The post-classical language undergoes a significant qualitative leap
related to the development of counting constructions.
First of all, numerous counting words used for counting objects piece by piece appear during this period.
Etymologically, most of them originate from the names of parts
of a whole object: 頭 tóu "head" (for cattle); 株 zhū "trunk" (for trees);
領 lǐng "collar" (for robes, jackets, etc.); 要 yào "belt" (for skirts and pants).
At the same time, there was a more universal counter 枚 méi, used to count such diverse
objects as weapons, jewelry, musical instruments, dishes, small utensils, as well as birds, fish, snakes, etc.
Although in post-classical languages one can find examples of a numeral combined with a noun directly, without a counter (for example, 一人 yī rén "one person"), the most
common counter constructions are the following two:
1. Noun - numeral - counter: 白象五百頭 bái xiàng wǔ bǎi tóu "500 white elephants"; 金錢二枚 jīn qián èr méi "two gold coins".
2. Numeral - counter - name: 二百五十頭牛 èr bǎi wǔ shí tóu niú "250 cows"; 七枚煎餅 qī méi jiān bǐng "seven cakes".
The second type of construction is characteristic of the post-classical language; it was not found in earlier texts.
Note that 人 rén "person" is used as a counter for people: 道十八人 dào shí bā rén "eight Daoists"; 妓女三百人 jì nǚ sān bǎi rén "300 female singers".
Evidence that the process of forming counters is not yet complete is the use of the same nouns
with different counters. For example, when counting fish, the counters 頭 tóu and 枚 méi are used, for cakes, 番 fān and 枚 méi, and so on. Later, the connection between the noun and the corresponding counter becomes more stable.
In ancient Chinese, up until the post-classical period, when it was necessary to indicate how many times a particular action occurred, the corresponding numeral was placed before the predicate (37.2). This construction is also found, although extremely rare, in texts of the post-classical period:
向象三説 xiàng xiàng sān shuō "He said three times to the elephant..."
A fundamentally new way of expressing the frequency of actions,
appearing in the post-classical language, is associated with the formation
of a class of special counters. These include 下 xià, 匝 zā, 重 chóng, 回 huí, 過 guò, 次 cì, and some others. They are used
in the construction: predicate - numeral - counter:
以仗打我三下 yǐ zhàng dǎ wǒ sān xià "Hit me three times with a staff.".
繞我舍七匝 rào wǒ shè qī zā "Walk around my house seven times!"
試作兩三回 shì zuò liǎng sān huí "Try doing it two or three times.".
Just as nominal counters derive from names, so counters expressing the frequency of an action have a predicative origin: 過 guò "to pass," 回 huí "to return," 下 xià "to descend," 次 cì "to line up in order," etc.
In addition to 可 kě, the words 當 dāng and 將 jiāng are also used to denote approximate quantity in post-classical languages: 當六十人 dāng liù shí rén "about sixty people"; 將數十人 jiāng shù shí rén "approximately several dozen people".
While in the Early Classical period, the most common name used as a first-person pronoun was 臣 chén "servant," in the Late Classical and Postclassical period, 僕 pú is just as common, with the same meaning: 僕已有室家兒子且大 pú yǐ yǒu shì jiā ér zǐ qiě dà "I have a family, and besides, my son is already grown up.".
The adversative conjunction 卻 què can be translated into English with the words "a," "zhe," etc.: 女郎却在東岸 nǚ láng què zài dōng àn "The girl was on the east bank.".
The function word 方 fāng indicates that the subsequent action took place no earlier than the completion of the preceding one. It corresponds to the English "and only after that," "and only then": 甄停十餘日方敢去 zhēn tíng shí yú rì fāng gǎn qù "Zhen stayed there for more than ten days and only after that decided to leave.".
The phrase 云何 yún hé replaces an adverbial modifier that qualifies the predicate and is similar in usage to 何 hé. The English translation is "why": 云何見拒 yún hé jiàn jù "Why are [we] being rejected?"
In ancient China, in addition to their official name (名 míng), each person had another, which is incorrectly called a nickname (字 zì). The latter was used among acquaintances, friends, and colleagues. In biographies, both names are often given.
Zhongshan Prefecture was established during the Han Dynasty on the site of the Zhanguo Dynasty of the same name. It was located in what is now Hebei Province.
Yundu County, where Zhen Chong was appointed governor, was located in the Hubei Province region, and Huihuai bordered it.