Lu Shuxiang Complete Works (Vol. 1-19)

Author: Lü Shuxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features:
17.83 Pauses after restrictive words (or relational words) at the beginning of a sentence can be made, such as: "Originally, Grandma, how can you take care of these trivial matters all day long?" (Eri 38). In total, "Brother is still too thin-skinned to be able to bow his head like this" (Eri 40). So, "you must ask us" (Eri 4). "In the past, he was not angry; now, he is angry. In the past, he was humble; now, he is assertive." (Zhuangzi · Shanmu). "In hearing cases, I am no different from others: if it must be, let there be no disputes to make it peaceful." (Lunyu · Yan Yuan). "Also, with a mind set on righteousness, one cannot fail to achieve righteousness. If one focuses solely on profit and gain, it is not certain that profit and gain will indeed be obtained." (Bianzhi). Pauses in short sentences and similar structures (see sections 8.71; 20.13–4; 21.24, etc.), such as: "There is an idea, but it is not needed! There is a status, but it is not needed!" (Eri 4). "It was said to leave at twelve o'clock, but at twelve thirty-three, no one moved." (Sound Film). When talking about parasite A, he said, "Ah, do you know Mr. Lu Jili? Ah, he said." (Last Five Minutes). "Children, none do not know to love their parents; when they grow older, none do not know to respect their older brothers." (Mengzi · Jingshou). "Now abandoning this state, the farmers and fishermen pass by and despise it." (Liu Ji). "Ritual, it is better to be frugal than extravagant; for mourning, it is better to be solemn than easy." (Lunyu · Bayi). This kind of pause uses fewer interjections other than "a" and "ye," such as: "I was thinking, at the beginning, that girl was a child who rewarded the guilty, and then." (Eri 40). There is also another saying, "Can we keep eating this kind of food forever?" (Eri 4). "Look without moving, in relation to people, hear their voice and know their surnames." (Blind Person). "Then I realized that my previous journey had not begun, and this is where it began." (Liu Ji).
17.84 Pauses after hypothetical short sentences are not limited to using "a" or "ye": colloquial language also uses "ne," "me," "ba," etc., while classical language uses "hu," "ye," etc. This is because hypothetical short sentences often shift from a questioning tone (repetition, discussion, etc.) to a clear contrast, especially in classical language, which can be seen as a question and answer. The short sentences following such hypothetical sentences either explain the consequences of the hypothesis, forming a conditional sentence, or simply provide a reason to negate the preceding suggestion. These hypothetical sentences are often used in pairs, indicating either a dilemma or a choice, or using the preceding sentence as a concession to highlight the main point of the following sentence. "If," "as for," and similar introductory words often carry a hypothetical tone, and the pause particles used after them are the same (see sections 22.37–8; 22.61). Below are examples categorized by the particles used.
Examples using "a": "If you take it, it must be the fourth master, he is the leader." (Black and White Li). "If you are willing, it is also done this way; if you are not willing, it is also done this way. About that person, originally, he was really sweet in speech and kind in manner, making people feel loved." (Eri 39). "When talking about our trade, it relies entirely on grinding, stirring, deceiving, and stretching, being shameless, short of money, some, earn some, only then is there some left." (Eri 4). The north wind said, "Then what about you?" The sun said, "I, I don't like to blow." (North Wind and Sun). There are many words, "a" (Eri 26).
Examples using "ne" and "a" are equally common, such as: "Praise me, Elder Second, is a relationship; if not praised, there is nothing." (Eri 4). "If it were other actors, one hundred would be fine, but only this Qigong." (Red 33). "I, only he, also rarely mention her." (Dong'er). "Second Master treats me well, Fourth Master is almost my friend, so it is not easy." (Black and White Li).
The character "me" is used less frequently in Beijing dialect but is common in the central Mandarin region, such as: "If I had known this earlier, I should have listened to his words then. He has feelings for Dong'er, saying a few words; if he turns his back, sister-in-law, you can't eat it and have to carry it." (Red 59). "The wind blows, the sun shines. If it blows, it is freezing to death; if it shines, it is scorching to death." (North Wind and Sun). The seller of ginseng said, "I come to ask Elder Chen for silver." Grandmother Dong said, "He, now, is good to the Guanyin Gate." (Rulin Waishi 55).
The character "ba" is mostly used in pairs and indicates a dilemma, such as: "If I buy the book, tomorrow's meal money will be in trouble; if I don't buy it, I really can't bear it. This is a special kind of weather: staying indoors, I can't work; outside, as if something is calling you; if you go out, there is also nothing certain to do." (Sacrifice).
Examples using "ye," "ye," "hu," and "yan" in classical language: "When Heaven is about to lose this culture, the later generation cannot participate in this culture; when Heaven has not lost this culture, how can the people treat me?" (Lunyu · Zixan). "If it is considered wisdom, then the greatest folly is ignorance; if it is considered profit, then the greatest harm is harm." (Xunzi · Rongru). "I want to say that wine has medicine, but I am afraid of driving away the mistress; if I don't say it, I am afraid of killing the master." (Shiji · Suqin). "If there is no inch of skin that does not love, then there is no inch of skin that does not nurture." (Mengzi · Gaozi).
30 Short Sentences and Sentences. It is generally believed that the unit higher than a phrase is a sentence, which can be single or compound. A compound sentence contains several clauses. Except for the issue of single and compound sentences, which is left for discussion in section 97, there are three issues to discuss here.
The first issue seems to be a minor one: is it better to call it a clause or a short sentence? Calling it a clause assumes that the sentence is the basic unit, with clauses being divided from sentences. Calling it a short sentence does not require such an assumption and can say: short sentences are the basic units, several short sentences form a large sentence, i.e., a sentence. This allows for a connection between single and compound sentences, stating that a single sentence is composed of one short sentence. If we use "clause" and say that a single sentence is composed of one clause, it feels awkward. (This situation is very similar to the issue of "morpheme" versus "morpheme," see section 9.) Using short sentences instead of sentences as the basic unit is more suitable for Chinese, as Chinese colloquial language is full of run-on sentences, with one short sentence following another, and many places can be broken or connected. Compare different punctuation versions of an old novel, often with one version using periods and another using commas, or one version using periods and another using commas.
The second issue is whether short sentences include some combinations called "sub-clauses" or "subject-predicate phrases" in some books. These two approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, and which to choose is worth considering. Weighing the pros and cons, it seems better to call them "subject-predicate phrases" and exclude them from short sentences. This is mainly because of the next issue.
The third issue is whether phrases and sentences are simply a simple hierarchical relationship. From one perspective, phrases are smaller than sentences, and sentences often contain phrases, while phrases rarely contain "sentences," making sentences a higher-level unit than phrases. However, from another perspective, there is an important difference between sentences and words and phrases: words, phrases, including subject-predicate phrases, are static units of language, units; while sentences are dynamic units of language, units of use. At the very least, one must speak "a sentence." This "a sentence" can be very simple, simple enough to consist of a single monosyllabic word, such as "Good!" (Hao!), or very complex, containing hundreds of morphemes, forming many words and phrases. While words and phrases are distinguished by complexity, each has its own scope, though sometimes the boundaries are unclear or reversed (e.g., "photograph" is a phrase, while "camera" is a word). More importantly, when a sentence is spoken, it must have intonation, and different intonations can express different meanings; while words and phrases, if not spoken as a complete sentence, have only one pronunciation and no intonation. Although structurally, most sentences have a subject and predicate, this is not an absolute standard. Even if it is just a phrase or a word, as long as it is spoken with a certain intonation, the listener knows the sentence is finished; even if it has a subject and predicate, as long as it is spoken with a different intonation, it is not a sentence, and the listener waits for you to continue. In writing, the intonation of a sentence ending is represented by a period, question mark, or exclamation mark, sometimes also by a semicolon. (It should be noted that often, where a sentence should end, a comma is used instead of a period, and this cannot be used as a basis for grammatical analysis. This is indeed related to the author's habit of using punctuation marks, but there are also objective reasons, which is what was mentioned above: Chinese colloquial language uses run-on sentences frequently, and many places can be broken or connected. If the concept of "sentence" is not strong, commas may replace periods.)
84 Based on the understanding of the above points, two issues can be discussed. The first issue is: since the relationship between the agent and patient cannot be used to distinguish the subject and object, can the order of position be used as a standard? This includes three issues. (1) Can all nouns before the predicate verb be determined as the subject? (2) Can all nouns after the predicate verb be determined as the object? (3) Can the noun after the verb, under certain conditions, move to the front of the verb and change from an object to a subject? Our thinking is: (1) The subject should be like a topic, those that "don't look like it" are not easily recognized as the subject. In the absence of a subject, it may be possible to recognize it as a "pseudo-subject." (2) The nominal components after the verb can be roughly divided into three categories: indicating things, indicating time and place, and indicating quantity. Some modern grammar books classify all of these as objects, some only recognize the ones indicating things as objects, and the rest as complements, while others say the latter are in a "sub-position," i.e., as adverbials (approximately, with details varying). We think it is better to treat them as a single component, but we do not advocate calling them objects (see below). (3) There is a great difference of opinion on this issue, and it cannot be listed one by one here. Our simple view is: if the "object" representing things moves to the front of the original subject, it must be recognized as the subject, and the original subject second (this sentence becomes a subject-predicate predicate sentence); if it does not meet this condition, the original identity remains unchanged, and the change in position does not alter its identity.
85 Object or Complement? The second issue is: since the object does not correspond to the subject, is there still a need to call it an object? Would it be better to change the name? It is true that the name "object" has been used for many years, it is familiar, and it is better not to change it. However, from another perspective, as long as you keep the name "object," people will pair it with the "subject," and they will need to find a standard to distinguish them, either the agent-patient relationship or the order of position; they will not think about the fact that each has its own opposite (one is the predicate, the other is the verb) and each has its own standard to distinguish itself from it. Because "object" and "subject" are paired, just like "yin" and "yang," "negative" and "positive," they are deeply rooted and unbreakable. No matter how many times you say "subject and object are not opposites," it is useless. Moreover, due to historical reasons, it is difficult to include things other than the patient (and those close to the patient) as objects; for example, some people shake their heads at "agent objects." So, if we don't call it "object," what should we call it? If there is no better name, it seems that "complement" might be a good choice. The name "complement" is better than "object" not only because it does not pair with the subject but also because it can include certain components that are not easily called objects. As for what is currently commonly called "complement," it can be studied further.