General Discussion
Summary
Due to the monosyllabic characteristics of Chinese, the sentences of the pun style are more beautiful. A large number of idioms and aphorisms in the Chinese language are written in the pun script.
due to the monosyllabic feature of chinese, the couplet style of sentences is more aesthetically pleasing. a large number of chinese idioms and proverbs are written in couplet style.
During the five or six hundred years of the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the fusion of ancient literature and Bagu, a mediocre and vulgar style was formed. This kind of language is very poorly expressive. The reason why the author wants to introduce the pun is because the writing scene, lyricism, and reasoning of the pun are more vivid and powerful.
during the ming and qing dynasties, which spanned five to six hundred years, the fusion of writings in ancient style and eight-legged essays resulted in a mediocre and shallow literary style. such language was extremely poor in expressiveness. the author wants to introduce the beauty of couplet writings because couplet writings are more vivid and powerful in depicting scenes, expressing emotions, and presenting arguments.
The author wrote this book with the aim of introducing the pun in accordance with the framework of literary history, so that readers can learn to appreciate the pun, so as to enrich their literary accomplishment and improve their writing ability. In the book, the author focuses on the masterpieces of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the early Tang Dynasty.
the author wrote this book with the intention of introducing the literature in couplet style, roughly following the framework of literary history, enabling readers to learn to appreciate such literature and to enrich their literary cultivation while improving their writing skills.in the book, the author focuses on introducing the famous works of literature in couplet style from the wei, jin, and southern and northern dynasties and the early tang dynasty.
Understanding
Chinese is an isolated language. The monosyllabic characteristic of the Chinese language is that it only takes one syllable to express the complete meaning of a word in Chinese. A word is a unity of phonetic and semantic, a complete root. There do not seem to be any free or semi-free affixes in Chinese that do not have the ability to form words independently, such as the various morphemes required for prefixes, suffixes and inflection changes in European languages.
chinese is an isolating language. the monosyllabic feature of chinese means that a word in chinese only needs one syllable to express a complete meaning. a character is a unified entity of sound, form, and meaning, and is a complete word root. it seems that there are no unfree or semi-free affixes in chinese that lack independent word-forming ability, like those prefixes and suffixes and the various morphemes required for inflectional changes in european languages.
The stylistic characteristics of the pun style are essentially a combination of rhetorical devices. Quoting Ruan Yuan, the author points out that the use of rhetorical devices is intended to facilitate the memorization and dissemination of the text.
the stylistic features of couplet writings are essentially a combination of rhetorical devices. according to the author's citation of ruan yuan, the purpose of applying rhetorical devices is to facilitate the memorization and dissemination of articles.
To make the article easy to memorize, it needs to be perfect in form, concise in wording, harmonious in tone and rhythm, and have a sense of **. It is also necessary to have a literary color in the language and use literary means.
in order to make a passage easy to memorize, it is necessary for it to h**e perfect form, concise word use, harmonious rhythm and tone, which gives the reader a musical feeling in the article. with respect to language, it should also h**e a literary fl**or and use literary instruments.
The author lived in a time of transition from the emancipation of the written language to the spoken language. At that time, although the vernacular language brought freedom of expression to writers, it did not develop into a rigorous written language. Therefore, many scholars with old-style education are still accustomed to writing in classical Chinese. At this time, they will find that the syntactic structure of the rigorous classical Chinese lacks sufficient expressiveness in terms of vocabulary and means of expression. The idea put forward by the author is to re-study the writing method of the prose, pay attention to literary means, and focus on real scenes.
the author lived in an era marked by the transition from formal written language to colloquial language in writing. although the vernacular chinese of that time provided writers with greater freedom of expression, it had not yet evolved into a rigorous written language. therefore, many scholars educated in the traditional way still preferred to write in classical chinese, which they found to be structurally rigorous but lacking in expressive power in terms of vocabulary and expressive means. the author proposed a new approach, emphasizing the importance of literary techniques and focusing on writing based on actual scenes and events, by re-examining and learning couplet writing.
The reason why the author attaches great importance to reading the prose is that he pays attention to appreciation, and does not talk about writing skills. It is precisely because he hopes that readers can absorb the literary devices in the text, learn to understand, appreciate and use them, and enrich the overall writing skills, which are not limited to the prose itself.
the author's emphasis on reading couplet writing and his focus on appreciation rather than writing skills is precisely because he wants readers to absorb the literary devices used in these texts, learn to understand, appreciate, and apply them, thereby enriching their overall writing abilities without being limited to couplecommentscomments
Comments
Idioms, aphorisms, and aphorisms are concise and contain a wealth of rhetorical devices. This is the same in all languages. The prose comes from poetry, the sentence structure is short, and it also pays attention to the use of literary means, so it can be said that the prose uses the language of poetry. The author found that it was easy to produce idioms and famous sentences, probably for this reason. idioms, proverbs, and aphorisms are known for their brevity and the wealth of rhetorical devices they employ. this is a universal characteristic across all languages. couplet writing, which originated from pre-qin dynasty poetry and the fu poems in the han dynasty, is concise and also emphasizes the use of literary techniques. it can be said that couplet writing utilizes the language of poetry. the author observes that couplet writing tends to produce idioms and famous quotes, likely due to its literary richness and concise nature.
As a literary language, oral language can actually be seen from the Yuan Dynasty Sanqu miscellaneous operas, which can be seen in the expressiveness of ancient Chinese colloquial language. The spoken Chinese used in the Ming and Qing dynasties is actually very close to modern spoken Chinese. As a scholar, the author is concerned with finding a rigorous and expressive language that breaks away from the outdated style formed by the combination of ancient texts and eight strands. This is also the reason why the May Fourth Movement advocated vernacular writing at that time.
oral language, as a form of literary expression, actually displays the expressive power of ancient chinese colloquialisms, evident in the scattered operas and plays of the yuan dynasty. the colloquial chinese used in ming and qing novels is remarkably similar to modern chinese spoken language. as a scholar, the author strives to find a language that is both rigorous and expressive, breaking away from the stodgy literary style formed by the combination of ancient chinese and the eight-legged essay format. this quest for a more modern and accessible language aligns with the goals of the may fourth movement, which advocated for the use of vernacular chinese.
Questions
It should be noted that the author's book was actually written in the vernacular, and the author's ability to use the style was better than that of many scholars of the time. Because the author writes a popular book, the relaxed and simple speaking style is more suitable for general readers.
it should be noted that the author of this book actually wrote in vernacular chinese, and his proficiency in writing in colloquial language surpasses many scholars of his era. given that the author intended to write a popular book, the casual and straightforward oral style is more suitable for general readers.
Compared with Liu Linsheng's "Pun Literature" later, it can be felt that the language of writing academic monographs at that time was still not fully developed, and there were not complete logical relations as today, and scholars did not completely get rid of the influence of classical Chinese.
comparing with liu linsheng's "couplet writing" (pianwen xue), it can be felt that the language used in academic **s and monographs at that time had not yet fully developed, lacking the complete logical connectors we see today. additionally, scholars had not yet completely divorced from the influence of classical chinese.
Since the beginning of Chinese after the Song Dynasty, classical Chinese has been used as a specialized writing language for writing literature, history, philosophy, and other specialized treatises. From the quotations of Song Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty, we can know that the spoken language at that time was completely different from the written language.
starting from the chinese language of the song dynasty, classical chinese became a specialized writing language used for literary, historical, philosophical, and other specialized treatises. from the recordings of song confucian scholars and buddhist monks, it can be inferred that colloquial language at that time had already diverged significantly from written language.
After the May Fourth Movement, modern Chinese began to use the form of spoken language as a tool for written expression. What we call vernacular is actually a different language from classical Chinese. It is the abandonment of classical Chinese and the use of modern Chinese, and the transformation of modern Chinese from spoken form to written language. Judging from the situation at that time, the transformation of modern spoken Chinese as a literary language has been completed, and the literary styles such as prose, essays, poems, and dramas have been completed from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
after the may fourth movement, modern chinese underwent a significant transformation, adopting colloquial language as the primary tool for written expression. this marked a departure from the use of classical chinese, which had been the dominant written language for centuries. the vernacular chinese, often referred to as "baihua"(vernacular), differed significantly from classical Chinese in vocabulary, grammar, and stylethe adoption of modern chinese represented a conscious decision to abandon classical chinese and embrace a language that was more closely aligned with spoken chinese. this shift marked a fundamental change in the written language, as it moved towards a more accessible and colloquial form.by the time of the may fourth movement, the transition of modern chinese colloquial language into literary language had already been completed. literary genres such as novels, essays, poetry, and drama had evolved and matured, building upon the traditions established in ming and qing dynasty novels.
However, as an academic language, modern Chinese still lacks sufficient precision and logical rigor. At that time, China introduced various Western theories of the humanities through translation. A large number of words are borrowed from the Japanese language. But it is still not possible to fully grasp the rigorous logic of Western writing. while modern chinese serves as an academic language, it still lacks sufficient precision and logical rigor. back then, china imported various humanities theories from the west through translation, and borrowed a large number of vocabulary from japanese. nevertheless, it was still unable to fully grasp the rigorous logic of western writing.
The reason for this should be that Westerners regard concepts and ideas as objects that actually exist, giving them historicity and reality, and not being attached to linguistic forms. Therefore, regardless of whether it is directly quoted or indirectly paraphrased, the point of view is regarded as the same point of view, and the connotation of the concept is always the same.
the reason for this lies in the fact that westerners treat concepts and viewpoints as objective entities, similar to actual existing objects, endowing them with historical and substantial qualities that are not tied to linguistic forms. consequently, whether a viewpoint is directly quoted or indirectly paraphrased, it is perceived as the same, and the underlying meaning of concepts remains consistent.
The Chinese, due to their long-term literary tradition, regard the polysemy of words as a literary means; Therefore, it is not uncommon to find words in ancient texts that have been redefined and extended, but are still discussed in their original context. Scholars are often in a state of stealing concepts, but not knowing it. Therefore, works such as collection of annotations and interpretations often lack logical analysis after induction. The evolution of the meaning of the text can be seen in the annotations and understandings of different authors arranged according to historical chronology. Chinese scholars often accept interpretations in different historical contexts, which makes the initial context of the text more and more ambiguous in the face of numerous interpretations and analyses. Since the original historical context and the material context of antiquity cannot be reconstructed, the original meaning of the text cannot be determined.
according to the characteristics of the source language text in the translation task, appropriate variables should be selected and added. however, due to the long literary tradition in china, the polysemy of vocabulary is regarded as a literary device. therefore, it is common to find words in ancient documents redefined and extended, but still discussed in the original context. scholars are often in a state of replacing concepts without realizing it. therefore, works such as collective annotations and explanations often lack logical analysis after induction. the evolution of text meaning can be seen from the annotations and understandings of different authors arranged chronologically. chinese scholars tend to accept interpretations in different historical contexts, which makes the original intratextual context of the text increasingly blurred under numerous explanations and analyses. as the original historical context and ancient material context cannot be reconstructed, the original meaning of the text cannot be determined in the end.
Another issue is the relationship between literary criticism, literary appreciation, and literary writing. The author believes that learning to read prose is more important than just learning writing skills. In fact, there is this problem for all kinds of genres.
another issue concerns the relationship between literary criticism, literary appreciation, and literary writing. the author believes that learning to read couplet writing is more important than simply acquiring its writing skills. this applies to various literary genres, in fact.
For a writer, how to understand and analyze the writing object, and how to use language to express the writing object, is a kind of psychological ability. It is not possible to achieve this by training just a few techniques repeatedly.
for a writer, the ability to understand and analyze writing objects, as well as the use of linguistic means to express them, is a psychological skill that cannot be achieved solely through repeated practice of a few techniques.
However, in fact, the analysis, judgment, and interpretation of language, rhetoric, essay structure, writing background, etc., in literary criticism, literary appreciation, and even in Chinese courses in education, are always separated from the reader's intuitive feeling of the work.
however, in reality, the analysis, judgment, and interpretation of language, rhetoric, article structure, writing background, and other aspects in literary criticism, literary appreciation, and even the chinese language course in education always h**e some distance from the reader's intuitive feelings towards the work.
Therefore, what is really important is the reader's own participation, that is, how to use the explanations and understandings of predecessors in the reading process to experience the author's control over the object and language expression, and to understand and reconstruct the various details of the writer's psychological process when writing.
hence, what truly matters is the reader's own engagement, that is, how to draw on previous explanations and understandings in the reading process to appreciate the author's mastery of the subject matter and linguistic expressions, and comprehend and reconstruct the various details of the writer's psychological process during the writing process.