Journal of Chinese Historical Studies (Volume 5)

Author: Institute of the History of Chinese Language, Sichuan University
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-11-01
Features: Based on the above phonetic materials, it can be known that in the Middle Chinese period, certain characters in the Xī rhyme and the Xiào rhyme shared the same phonetic component and had similar pronunciations. Some characters close to the Xī rhyme in the Zhí rhyme or Zhì rhyme might also have pronunciations similar to certain characters in the Xiào rhyme. Therefore, it can be inferred that "yì" and "yào" might also have similar pronunciations and could be interchangeable. This phenomenon can be seen in Wenzhou dialect. In Wenzhou dialect, "yào" and "yì" are interchangeable, and "yào qiě" is the same as "yì qiě." Due to the mutual influence between homophones, "yào" might also be related to "rán." In Wenzhou dialect, "rán" is pronounced as (jie31), a falling tone, with palatalization. It is similar to the pronunciation of "yào" in Wenzhou dialect. Both are falling tones, and both have the same pitch contour. In the Song edition of "Píng," "rán" is a level tone character with the sound in the Xiān rhyme, such as "yán qiè." In Wenzhou dialect, the rhyme of characters in the Xiān rhyme is mostly [i] (can also be written as [ie]). The rhyme of characters in the Xiào rhyme is also mostly [i]. The phonetic colors are similar. Wenzhou dialect is one of the most complete dialects that retains ancient sounds since the Wei and Jin periods. In Wenzhou dialect, the rhyme of characters in the Xiān rhyme, Xiāo rhyme, and Xiào rhyme are similar. Therefore, it is believed that in a certain historical period and region of Middle Chinese, "yào" might also have a similar pronunciation to "rán." Based on the situation in Wenzhou dialect, it can be inferred that in a certain period of Middle Chinese history, mostly the period from the Han to the Wei and Jin, "yào" and "yì" had similar pronunciations, and in the context of expressing a (turning point), they were homophones with the same phonetic component. Later, "yào" might also have a similar pronunciation to "rán" and could be interchangeable. The pronunciations of "yì qiě," "yào qiě," "yào zì," and "rán ér" are all similar when read in Wenzhou dialect.
III. The Continued Grammaticalization of the Turning Point Conjunction "yào"
During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the turning point "yào" was placed at the beginning of the sentence, and its "important" meaning still left traces. Starting from the Tang Dynasty, "yào" was placed in the middle of the sentence, and its function was similar to "què," with the original meaning of the word disappearing almost entirely. Examples from Tang poetry:
(12) Knowing delusion, he said it should be sent, but feeling the turning point, it was difficult to decide. (Wei Yingwu: "Injury of Passing," Complete Tang Poetry)
(13) One looks like a fairy, and human feelings are biased. Luofu is good, but can the lord pity her? (Shi Jianwu: "Encountering Poem," Complete Tang Poetry)
When "yào" is used with "qiě" to express a turning point, it carries an unexpected meaning. It can be interpreted as "but, however, unexpectedly," etc. Examples from the Tang Dynasty:
(14) Since ancient times, not writing articles does not get fame, but writing articles seeks recognition. (Fang Gan: "Seeing a Disciple Wu Xiucai Off to the Imperial Examination," Complete Tang Poetry)
The "Biyan Lu" also preserves such usage:
(15) Master Liang is good at shooting arrows, but he doesn’t understand hitting the mark. (Biyan Lu, Volume 5)
"yào qiě" can also be written as "yào zì," for example:
(16) Everyone says that my face is beautiful, but my husband forgets home. (Jiang Weihan: "Lament," Complete Tang Poetry)
The Tang Dynasty also saw the format "suī (although) yào qiě," such as:
(17) Although wisdom is born in the spiritual realm, the effort is in the pen. (Fang Gan: "Xiang Zhu Scholar Painting Ink and Water on the Fishing Platform," Complete Tang Poetry)
(18) The whole garden of peach and plum is worth admiring, but the wind is late to bloom. (Luo Ye: "Early Plum," same as above)
(19) Although I don’t know your face, I am already moved. (Guan Xu: "Sending West Mountain Hu Fen," same as above)
In modern Chinese, the possible complement structure "v de (O)" has a corresponding negative form of "v bu de (O)," and the order of affirmation and negation is symmetrical, such as "can eat (rice)" / "cannot eat (rice)," "can say (words)" / "cannot say (words)." However, historically, this symmetrical pattern of affirmation and negation did not form from the beginning. The affirmative form "v de (O)" first appeared in the Six Dynasties and became widespread in the Tang Dynasty. Its origin is the grammaticalization of "v de (O)" expressing realization and result in a specific unrealized context. Meanwhile, its negative form remained asymmetrical with the affirmative form for a long time in the late medieval Chinese period, where if it took an object, the object had to appear before "de," forming "VO bu de." Why was the early form of the possible complement structure with affirmation and negation asymmetrical? What caused this? How did the symmetrical pattern of "V de (O) / V bu de (O)" in modern Chinese form? This paper aims to analyze these questions, focusing on the origin and development of the negative form "V (O) bu de."
I. The Origin of the Possible Complement Structure "V (O) bu de"
1.1 Regarding the origin of the possible complement structure "V (O) bu de," many scholars believe it was formed by the postposition of the ancient Chinese ability auxiliary verb "bu de" (Wang Li, 1958, 1984; Zhou Fagao, 1959; Yue Junfa, 1984; Li Xiaoqi, 1985; Jiang Shaoyu, 1994, 1995), with the formation time dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Takada Tatsuo (1958) and Jiang Shaoyu (1995) argue that the asymmetry between "V de (O)" and "VO bu de" is due to their different origins. The "de" in the former is further abstracted from "de1" (referring to the "de" after a verb indicating realization and result), while the latter is formed by placing "bu de2" (referring to the "de" before a verb indicating possibility) after the verb. The emergence time of "V de (O)" (Tang Dynasty) is much later than that of "VO bu de" (Han Dynasty) because "bu de2" could be placed after the verb early on, while the "de" in "V de (O)" evolved from "de" (verb) → "de1" (indicating realization) → "de1" (indicating possibility), a process that required time. Is it true that "V de (O)" and "VO bu de" have different origins? Is "VO bu de" directly formed by the postposition of the ability auxiliary verb "bu de"? The actual situation is likely more complex than this.
1.2 In pre-Qin texts, "bu de" was already used after a verb, such as:
(1) The gentle and graceful woman, awake or asleep, seeks her; seeking her, she cannot, awake or asleep, she thinks of her. (Book of Songs · Zhou Nan · Guan Ju)
(2) Planning together, not getting it; carrying out, not succeeding; governing inward, not being firm; going outward, not punishing strongly. (Mozi · Shang Xian)
(3) The Marquis of Jing refused but did not get it, and after three days, he listened. (Zhan Guo Ce · Qi Ce I)
In example (2), the four clauses have the same syntax, especially the first two, "planning together, not getting it" and "carrying out, not succeeding" are parallel, with "de" and "cheng" meaning close, both meaning "achieve, realize," "de" and "cheng" are the main verbs in the clauses, respectively forming a subject-verb relationship with the preceding "planning" and "carrying out." In example (3), although "de" is not the literal meaning of "obtain," it is still an extended usage of the meaning of "obtain," similar to "obtain approval, be permitted," "de" and "listening" have similar meanings, "listening" is also the meaning of "allow, permit, comply," as noted in the annotation of Gao You: "listening, to receive." Also in the "Book of States · Zhou Yu": "The people listened because of this." Wei Zhao’s annotation: "listening, to follow." Still a verb. In example (3), this sentence should actually be parsed as "The Marquis of Jing refused, not getting it, after three days, he listened." The subject of "not getting it" is the "Qin King" that has already appeared earlier. Therefore, the "V not getting it" in these examples clearly did not form from the postposition of the ability auxiliary verb "not getting it."
In the Han Dynasty, "V (O) not getting it" appeared in large numbers, but according to our investigation, the "de" in this period did not carry the meaning of ability; it was still a verb. Based on the semantic category of the verb V, "de" can be divided into two categories:
A. V is a "acquisition" sense verb, such as "chasing, seeking, asking, hunting, capturing, pursuing," etc., "de" shows a clear meaning of "obtain," such as:
(4) The Khagan himself thought that he could not fight against the Han army like the Han army, so the Khagan fled alone with hundreds of cavalry northwest of the Han encirclement, and the Han army chased at night but did not catch them. (Records of the Historian · Biography of the Xiongnu)
(5) An ignorant person entered the palace, seeking the Duke but did not find him. Seeing a foot under the door, he looked and found it to be the Duke, so he killed him, and the ignorant person stood up as the Duke of Qi. (Records of the Historian · Biography of the Grand Tutor of Qi)
(6) The eunuch fled, and the envoy sent Nong Qing to pursue but did not catch him, and he drank soup and died in fear. (Records of the Han Dynasty · Biography of Su Wu)
(7) Why don’t you see the suffering, why do you lose your way, instead of seeking it in the four fields, seeking but not getting, you will be poor and old. (Combined Edition of the Taiping Jingshi, P. 26)
This type of "V (O) not getting it" can also be analyzed as "V (O), not getting it."
B. V has an unclear "acquisition" sense, such as "fighting, going out, passing, piercing," etc., "de" means "achieve (purpose), realize." For example:
(8) The Marquis of Wei left, and Guan Fan went out, but Wu An was angry and said: "This is my crime against Guan Fan." So he ordered the cavalry to leave Guan Fan, and Guan Fan wanted to go out but could not. (Records of the Historian · Biography of Wei Ji and Wu An)
(9) The Kingdom of Dayuan heard that the Han Dynasty was rich in wealth, wanted to pass but could not, saw Qian, and was happy, asking: "Where do you want to go?" (Records of the Historian · Biography of Dayuan)
(10) Jing Ke, as the crown prince of Yan, assassinated the King of Qin, holding a dagger in his hand, but he could not pierce it, and the King of Qin drew his sword and struck him. (Lunheng · Ru Zeng)
The above two types of "V (O) not getting it," "de" is either a real sense verb, either meaning "obtain" or "achieve (purpose)," clearly showing that "not getting it" was not the result of the postposition of the ability auxiliary verb "not getting it." For example:
(11) "This is higher than the deep gulf and deeper than the hill." Compare the five dynasties, who is better?" (Huiguo)
"Compare" is similar to "square," a new word in the parallel structure; Buddhist texts still use the single-syllable old word "compare," such as:
"Among the Buddhist temples, the women’s virtue is like the jade girls, wanting to compare the jade girls with the Buddhist temples women." (313, 756, 1)
"Compare" is cited in the "Dictionary of Terms" from the "Records of the Three Kingdoms · Wei Zhi."
(12) "The rest, the knowers know the poor are poor and can share a hundred, think the rich are rich and have the rest." … The knowers, know the literati and scholars have the same pen, and the scholars in their hearts have more rest." (Liangzhi)
"Rest" is similar to "remainder," a new word in the parallel structure; Buddhist texts still use the old word "remainder," such as:
"Measure the clever, measure nothing is left" (98, 924, 3)
3.3 Repeated, Old
"Lunheng" uses repeated new words, and Buddhist texts use repeated old words. According to preliminary investigation, there are 4 items as follows:
"Chanfu / Kuifu": "Ashamed of punishment and humiliation, he deeply blamed himself, so he did not worship his ancestors in the tomb." (Four Abominations)
"Fu" is similar to "ashamed," cited in the "Later Han Dynasty · Biography of Zhang Bu": "Fu fu, there is nothing to say." Li Xian’s annotation: "Fu, ashamed. Repeatedly said, very ashamed." "Lunheng" also sees "Chanfu," such as:
"Old rituals in temples, now customs in tombs, so not ascending, ashamed of the ancestors, one meaning is also." (Four Abominations)
Buddhist texts inherit the old word "ashamed," such as:
"Tonsured and dressed in robes, how not to be ashamed, ashamed of clothes, the world wears more dust." (196, 155, 2)
"Chanfu," the "Dictionary of Terms" cites the "Later Han Dynasty · Biography of Fan Hong"; "Kuifu" is cited in Su Shi’s "Answering Tao’s Poetry" (one).