四君子

四君子

Chinese

		four	junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person; noble person; superior person
simp. and trad. (四君子)		四	君子
Literally: “four junzis”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Sì Jūnzǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄙˋ ㄐㄩㄣ ㄗˇ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: Sì Jūnzǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄙˋ ㄐㄩㄣ ㄗˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Syh Jiuntzyy
    • IPA ^(key): /sz̩⁵¹ t͡ɕyn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Proper noun

四君子

1. Four Gentleman; four plants (chrysanthemum, bamboo, orchid, and plum blossom) that are often depicted in traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ink-and-brush painting

Related terms

• 歲寒三友／岁寒三友 (suìhánsānyǒu)

References

• Four Gentlemen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
四	君	子
し Grade: 1	くん Grade: 3	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

Etymology

Probably from Middle Chinese compound 四君子 (*sì *giuən *tziə̌, literally “four gentlemen”). Compare modern Chinese 四君子 (Sì Jūnzi).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
  • (Tokyo) しく​んし [shìkúꜜǹshì] (Nakadaka – [2])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [ɕikɯ̟̃ᵝɰ̃ɕi]

Proper noun

四君子 (hiragana しくんし, rōmaji Shikunshi)

1. the Four Gentlemen: ume (the plum blossom, symbolising winter), ran (the orchid, symbolizing spring), matsu, (the bamboo, symbolizing summer), and kiku (chrysanthemum, symbolizing autumn):

   These four plants are often the subject of traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings, with each often used to represent one of the four seasons; winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively.

Coordinate terms

• 松竹梅 (しょうちくばい, ​shōchikubai): pine, bamboo, and plum (similarly appearing as the subject of traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings)

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN