文子 (Wénzǐ): Wenzi (early Daoist philosophic…

Meanings

1 Wenzi (early Daoist philosophical text 《文子》, also called 《通玄真经》, traditionally attributed to a disciple of Laozi)
2 Wenzi (the legendary disciple of Laozi himself)

Characters

文

master / philosophical sage (honorific)

Examples

《文子》是道家的经典著作之一。

《Wénzǐ》 shì Dàojiā de jīngdiǎn zhùzuò zhī yī.

The Wenzi is one of the classical works of Daoism.

学者长期争论《文子》的成书年代。

Xuézhě chángqī zhēnglùn 《Wénzǐ》 de chéngshū niándài.

Scholars have long debated when the Wenzi was composed.

Tips

history

《文子》 is a Daoist text traditionally said to record dialogues between Laozi and his disciple Wenzi (文子). For centuries scholars dismissed it as a late forgery rebuilt out of 《淮南子》 (Huainanzi) material — until the 1973 Dingxian (定县) bamboo-slip find (discovered in a Han-dynasty tomb sealed in 55 BCE) proved an early version genuinely existed by the early Han. The Tang court honored the book as 《通玄真经》 ('Classic of Penetrating Mystery').

usage

In subtitles, 文子 most often refers to the book or its eponymous figure. As a personal name 文子 also occurs (for instance the Spring-and-Autumn statesman Zhao Wenzi 赵文子), so context matters.