<p>never? you're kidding :) the term "古人" is also used in poem.</p>

<p>just a casual search: </p>

<p>in <a href="https://archive.org/stream/06044428.cn#page/n72/mode/2up" rel="nofollow noreferrer">通典·卷三十二</a> (end of p73, and start of 74):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>賦詩曰</p>
  
  <p><strong>古人</strong>云此水﹒一飲重千金</p>
  
  <p>若使夷齊飲﹒終當不易心</p>
</blockquote>

<p>next, 杜工部﹒ <a href="http://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;file=71263&amp;page=108" rel="nofollow noreferrer">吾宗</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>吾宗老孫子﹒質朴<strong>古人</strong>風﹒耕鑿安時論﹒衣冠與世同</p>
  
  <p>在家常早起﹒憂國願年豐﹒語及君臣際﹒經書滿腹中</p>
</blockquote>

<p>later, 孟宗獻 wrote</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>古人</strong>借宅亦種竹﹒大是饕竒心未足﹒髙齋聞有萬琅玕﹒坐對懐山飲秋緑﹒</p>
  
  <p>官閒勝日無一事﹒尊酒不空仍有肉﹒他時剥啄叩君門﹒髙枕矮床容我宿</p>
</blockquote>

<p>imo, characters are like fashion, "trendy" today, would out-of-date".</p>

<p>have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-02T23:26:55.577Z
2017-09-02T23:26:55.577Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>昔 becomes 书面语(literary word) nowadays.
昔人 can refer to anyone that has deceased.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-03T03:38:44.183Z
2017-09-03T03:38:44.183Z
sfy
<p>昔人 doesn't have to be 死人. Honestly, I've never heard anyone calling his ex 昔人, but I think it's usable. Maybe too poetic for daily life, and so you might need to explain it to people further, unless you use it in a poem.</p>
<p>故人 is a little more common than 昔人 in modern Chinese, but still, quite poetic. If you call your ex 一位故人， than probably you are implying that you two had a subtle past.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-09-04T02:54:19.950Z
2020-07-08T15:10:44.737Z
2020-07-08T15:10:44.737Z
Ran
<p>Older Chinese folks (古人) love to use 昔人，but they never use 古人 in their poem or lyrics. <em>(OR can someone give me an example where 古人 was actually using 古人 in their writing?)</em> For instance, a favorite poem from the tang dynasty: <strong>昔人</strong>已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼。黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠。On the other hand, newer Chinese folks now rarely use the word 昔; instead, 古人 (昔人 old folks)，去年 (昔年 last year)，昨天 (昔日 yesterday)，前天 (昔日 the day after yesterday).</p>
<p>Why does the preference of certain word choices shift over time?</p>
<p>And since 昔 means 从前, technically, can we use 昔人 to replace 前妻/前女友？ OR does 昔人 have to be a 死人 (<em>an already deceased person</em>)？</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-02T22:54:25.380Z
bkrs：昔人 前人; 古人，从前的人。people of the past e。g。远托异国, 昔人所悲
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-04T04:32:56.983Z
昔日 is not yesterday, it is just past day, generally it refers to a long past day.
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-08T15:06:58.143Z
"the day after yesterday" = "today"  (also, there really should just be *one question per question*)
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-08T15:29:47.640Z
can we use 昔人 to replace 前妻/前女友？: No.
fefe
<word-choice>
Modern and ancient word choice: 昔人 vs 古人 vs 前妻
# Modern and ancient word choice: 昔人 vs 古人 vs 前妻

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-02)

Older Chinese folks (古人) love to use 昔人，but they never use 古人 in their poem or lyrics. *(OR can someone give me an example where 古人 was actually using 古人 in their writing?)* For instance, a favorite poem from the tang dynasty: **昔人**已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼。黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠。On the other hand, newer Chinese folks now rarely use the word 昔; instead, 古人 (昔人 old folks)，去年 (昔年 last year)，昨天 (昔日 yesterday)，前天 (昔日 the day after yesterday).

Why does the preference of certain word choices shift over time?

And since 昔 means 从前, technically, can we use 昔人 to replace 前妻/前女友？ OR does 昔人 have to be a 死人 (*an already deceased person*)？

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: bkrs：昔人 前人; 古人，从前的人。people of the past e。g。远托异国, 昔人所悲  
> **username_2**: 昔日 is not yesterday, it is just past day, generally it refers to a long past day.  
> **username_3**: "the day after yesterday" = "today"  (also, there really should just be *one question per question*)  
> **username_4**: can we use 昔人 to replace 前妻/前女友？: No.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-09-02. Score: 2

never? you're kidding :) the term "古人" is also used in poem.

just a casual search:

in [通典·卷三十二](https://archive.org/stream/06044428.cn#page/n72/mode/2up) (end of p73, and start of 74):

> 賦詩曰
>
> **古人**云此水﹒一飲重千金
>
> 若使夷齊飲﹒終當不易心

next, 杜工部﹒ [吾宗](http://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=71263&page=108)

> 吾宗老孫子﹒質朴**古人**風﹒耕鑿安時論﹒衣冠與世同
>
> 在家常早起﹒憂國願年豐﹒語及君臣際﹒經書滿腹中

later, 孟宗獻 wrote

> **古人**借宅亦種竹﹒大是饕竒心未足﹒髙齋聞有萬琅玕﹒坐對懐山飲秋緑﹒
>
> 官閒勝日無一事﹒尊酒不空仍有肉﹒他時剥啄叩君門﹒髙枕矮床容我宿

imo, characters are like fashion, "trendy" today, would out-of-date".

have fun :)


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### Answer by username_6 on 2017-09-03. Score: 1

昔 becomes 书面语(literary word) nowadays.
昔人 can refer to anyone that has deceased.


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### Answer by username_7 on 2017-09-04. Score: 1

昔人 doesn't have to be 死人. Honestly, I've never heard anyone calling his ex 昔人, but I think it's usable. Maybe too poetic for daily life, and so you might need to explain it to people further, unless you use it in a poem.

故人 is a little more common than 昔人 in modern Chinese, but still, quite poetic. If you call your ex 一位故人， than probably you are implying that you two had a subtle past.


---

