What is "wen-li"

Wen-li \W[^e]n"-li`\, n. [Chin. w[^e]n li.] The higher literary idiom of Chinese, that of the canonical books and of all composition pretending to literary standing. It employs a classical or academic diction, and a more condensed and sententious style than Mandarin, and differs also in the doubling and arrangement of words.