trad.]
    开展对外文化交流 [MSC, simp.]
    kāizhǎn duìwài wénhuà jiāoliú [Pinyin]
    to conduct cultural exchange with other countries
    不同的國家有不同的文化。 [MSC, trad.]
    不同的国家有不同的文化。 [MSC, simp.]
    Bùtóng de guójiā yǒu bùtóng de wénhuà. [Pinyin]
    Different countries have different cultures.
  2. (uncountable) education; literacy
  3. (archaeology, countable) archaeological culture (recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society)
    龍山文化／龙山文化  ―  Lóngshān Wénhuà  ―  the Longshan culture
  4. (literary, archaic, uncountable) education through teaching morality, literature and music

Usage notes

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Like the term "culture" in English, 文化 (wénhuà) can refer to both culture in the sense of a society's arts or customs, as well the attitudes and behaviours of a particular group of people, as in a "company culture". However, 文化 (wénhuà) cannot refer to "culture" in the biological sense; instead the term 培養物／培养物 is used. The verb 培養／培养 (péiyǎng) is to cultivate.

Derived terms

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Proper noun

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文化

  1. (～里) An urban village in Tamsui district, New Taipei, Taiwan
  2. (～社區) Wenhua (a residential community of Ruoqiang, Ruoqiang, Bayingolin prefecture, Xinjiang, China)

References

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  1. ^ 日本国語大辞典 Nihonkokugodaijiten, bunka entry, glossary. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96-128305
  2. ^ ibid.

Japanese

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Kanji in this term
文 化
ぶん
Grade: 1 		か
Grade: 3
kan'on

Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Middle Chinese 文化 (mjun xwæH, “the way of educating by using morality, literature, rituals and music”), repurposed during the Meiji period as a translation of German Kultur.[1]

Cited with the culture sense starting from roughly 1870.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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 文化 on Japanese Wikipedia

文(ぶん)化(か) • (bunka) ←ぶんくわ (bunkwa)?

  1. culture
    • 1928, 岸田國士, 「語られる言葉」の美:
      これは、国語(こくご)の性格(せいかく)に、文化(ぶんか)の伝統(でんとう)、国民性(こくみんせい)の特質(とくしつ)が作用(さよう)するからである。
      Kore wa, kokugo no seikaku ni, bunka no dentō, kokuminsei no tokushitsu ga sayō suru kara de aru.
      The tradition of culture and the traits of the nation function to make the character of the national language.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Chinese: 文化 (wénhuà)[2]
  • → Korean: 문화 (munhwa)
  • → Vietnamese: văn hoá

Proper noun

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 文化 (元号) on Japanese Wikipedia
 Bunka on Wikipedia

文(ぶん)化(か) • (Bunka) 

  1. The Bunka era, 1804-1818

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “文化”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ 汉语外来词词典 [Chinese Loanword Dictionary] (in Chinese), 1984, page 358

Korean

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Hanja in this term
文化

Noun

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文化 • (munhwa) (hangeul 문화)

  1. hanja form? of 문화 (“culture”)

Vietnamese

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chữ Hán Nôm in this term
文化

Noun

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文化

  1. chữ Hán form of văn hoá (“culture”).
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