Definition
笔杆子 literally means the shaft of a pen, but it's also a common metaphor for a skilled writer or wordsmith, especially in political or revolutionary contexts (contrasted with 枪杆子 'gun barrel'). The figurative sense is more frequent in formal or journalistic Chinese — calling someone 一支笔杆子 means they are a powerful, effective writer.
n.
shaft of a penpen (the physical object)(figurative) an effective writera skilled wordsmith
Examples
- 笔杆子，。Zhè zhī bǐ gǎn zi huài le, xūyào huàn yí gè xīn de.The shaft of this pen is broken; I need to replace it with a new one.
- 笔杆子，。Tā shì wǒmen bàoshè de yì zhī bǐ gǎn zi, wénzhāng xiě de tèbié hǎo.He is a skilled writer at our newspaper; his articles are especially good.
- 笔杆子。bǐ gǎn zi hé qiānggǎnzi yíyàng zhòngyào.The pen is as important as the sword.
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