Research on the Perfective Aspect in the "Collected Conversations of Chu Zi"

Author: Yang Yonglong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: This book attempts to use modern linguistic theories to describe and analyze several adverbs, auxiliary words, and modal particles expressing the aspect of completion in the Collected Conversations of Chu Zi from various aspects such as syntactic structure, event types, situation types, and tense structure. On this basis, it strives to make as much comparison between ancient and modern as possible, tracing its origins and developments. It also conducts preliminary discussions on the aspect of completion and related theoretical issues. The book consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 discusses the corpus value and dialectal basis of Collected Conversations of Chu Zi. It argues that Collected Conversations of Chu Zi is a relatively rare and ideal corpus, with its linguistic features being based on literary colloquial language supplemented by northern Min dialectal elements.
Chapter 2 introduces and explores the concepts of "aspect," "completion aspect," and related theoretical issues, aiming to understand completion within the broader context of aspectual categories. Building on domestic and international theories of aspectual studies, it illustrates the close relationship between aspect, event types, tense, and situation through examples from Collected Conversations of Chu Zi and modern Chinese that involve the completion aspect.
Chapter 3 discusses adverbs of completion, primarily describing the usage of several adverbs such as "ji," "yi," "yi zi," "ye shi," and "ye jing" in Collected Conversations of Chu Zi. It emphasizes that "ji" is typically used in background event sentences, where it also functions to indicate relative precedence alongside its aspectual meaning of completion; whereas "yi," "yi zi," "ye shi," and "ye jing" are mainly used in foreground event sentences, primarily to indicate the realization of a state. This chapter further explores the origins and development of these adverbs.
Chapter 4 discusses the various usages of "le" in Collected Conversations of Chu Zi and related issues. By considering the syntactic patterns in which "le" appears, its aspectual meaning, as well as its temporal and modal meanings, this book categorizes the "le" components in Collected Conversations of Chu Zi into four major types and nine subtypes. The four major types are: "le0" (as a complement), "le1" (indicating completion), "le2" (indicating realization), and "le3" (indicating modality). These four types of "le" form a gradual sequence in terms of grammaticalization.
Chapter 5 discusses the various usages of "guo" in Collected Conversations of Chu Zi, as well as its origins and grammaticalization process. It analyzes and describes the "guo1" and "guo2" in Collected Conversations of Chu Zi, as well as the yet-to-be fully grammaticalized "guo0," from both syntactic patterns (V guo, V guo O, VO guo) and grammatical meaning. It further conducts preliminary discussions on the origins and grammaticalization processes of "guo1" and "guo2."