bā​gǔ

eight-legged essay

八股 bā​gǔ
eight-legged essay
the rigid eight-part functional essay style prescribed for imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties
stereotyped writing
formulaic language or writing lacking in original thought; clichés or official jargon

Frequency

Movie subtitles
0.030 per million appears in 0% of films
Written text
0.618 per million

Sources

Definitions
CC-CEDICT