Carries imperial-era weight:
读书人 originally meant someone preparing for the
科举 imperial examinations, and by extension anyone with classical education and the moral seriousness that came with it. Today it ranges from sincere ("a learned person") to wry ("someone who reads books — i.e. an impractical bookworm"). The famous
读书人 quote in the second example is from Lu Xun's 《
孔乙己》, a story whose protagonist insists his book theft is not really
偷.
