后人

• Pinyin: hòu rén
• Hanzi breakdown: 后 — rear; later; 人 = pictograph of a standing person

Meaning

Later generations; descendants; those who come after. People living in times after a particular era or figure.

A formal and literary term for descendants or later generations in a broad historical sense. Often used in discussions of historical legacy, classical literature, and cultural heritage. Slightly more literary than 后代. Common in expressions like 供后人瞻仰 (for later generations to revere) and 为后人所铭记 (to be remembered by posterity).

Examples

1. 这位科学家一生淡泊名利，将所有研究成果无偿公开，留给后人无尽的精神财富。 The scientist lived without chasing fame or profit and made all research results publicly available for free, leaving later generations an inexhaustible spiritual legacy.
2. 古人栽树，后人乘凉，这句谚语深刻揭示了前辈奉献与后人受益之间的历史传承关系。 The saying “One generation plants the trees; the next enjoys the shade” profoundly reveals the historical relationship between the sacrifices of those before and the benefits enjoyed by those after.
3. 博物馆的使命之一，正是将前人的智慧与创造力以实物的形式保存下来，留给后人研究和欣赏。 One of a museum’s missions is to preserve the wisdom and creativity of those before us in physical form for later generations to study and appreciate.

Usage Guide

Context: history, literature, heritage, proverbs

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 这位思想家的著作历经数百年而不衰，至今仍被后人奉为理解那个时代精神气质的经典文本。(The works of this thinker have endured for centuries and are still revered by later generations as classic texts for understanding the intellectual spirit of that era.)
• 我们应当以负责任的态度对待自然资源，绝不能为了眼前的利益而透支后人赖以生存的生态环境。(We must manage natural resources responsibly and must not, for the sake of short-term gain, overdraw the ecological environment upon which future generations depend for their survival.)

Don't Say

• 后人 in casual conversation about one's own children or immediate family — use 孩子 or 子女; 后人 is a formal literary term for posterity and later generations in a historical or broad sense

Origin & History

后 (after; later) + 人 (people; person) — the people who come after

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional to Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal