History of Chinese Grammar

Author: Gong Qianyan
Editor-in-Chief: Gu Shixi et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-10-01
Features:
Excerpt: So, what exactly are "chapters," "sentences," and "phrases"? In the Wenxin Diaolong (The Art of Rhetoric) by Liu Xie of the Liang Dynasty, the Chapter and Sentence Chapter states: "Emotion has a dwelling, and words have a position. Emotion is called a chapter, and position is called a sentence. Therefore, a chapter is clear; a sentence is a boundary. Boundary words connect characters to divide territory, while clear emotion summarizes meaning to encompass the body: the boundaries are distinct, yet the paths are interconnected. When a person speaks, they start with characters to form sentences, accumulate sentences to form chapters, and accumulate chapters to form texts." Here, chapters and sentences are discussed in contrast and included in the generation sequence of character—sentence—chapter—text. Originally, a "chapter" is composed of sentences, forming a paragraph in an article, its function being to explain an event or principle; a "sentence" is composed of characters, its function being to "connect characters to divide territory," indicating the end of a sentence.
Furthermore, in the Record of the Lotus Sutra's Sentences by Zhanran, a monk from Tiantai in the Tang Dynasty, it is said: "Where the text ends is called a 'sentence,' and where the text does not end but is marked for recitation is called a 'phrase.'" (Volume 1) The term "ending of the text" refers to "words and meaning both ending," meaning a complete sentence; the term "text not ending" refers to "words breaking here but meaning not ending," meaning various phrases and clauses, which are places requiring pauses in sentences, i.e., "marked." From this passage, it is clear that sentence and phrase analysis is closely related to punctuation. The Song Dynasty scholar Mao Huang pointed out: "In the current system of secretariat bookkeeping, when a sentence ends, a mark is placed beside the character; when a phrase divides, a subtle mark is placed in the middle of the character." (Zeng Yun) The character for "phrase" is pronounced dou, and it is also called "tuo," "duan," or "dou."
The study of chapter and sentence analysis, as well as sentence and phrase analysis, in ancient China was not accidental. It served not only to read and interpret scriptures but was also closely related to the characteristics of the Chinese language. As everyone knows, Chinese lacks morphological changes and places greater emphasis on implication and connotation, making it highly dependent on linguistic context and context. This indicates that to correctly understand the meaning of a sentence and the meaning of a text, one must analyze and appreciate it within the context of paragraphs and passages. Paragraph analysis is very important for Chinese grammar research, but unfortunately, later influenced by Western grammar, grammar analysis often only extended to sentences. It was not until recently that some scholars re-included paragraphs in the system of grammar research.
As for the theory of sentence and phrase analysis, we believe it is more suitable for Chinese and better reflects its characteristics, making it even more important for Chinese grammar research. As everyone knows, Chinese, unlike Indo-European languages, does not focus on isolated sentences but emphasizes the connection between sentences, paying attention to the smooth flow of meaning and tone. Chinese, especially in spoken language, often uses continuous sentences where sentences seem disconnected yet linked, so whether to mark a "sentence" (with a circle) or a "phrase" (with a dot) is flexible. The prominent issue of punctuation in ancient Chinese texts also stems from this. From the perspective of Chinese itself, it was possible to establish a Chinese syntax system based on sentence and phrase analysis, and ancient scholars had already made some valuable explorations in this regard.
Initially, sentence and phrase annotation was indeed only for reciting scriptures, but gradually, it evolved into a specialized field of study, with research on the linguistic units of "sentences" and "phrases" themselves. For example, in the Annual Schedule for Reading in Cheng's Family School by Cheng Duanli of the Yuan Dynasty, there is detailed discussion. Regarding sentences, the book proposes the idea that "highlighting the outline results in a sentence," such as: "The way of the Great Learning is to manifest virtue, to transform the people, and to reach perfection." Highlighting the outline for a sentence, such as: "This is the learning for the young." (Volume 2, page 22) Regarding phrases, the book proposes the following ideas with examples: "The characters 'zhe' and 'ye' correspond to phrases," such as: "The Great Learning is the learning of the great." Phrases where meaning is not yet complete, such as: "Having clarified their own virtue, they should also extend it to others, so that they may remove the stains of their old habits." Repeating the previous text as a phrase, such as: "Said, then regarding this chapter, the 'manifesting virtue,' 'transforming the people,' and 'reaching perfection'—can we hear the detailed explanation?" Reversing the statement and then correcting it as a phrase, such as: "Not being close to their own kindred, not honoring the elderly—then what they cherish becomes thin without reaching the kindred and elderly of others." When a character above calls for a character below as a phrase, such as: "Why was the Doctrine of the Mean written? Zisi was concerned that the transmission of the Way and Learning had been lost, so he wrote it." When a character below follows the one above as a phrase, such as: "Virtue is the root, and wealth is the branch."