What is the translation of the literary device of antimetabole in Chinese? I'm sure a bunch of idioms use it, but I haven't found a good translation for the term. For instance, how would someone describe the device used in "寧我負人，毋寧負我"? And in general, is there a resource for a good compilation of common literary devices used in classical or contemporary written Chinese?
asked Jun 22, 2022 at 3:38
2 Answers
A good source is this for chinese idioms.
An antimetabole is a rhetorical device - 修辞手法
"Antimetabole is a figure of speech in which a phrase is repeated, but with the order of words reversed. John F. Kennedy's words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," is a famous example of antimetabole."
In Chinese, "人人為我,我為人人" is a good example. Also, we frequently see the writing in the bathroom - "親親愛我" follows under "我愛親親", is another :)
Note, I think "寧我負人，毋寧負我" is the reverse of "寧人負我，我毋負人", which fits another definition of "Antimetabole" - the repeated phrase, with words reordered, turning about in the opposite directions, often in an ironic manner.
汉语回环?春晚睡昏昏，昏昏睡晚春