文武合一

wénwǔhéyī

idiom

Meanings

1 civilian and military working hand in hand
2 literary and martial combined as one

Characters

civil; literary

martial; military

Examples

古代理想的君子讲究文武合一。

Gǔdài lǐxiǎng de jūnzǐ jiǎngjiu wénwǔ héyī.

The ideal gentleman of antiquity emphasized combining literary and martial qualities.

这位将军文武合一，能征善战，又能写一手好诗。

Zhè wèi jiāngjūn wénwǔ héyī, néng zhēng shàn zhàn, yòu néng xiě yī shǒu hǎo shī.

This general united the literary and martial — skilled at warfare and also a fine poet.

Tips

culture

文 (literary culture / civil) and 武 (martial / military) are a deep Chinese binary running through court titles (文官 vs 武官), examinations (文举 vs 武举), and ideal personhood. 文武合一 / 文武双全 holds them as the pinnacle.

Stroke Order

文 wén

武 wǔ

合 hé

一 yī