A Study on the Grammar of Monosyllabic Verbs in the Han Feizi

Author: Xu Shiduan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features:
Four. Verbs that can take both nominal object and non-object
(1) Grammatical characteristics and reclassification of verbs that can take both nominal object and non-object
The phrase "nominal object and non-object can both be taken" refers to verbs that, when used as predicates with unchanged meanings, can both take nominal objects and non-nominal objects. For example, "dine": Zhongni first ate millet and then dined on peaches. (Han·Left Storage on the Left) The nominal object has also dined on my peaches. (Han, Hard to Say) The causative object (nominal object) For example, "visit": The people of Yan sent someone to visit her. (Han·Right Storage on the Right) The nominal object Yan Zi encountered a visit. (Han, Inner Storage on the Upper) The relational object (non-nominal object) Such verbs are very rare. They mainly take nominal objects, and non-nominal objects are only occasionally taken, so they are called "semi-transitive verbs with nominal objects." The non-nominal objects they take vary: some verbs are limited to relational objects, while others take only causative objects. The following discusses them separately.
1. Semi-transitive verbs limited to relational objects as non-nominal objects
Certain verbs, when used as predicates, usually take nominal objects, and the few non-nominal objects they take are only relational objects. For example, "violate": The father and brothers violated the law. (Han, Inner Storage on the Upper) Lightly violated arrows. (Han, Hard to Say) And violated the prohibition of the five officials. (Han, Five Parasites) Now you violate my entire body. (Han, Ten Passes) The above are nominal objects. Also, Xiangzi will lead soldiers to violate in front of him. (Han, Ten Passes) The above are relational objects indicating place or direction. In Han Feizi, "violate" takes objects in 36 cases, only one of which is a relational object, and the rest are nominal objects. Another example is "use": Use the troops of two phoenixes. (Han, Initial Meeting with Qin) All use their abilities. (Han, Power of Yang) The ruler cannot use Mu Xuan. (Han, Love of the Minister) Therefore, the ruler uses the base model himself. (Han, Two Handles) The above are nominal objects. Also, the minister long uses Wei. (Han, Inner Storage on the Lower) The son long uses Wei. (Han, Inner Storage on the Lower) The above are relational objects. In Han Feizi, "use" takes objects in 180 cases, only 14 of which are relational objects, and the rest are nominal objects.
Section 4: Verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects
One. Characteristics and reclassification of monosyllabic verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects
The common characteristic of verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects is that, when used as predicates, the objects they take can be nouns or nominal structures, or they can be verbs, adjectives, verb structures, subject-predicate structures, single-sentence forms, or compound-sentence forms. For example, the verb "know": The word or structure used as the object does not know its name. (Han, Power of Yang) The nominal phrase does not know how. (Han, Preservation of Han) The pronoun and does not know to collect. (Han, Solitary Rage) The verb knows the signs enough to know the abundance. (Han, Eight Classics) The adjective The people know that rewards and punishments all arise from themselves. (Han, Hard to Say) The subject-predicate structure Ai Gong does not know the selection and placement. (Han, Hard to Say) The verb-object structure I know from this that the position of the main star depends on it and that wisdom is enough to admire. (Han, Hard to Say) Compound-sentence form We refer to such verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects as "dual-object verbs." There are 68 such verbs in Han Feizi, accounting for 8.8% of the total number of verbs that take objects in the book. Based on the grammatical relationship between the objects they take and the predicate verbs, they can also be divided into "verbs that take only nominal objects," "verbs that take only non-nominal objects," and "verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects," respectively called "dual-object transitive verbs," "dual-object automatic verbs," and "dual-object semi-transitive verbs." These three types of verbs correspond to the three types of verbs that take only nominal objects. From the perspective of the part of speech of the words constituting the objects they take, some verbs in this category can only take verbs, adjectives, and verb structures as non-nominal objects, while others can also take subject-predicate structures and sentence forms as non-nominal objects. This has been verified through a comprehensive examination of relevant examples from ten books such as Han Feizi, Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang Zhuan, Guliang Zhuan, Liji, Biyu, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Mozi, and Xunzi. Below, we describe and classify these verbs.
Six. Like verbs with nominal objects, the complements taken by these verbs are mainly "prepositional phrases with the preposition ''," with only a small number of complements in the form of "prepositional phrases with the preposition ''." (Examples omitted)
Seven. The meaning of these verbs largely includes two aspects: one is to express mental activities and changes in psychological emotions, such as "consider," "forget," "plan," "scheme," "doubt," "hate," "like," "dislike," "rely," "wait (sense of waiting)" and the like. The other is to express the functions of the five senses of the human body, such as "see," "observe," "discuss," "listen," "hear," "ask," "know," "discuss," "speak (sense of speaking)," "speak (sense of persuasion)," "cite" and the like. It is precisely because of this meaning that these verbs can take both nominal objects and complex non-nominal objects. Most of these verbs can take subject-predicate structures and sentence forms as non-nominal objects. (See the table below for details). Here are a few more examples:
If you do not worry about the arrival of the twelfth month and the dryness of the thatch. (Han, Sayings of the Forest)
Rely on my unreliability. (Han, Left Storage on the Left)
Suddenly forgot that I had four limbs and a body. (Zhuangzi, Reaching Life)
Learn to love my parents. (Mozi, Publicity of Gong)
This seeks to surpass Zhongni. (Han, Degree)
Then you must consider the morning and evening until the day comes. (Xunzi, Unyielding)
Wait for the fire to ignite. (Mozi, Preparation for Caves)
And dislike people's faults. (Han, Interpretation of the Old)
(2) Grammatical characteristics of dual-object automatic verbs
The most significant characteristic of this category of verbs that can take both nominal and non-nominal objects is that their non-nominal objects are always relational objects. For example:
Is there any fear of the people who swim? (Han, Hard to Say)
How tragic it is that jade is inscribed with stone, and the upright man is named with deception. (Han, Harmony of Jade)
Are you worried about the lack of funds? (Mozi, Lower Burial)
Enjoy the dust of the fish and the basket. (Mencius, Liang Hui Wang I)
The above are relational objects indicating cause.
Also:
The problem lies in Xutong's advice to Wugong. (Han, Inner Storage on the Lower)
The reason lies in the dwarf's dream of the stove. (Han, Inner Storage on the Upper)
So he died and the country perished. (Han, Saying of Doubt)
Not yet, but the next generation will die and the diviner will be seized. (Han, Treachery and Assassination of Officials)
The above are relational objects indicating a certain aspect or degree of abstraction.
Also:
Those who govern a large country are like small bowls. (Han, Interpretation of the Old)
Take off the hat and say "the next day is prosperous." (Han, Eight Classics)
All seek safety and profit as if they were an alliance, and danger and danger as if they were a barrier. (Han, Five Parasites)
Like a thief stealing a child's coat. (Han, Left Storage on the Left)
What is meant by being wrong but not listening to the loyal minister? (Han, Ten Encounters)
Heavy is the root of light, and quiet is the master of restlessness. (Han, Analogy of the Old)
These dual-object automatic verbs share many similarities with verbs with nominal objects:
First, these dual-object automatic verbs are also mainly used as predicates alone, without any accompanying elements. For example, "anger": Therefore, the traitor was angry. (Han, Eight Classics) Mengsun was very angry. (Han, Sayings of the Forest) The duke was angry. (Han, Inner Storage on the Upper) Wu Gong was angry and executed him. (Han, Saying of Hardness) In Han Feizi, "anger" is used as a predicate in 56 cases, of which 50 cases do not take objects.
Another example is "fear": The duke was greatly afraid. (Han, Left Storage on the Left) Wen Wang was afraid. (Han, Hard to Say) The world is afraid of death. (Han, Hard to Say) Xiangzi is afraid. (Han, Ten Passes)