Classical Chinese Syntax & Morphology PDF

The Features of Classical Chinese Ling Yuen Man 58120866 Lo Ka Ying 56988985 Leung Man Yan 57328089 Cheung Yui Sum 57754865 Yan Lee Winne 57595296  Table of contents 01 02 03 Introduction Features of...

The Features of Classical Chinese Ling Yuen Man 58120866 Lo Ka Ying 56988985 Leung Man Yan 57328089 Cheung Yui Sum 57754865 Yan Lee Winne 57595296  Table of contents 01 02 03 Introduction Features of words Syntax 04 05 Conclusion Q&A  01 Introduction  Division of Chinese Ancient Chinese (古代漢語) Archaic Period (上古) Middle Period (中古) Modern Period (近代) Until 2nd century BC 1st century BCE to Mid-13th century to mid-13th century CE mid-19th century  Classical Chinese (文言) Standardized during the Archaic period Functioned like Latin in Europe, dominant in literature until the 20th century Closely associated with the language of Warring States philosophers (475–221 BCE)  Features Monosyllabic Nature Ancient Chinese is often characterized as monosyllabic and monomorphemic. Monosyllabic in Classical Chinese: 耳 (ěr) – ear 鼠 (shǔ) – mouse 子 (zǐ) – son Disyllabic in Modern Chinese: 耳朵 (ěrduo) 老鼠 (lǎoshǔ) 兒子 (érzi)  Features of Monosyllabic Nature Monosyllabic Nature Ancient Chinese is primarily composed of single-syllable words. Monomorphemic Structure Words typically consist of a single morpheme, leading to a simpler morphological system. Impoverished Morphology Often described as having limited morphological variation. Grammatical Processes Primarily syntactic, relying on word order and sentence structure for meaning. Analytic or Isolating Language Classified as an analytic language type due to its reliance on syntax over morphology.  Morphology Features Contractions in Classical Chinese 1. zhī 之 (third personal pronoun) + yú 于 (to, at) → zhū 诸 乞诸其邻而与之 (《论语》) Qi zhu qi lin er yu zhi ask-for 3sg+to his neighbour and give 3sg ‘(He) asked his neighbour for it and gave (it to) him’ 2. wú 毋 (not) + zhī 之(third personal pronoun) → wù 勿 百亩之田, 勿夺其时 (《孟子》) bai mu zhi tian wu duo qi shi hundred mu lig field neg+3sg deprive their time ‘The hundred mu of fields, do not deprive them of their time (of cultivation)’ 3. yú 于 (at, to, from) + zhī 之(third personal pronoun) → yān 焉 学焉而后臣之 (《孟子》) xue yan er hou chen zhi learn from+him and later make-subject 3sg ‘(He) learned from him and later made him (his subject)’  02 Features of words  Empty words Words/ phrases that do not carry significant semantic meaning on their own Serve a grammatical function with a sentence Function words Grammatical words 4 Main Types a) Pronouns b) Abverbs c) Prepositions d) Particles  1) Pronouns Substitute noun Usually used to refer to ‘people, things, concepts’ 1) Personal pronouns：a) first person “吾”，“我”，“余” — me b) second person “汝”，“若”，“乃” — you c) third person “之”，“其” — he, she, it 2) Demonstrative pronouns：a)singular “是”，“斯”，“之” — this, here b) plural “其”，“夫” — that, there 3) Interrogative pronouns：a)replace subjects/objects “誰”，“孰”, “何” — who, what b)replace predicate verbs/ abverbs “胡”，“安”, “焉” — why, how, where 4) Indefinite pronouns ： “或”，“莫”, “某” — someone, something, nothing  2) Abverbs Usually in preverb position Mainly used to modify the verb or abjective 1) Degree： “ 极”，“最 ”，“少 ” — extremely, most, little 2) Quantification ： “皆”，“各”，“獨” —all, each, only 3) Time/ aspect ： “已”，“將”, “方” — already, be going to, just 4) Negation： “不”，“無”，“莫” — no  3） Prepositions Guide object Express relationship of "time, place, manner, reason" ★ 1) “於”— direction (at, to, in, from, towards...) ★ 2) “以” — express purpose/ compare (with, in order to, because) — introduce double object (e.g. 以教為先) 3) “自”， “與” ， “為” — express time/ partner/ reason...  4) Particles Play an important role in language structure Mainly used to express "mood, tense, statss, relationship” ✓ Occupy initial, middle and final position 1) Structural particles: “之”，“所 ”，“者”—of 2)Modal particles : a) Declarative: “矣” ★ Final b) Interrogative: “焉”，“乎”，“也” position c) Exclamatory：“哉”  Polysemy-Multiple meanings of words 之 Cantonese: zi1 // Pinyin: zhi Content Words Function Words ◆ Particle ◆ Verb ◆ Conjunction ◆ Pronoun ◆ Preposition As… Verb Pronoun 「項伯及夜馳之沛公軍」 (Xiang Bo rushed to Liu Bang's military camp overnight) 「故為之說」 (So (for this matter) I wrote this article) Meanings: “To” / “Go” / “Go to..” Meaning: “This matter” 「君為我呼入，吾得兄事之」 (Please help me call him; I will treat him like a brother.) Meaning: “Him”  Particle 「人之患在好為人師」 (The biggest problem with people is that they like to be teachers.) 「的」 Meaning: ‘s 「覽物之情，得無異乎」 ((their) emotions after seeing the natural scenery, It will probably be different. )  「大哉，堯之為君」 (Yao, as a king, was so great!) Connecting the subject and predicate Conjunction 「父母之愛子，則為之計深遠」 (Parents who love their children must consider the long term for them.) Form a complex relationship Connect the subject and the predicate  「人之其所親愛而闢焉」 Preposition (This is because people tend to over-prefer the people they love) Explained as “for” (對於) ◆ Verb : Do 《為學》：“天下事有難易乎？為之，則難者亦易矣。” 為 Cantonese: wai4 // Pinyin: wei (Is there a difference between difficult and easy things in the world? If you are willing to do it, difficult things become easy.) ◆ Conjunction : If 《戰國策·秦策》：“秦為知之，必不救矣。” (If the Qin State knew about this, it would definitely not go to rescue him.) ◆ Particle: Advance the object or use it as a suffix to express exclamation or doubt. 《蘇武》： “何以汝為見？” (Why should I see you?) ◆ Preposition : Because 《答司馬諫議書》：“盤庚不為怨者故改其度。” (PanGeng did not change his plan just because someone resented him.)  Turns Out>>> 1. Single words 2. Contextually 3. Different functions and meanings  03 Syntax  Ellipsis (省略句) Subject Predicate Omit Object Prepositional object Preposition Remove redundant messages Highlight the main meaning and emotion of the sentence “永州之野產異蛇，（異蛇）黑質而白章。” (There is a strange venomous snake in the mountains of Yongzhou. It has a black body with white patterns.) >> Omitted: Snake (異蛇) Omit subject “沛公謂張良曰：‘（公）度我至軍中，公乃入。’” (PeiGong said to ZhangLiang: "You suspect that I have returned to the army; only then can you go in.) >> Omitted: Zhang Liang (公) “（予）愛是溪，入二三里， （予）得其尤絕者家焉。” (I love this stream, and I walked along it for two or three miles and found a place with great scenery, and I settled here.) >> Omitted: I (予)  Omit prepositional object “一鼓作氣，再（鼓）而衰，三（鼓）而竭。” (The first drum beat boosted morale, the second drum beat caused morale to decline, and the third drum beat exhausted morale.) >> Omitted: Drum (鼓) Omit object “可燒而走（之）也。” (Fire can be used to defeat Cao’s army.) >> Omitted: Cao’s army (之)  Omit predicate Omit preposition “公閲畢，即解貂覆生，為（之）掩户。” 今以鐘磬置（於）水中，雖大風浪不能鳴焉。 (After reading the article, ZuoGong took off (Now, take a bell and a chime and put it in the his mink coat, covered the scholar, and water. Even if there are strong winds and waves, closed the door for him.) it will not make any sound.) >> Omitted: Him (之) >> Omitted: in (於)  Characteristics of Syntax in Classical Chinese Classical Chinese has an SVO language structure Example: S V IO DO 魏 王 貽 我 大 瓠 之 種 （《逍遙遊》） " King Hui of Wei gave me the seeds of the big gourd"  Complex Predicate : The Use of "以" Complex predicate: involving more than one verb Semantic relationship between verbs is varied If the sentence is composed of the implication of purpose, "以" will be derived as the meaning of "in order to", connecting the two verb phrases Example: 楚 人 伐 宋 以 救 鄭（《左傳》） Chu ren fa Song yi jiu Zheng "The people of Chu raided Song in order to save Zheng."  Transitive Verbs Transitive verb: the verb can take one In Classical Chinese, the pattern of or more object V+IO+DO is also engaged, accompanied Ditransitive verb: double-object, by the use of the prepositions "以" and "於" providing semantic characteristics of "以": Direct Object (DO) marker [+give], [+say] or [teach] "於": Introducing the indirect object (IO Examples: Example: 堯 以 天下 與 舜（《孟子》） S V IO DO Yao yi tianxia yu Shun o Marry gives John a book. "Yao give the Empire to Shun" 堯 讓 天下 於 許 由（《莊子》） Yao rang tianxia yu Xu You "Yao left the Empire to Xu You"  Passive Sentences Type 1: Semantic Passives Expressing passive meaning without overt morphological marker Construct a passive meaning with transitive verb by placing the object in subject position Example 1: S V Conj O V 師 行 而 糧 食 The host proceeds and the supplies are eaten Common Passive Sentence: deriving preposition "於"(by) to demonstrate the passive sentence as Verb+於＋Agent Example: V P Agent V P Agent 治 於 人 者 食 人 ，治 人 者 食 於 人（《孟子》） 被人管理的人供養人，管理的領導人受人供養 "Those who are ruled by others feed others, those who rule are fed by others."  Passive Sentences: "見（jian）"＋V Type 2: jian 見 ＋Verb 見 are considered as auxiliary verb Example 1: 盆成 括 見 殺（《孟子》） Pencheng Kuo jian sha "Pencheng Kuo was killed (by someone)" Example 2: 說 不 行 而 有 敗 則 見 疑 shuo bu xing er you bai ze jian yi "If the words( of advice) do not work and the advisor fails, then he will be doubted (by the ruler). There is no agent expressed  Passive Sentences: "為（wei）" Type 3: There are 3 specified types of passive sentences by using "為"（wei） o 為 are considered as auxiliary verbs 1) 為 ＋ Verb (absence of agent) o Example 1: 父 母 宗 族 皆 為 戮 沒 Fu mu zong zu jie wei lu mei "Parent and clan are all killed or enslaved" 2) 為 ＋ Agent ＋ Verb o Example 2: 止 將 為 三 軍 獲 Zhi jiang wei san jun huo "If (you) stop, (you) will be captured by the Three Armies" 3) 為 ＋ Agent ＋ 所 ＋ Verb o Example 3: 後則為人所治（《史記》） Hou ze wei ren suo zhi "(If I react) late, (I) will then be controlled by others"  Passive Sentences: "被"（bei）＋V Type 4 被＋V Meaning of 被 ：possess negative meaning, expressing the meaning "to suffer; to be affected" Example : 亮子 被 蘇 峻 害（《世說新語》） Liangzi bei Su Jun hai "Liangzi was killed by Su Jun"  Inversion (倒裝句) Object Preposition Attributive Postposition Adverbial Postposition Subject and Predicate Inversion  Object Preposition Place the object to the position before the subject Emphasize the object → increase the vividness of the sentence o Example: O S Predicate 蘋果， 我 最喜歡吃 " Apple is my favorite” Four types of object preposition 1) Affirmative Sentences 2) Negative adverb 3) Interrogative sentence 4) Prepositional phrase  Object Preposition: 1) Affirmative sentence ⚫ Use “是”/ “之” (Particle) as symbols to put the object in front Example 1: O V , O V 句讀 之 不知，惑 之 不解（ 《師說》 ） " Not knowing punctuation and reading, confused and unable to understand.“ ✓ 「之」as a connection between object and verb ✓ Form an OV structure  Object Preposition 2) Negative adverb ⚫ Negative sentences with negative adverb “不...” , “莫...”, “未...” → the pronoun will be preceded when used as the object Example 1: S (neg) O V 然以功業大，人 莫 之 非（ 《訓儉示康》 ） " However, due to great achievements, no one can criticize it.” Example 2: S (neg) O V 古之人 不 余 欺也（ 《石鐘山記》 ） “The people of ancient times did not deceive me.” ✓ Form a SOV structure  Object Preposition 3) interrogative sentence ⚫ In interrogative sentences, if interrogative pronouns “誰...” , “孰...”, “何...” are used as object → put the object in front Example 1: S O V 微斯人, 吾 誰與歸？(《岳陽樓記》） " Without this people, whom shall I return with?” Example 2: S O V 吾 誰 欺？欺天乎？(《論語》） " Whom do I deceive? Do I deceive Heaven? ✓ Form a SOV structure  Object Preposition 4) Prepositional phrase ⚫ Emphasize the object by the preposition “以” ⚫ the object is often placed in front of “之” Example 1: S O V 吾道 一 以 貫之(《論語》） “I will unify my way with it.” ✓ Form a SOV structure  Attributive Postposition Placing the definer/attribute（定語） after the head（中心語） Normally without inversion o The definer/attribute should place before the head o Example: S V definer head 我 有 一 雙 鞋 Wo you yi shuang xie " I have a pair of shoes" Four types of attributive postposition inversional sentence 1) Head + definer/attribute 2) Head + 之 + definer/attribute 3) Head + definer/attribute + 者 4) Head + 之 + definer/attribute + 者  Attributive Postposition： Head + definer/attribute Example 1: S V Head definer 我 持 白璧 一雙，欲獻項王。（ 《鴻門宴》 ） " I hold a pair of white jade, and would like to present them to King Xiang." Example 2: Head Attribute 從 弟子 女 十人所，皆衣繒單衣，立大巫後。（《西門豹治鄴》） "There were about ten female disciples who followed, all wearing silk single clothes, standing behind the old witch." o 弟子女 --> 女弟子 The head is usually noun or noun phrase The definer/attribute adds an extra noun/noun phrase description  Attributive Postposition： Head + 之 + definer/attribute S neg Head particle attribute 螾 無 爪牙 之 利。（ 《勸學》 ） "Earthworms have no sharp claws" Translation in Modern Chinese: 蚓沒有鋒利的爪牙 V Head particle Attribute 居 廟堂 之 高， 則憂其民； V Head particle Attribute 處 江湖 之 遠， 則憂其君。（《岳陽樓記》） "When he is in the high court, he worries about the sufferings of the people; when he retreats to remote area [among the people], he worries about his King." 處在高高的朝廷，就憂慮老百姓的疾苦；退隱在偏遠的江湖[即民間],就擔憂他的國君 In this type of sentence, the attributes are majorly adjectives to describe the head The adjective act as a modifying attributive if it is post-positioned  Attributive Postposition： Head + definer/attribute + 者 V Head Attribute 求 人 可使報秦 者‧‧‧‧‧‧‧。 （ 《廉頗藺相如列傳》 ） "（I ）want to find someone who can send envoys to the State of Qin to reply to the State of Qin." (想找一個可以出使秦國向秦國回復的人) Head Attribute 村中 少年 好事 者，馴養一蟲（《促織》） "There is a meddled young man in the village who raises a cricket" 村子里有個好事的年輕人，養著一隻蟋蟀 Verb structures (including verbs and verb-centered phrases) serve as attributives Function of "者"：to fill up the sentence structure  Attributive Postposition： Head + 之 + attribute + 者 ❖ Head paricle Attribute 石 之 鏗然有聲 者，所在皆是也。 （蘇軾《石鐘山記》 ） "Stones that make a sonorous sound, stones everywhere are like this." 石之鏗然有聲者-->發出鏗鏘的聲音的石頭 ❖ Head particle Attribute 馬 之 千里 者，一食或盡粟一石。（《馬說》） "A horse that travels thousands of miles a day can sometimes eat a Stone(~50kg )of millet in one meal." 馬之千里者 --> 日行千里的馬 ❖ Function of "之": "的"，to turn the attributive phrases into adjectives and to modify the subject, which is the head  Adverbial Postposition In Modern Chinese, preposition structure（介詞結構）/ preposition object （ 介賓短語） is deemed as adverbial, which is placed in the front of the verb In Classical Chinese, however, these structures are placed after the verb and considered as complement, placing in the postposition of the sentence S V C S V C 《鴻門宴》：將軍 戰 河北，臣 戰 河南。 "The general fought in Hebei, and the minister fought in Henan. " There are two typical types of adverbial postposition marker : 於、 乎  Adverbial Postposition: "於" In Classical Chinese texts, most prepositional phrases composed of the preposition "於yu" are in the position of adverb to describe the verbs S Head PP Head PP 青，取 之 於藍，而 青 於藍。（荀子《勸學》） " Green, which is taken from blue, was greener than blue" o Meaning: 青於藍取出，而比藍青 Head PP 生 乎吾前，其聞道也固先乎吾。（韓愈《師說》） " (People) who were born before me learned the truth earlier than me" o Meaning: 乎吾前生 (在我前出生） o "乎" in this sentence acts as the function same as "於" Typically, the head of the sentence is a verb, so the prepositional phrases originally act as adverbial phrases in the sentence  Subject-Verb(Predicate) Inversion ❖ The predicate is placed before the subject to emphasize the predicate ❖ Language expression only ❖ 賢哉回也！（《論語七則》） "Yan Hui is very virtuous!" 1) 回 : the subject, pointing to a person named Yan Hui (顏回） 2) 賢 : the predicate 3) 哉 : interjection (感嘆詞） 4) 也 : the modal particle, expressing exclamatory sentence ❖ Subject-verb(Predicate) inversion is mainly derived to express exclamatory of the subject with its predicate being emphasized  Grammatical changes 4 significant changes between Classical Chinese and Modern Chinese Word order - passive construction ( SVO / SOV ) - placement Uses of noun classifiers Wording of pronouns Noun predication  Word order in passive voice The passive voice in Classical Chinese: passive marker (e.g. 於) + agent positioned after the verb 勞力者 治 於 人。(《孟子滕文公上》) Láolìzhě zhì yú rén ‘Laborers (are) controlled by other people.’ SVO The passive voice in Modern Standard Chinese: passive marker (e.g. 被) + agent positioned before the verb 勞力者 被 人 統治。 Láolìzhě bèi rén tǒngzhì SOV ‘Laborers (are) by other people controlled.’  Word Order of places Classical Chinese places locative expressions after verb Modern Standard Chinese moves the locative construction to a pre-verb position Predicate the setting of the action 莊子 與 惠子 遊 於 濠梁 之 上。 (《莊子 秋水篇》) Zhuāngzǐ yǔ Huìzǐ yóu yú Háoliáng zhī shàng ‘Zhuāngzǐ and Huìzǐ were strolling on a bridge on the River Hao.’ “on a bridge on the River Hao” placement “strolling” verb Order: verb placement => ungrammatical in the Modern Standard Chinese Rephrasing as 莊子 與 惠子 在 濠水的橋 上 遊玩。 Zhuāngzǐ yǔ Huìzǐ zài Háoliáng zhī shàng yóuzǒu ‘Zhuāngzǐ and Huìzǐ (were) on a bridge on the River Hao strolling.’  Noun Classifier In Modern Chinese All nouns requires a nominal classifier Positioning as: a number + a corresponding nominal classifier + the noun e.g. 一 張 紙 一根 草 yì zhāng zhǐ yì gēn cǎo ‘a piece of paper’ ‘a blade of grass’ In Classical Chinese Classifiers are ignored Positioning as: a number + the noun e.g. 一 牛 五 柳 Yì niú wǔ liǔ ‘one ox’ ‘five willow trees’ Classifier are required in the phrase to be grammatical in Modern Chinese 一 頭 牛 五 棵 柳樹 yì tóu niú wǔ kē liǔshù ‘one head of oxen’ ‘five sprouts of willow trees’  Pronouns The meanings and expressions of the pronouns change through the time First person pronouns Singular: 余 or 予, 吾 yú wú Plural: 我 Only 我 remais as the sole first person pronoun wǒ Plural meaing by adding 們 mén (我們) Second person pronouns Singular:汝 or 女 rǔ Plural:爾 你 is developed from 爾 ěr Third person pronouns unlike Modern Chinese, 他/她/牠/它 tā do not exist in the system *其 : third person possessive *之: third person object e.g. 揚其目而視之 《禮記．檀弓下》 (The man) raised his eyes and looked at him  Noun predication in Modern Chinese In Classical Chinese Identification and classification are represented in the format A = B 也 yě e.g. 董狐, 古 之 良 史 也 (《左传宣公二年》) Dǒng Hú, gǔ zhī liáng shǐ yě (from the Chronicles of Zuǒ, Book VII) ‘Dǒng Hú, antiquity’s exemplary historian [particle]’ Modern Chinese requires the copula 是 shì for noun predication e.g. 董狐 是 古代的 優良 史官。 Dǒng Hú shì gǔdài de yōuliáng shǐguān ‘Dǒng Hú is antiquity’s exemplary historian.’  04 Conclusion  Classical Chinese Standardised during the Arachic Period -Monosyllabic nature -Empty Words & polysemy-multiple meanings of words -monomorphemic structure -single word -impoverished morphology -contextual -grammatical processes –different functions and meanings -analytic language Classical Chinese Syntax -Complex predicate Ellipsis -Transitive Verbs -subject -Passive sentences -predicate -Inversion -object -prepositional object -Changes through time –preposition among Classical Chinese and Standard Modern Chinese 05 Q&A  Question 1 Are personal pronouns considered empty words? A. Yes B. No  Question 2 What kind of sentence structure is demonstrated in "句讀之不知，惑之不解（ 《師說》 ）"? A. Passive voice B. Inversion C. Ellipsis D. Wh-question  Open-Ended Questions 1. Previously, we have mentioned the inversion sentence "螾無爪牙之利 " , the sentence follow by it also contain similar structure as "筋骨之強", so can you guess the meaning of it? 2. Is the follow sentence derived passive voice morphological marker "被" correctly? "隨著經濟的快速發展，人的生活水平得到顯著的提高，物質上的 需求很快地被滿足。"  References Bot verification. (n.d.). Bot Verification. https://learnsmart.edu.hk/%E6%96%87%E8%A8%80%E5%8F%A5%E5%BC%8F/ Classical Chinese grammar tutorial lesson 2: Verbal... (n.d.). https://www.juliosong.com/doc/Classical- Chinese-Grammar/classical-chinese-grammar-lesson-2-notes.pdf Chan, S., Minett, J., & Yee, F. L. W. (2016). The routledge encyclopedia of the chinese language. Routledge, Taylor et Francis Group. Hwxnet.com. (n.d.). 为的文言文解释及意思-文言文字典. 文言文字典|古汉语字典|文言文翻译|文言文大 全-汉语言文学网. https://wyw.hwxnet.com/view/hwxE4hwxB8hwxBA.html 侯月瑩.(2012).文言文“之”字用法淺析. 青年文學家(02),148. doi:CNKI:SUN:QNWJ.0.2012-02-125. Shu-ta 楊樹遑, Y., & Fang, A. (1942). Inversion in classical Chinese. Monumenta Serica, 7(1–2), 267– 284. https://doi.org/10.1080/02549948.1942.11745164 Thanks!!