From Mencius's classic line 富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈 ("Riches can't corrupt me, poverty can't shift me, force can't bend me") — defining the upright gentleman. The phrase is still quoted in political speeches today.
register
Two registers coexist: literary/military (a 威武 general or parade) and modern slang where 威武 functions like "badass" — often shouted in online comments to praise someone's gutsy move.
