УРОК 57

GRAMMAR COMMENTARY

57.1. The shì (continued)

The story told in this lesson is known in at least two manuscripts. The first is a collection of parables "Stories of the Extraordinary," likely compiled by the famous statesman and writer of the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Pei (186–226). The second is the excerpt cited in the lesson from "Records of Spiritual Searches," compiled in the 4th century.

Interestingly, the same plot is told in these two versions using language that reveals some grammatical differences. These differences concern, in particular, the ways of expressing the relationship between the subject and the predicate.

Cao Pei's version uses the old lyric as a connective tissue. 也 yě: 夜行逢鬼,問曰誰,鬼曰鬼也 yè xíng f éng guǐ, wèn yuē shuí, guǐ yuē guǐ yě "[Song Dingbo] was walking one night and met the soul of a deceased person. He asked it: "Who are you?" The soul answered: "[I am] the soul of the deceased."

In the second, later version, the copula in a similar sentence is not 也 yě, but 是 shì: 夜行逢鬼,問之,鬼言我是鬼 yè xíng f éng guǐ, wèn zhī, guǐ yán wǒ shì guǐ "[Song Dingbo] was walking one night and met the soul of the deceased. He asked it ["Who are you?"]. The soul replied: "I am the soul of the deceased."

At the same time, in some other sentences in our text, the link is completely absent: 我新鬼, 故身重耳 wǒ xīn guǐ, gù shēn zhòng ěr "I am the soul of the recently deceased, so my body is heavy, that's all!"

57.2. Function word 復 fù

The primary meaning of the function word 復 fù is "again," "again," "also"; When combined with negation, it translates as "no longer...":
不復聽之 bù fù tīng zhī "I didn't listen to him anymore."

The second meaning of 復 fù brings it closer to 則 zé (when the latter occupies a position between the subject and the predicate, expressing some kind of opposition or logical turn of thought):
逢鬼,問之,鬼言我是鬼,鬼問汝復誰 f éng guǐ, wèn zhī, guǐ yán wǒ shì guǐ, guǐ wèn rǔ fù shuí "Met the soul of the deceased. He asked it [“Who are you?”]. The soul answered: “I am the soul of the deceased.” [Then] the soul asked: “And who are you?”

57.3. The functional word 將 jīang

In the post-classical period, the functional word 將 jīang acquired some new meanings.

This word, in particular, can convey the speaker's uncertainty about the veracity of their statement and can be translated into English by the words "probably" or "perhaps":
卿太重,將非鬼也 qīng tài zhòng, jiāng fēi guǐ yě "You are too heavy, you are probably not the soul of the deceased."

57.4. Indicator of Redundant Degree of Quality

In addition to the superlative degree of quality, in post-classical times, its redundant degree could also be expressed. For this, as in modern Chinese, the adverb 太 tài "too much" is used:
步行太遲 bù xíng tài chí "Walking too slowly."
卿太重 qīng tài zhòng "You are too heavy."

57.5. The Phrase "當時 dāng shí" as an Adverb of Time

Noun phrases with "時 shí" used to denote adverbs of time (當是時 dāng shì shí, 當...時 dāng... shí etc.) can be used in a shortened form, being reduced to "當時 dāng shí "at that time":
當時石崇有言 dāng shí shí chóng yǒu yán "At that time Shi Chung used to say..."