Questions tagged [classical-chinese]
Classical Chinese (古文, Pinyin: gǔ wén, "ancient text") is the language of the classic literature from the Spring and Autumn period through to the end of the Han Dynasty, a written form of Old Chinese. The term is also used for Literary Chinese (文言文 wényán wén, "text of written language"), a traditional style of written Chinese modelled on the classical language, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese.
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Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?
Classical and Middle Chinese are often considered monosyllabic languages - most words are single syllables. Modern Chinese however is considered disyllabic - most words are two syllables.
For example,...
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Do 之 and 的 come from the same word?
In modern Chinese 之 is thought of as the literary genitive particle and 的 as the colloquial. In most reconstructions of Old Chinese 之 looks very similar to the way 的 is pronounced now. For example in ...
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"May you live in interesting times"
I have often heard (and probably repeated) that there is a Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Is there really such a saying in Chinese? I can't think of one, and can't even think how ...
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How to explain usage of 照得上 站得下
could you explain, please, why we use 上 with some verbs? and with some 下？does it depends on the verb? 广场上停得下10辆车 10 cars can be placed here. 天安门照得上吗？Can you take picture of Tiananmen?
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Classical Chinese Literature - What languages could be written with it? And why?
I understand that classical Chinese (see Wikipedia) was very different from spoken Chinese (at least in the last centuries of its usage). Nevertheless, despite or maybe even because of this, it was ...
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How is 青 and 苍 used in classical Chinese to denote colors?
Here is what the dictionary says about 青:
1. 深绿色或浅蓝色：～草。～苔。 Dark Blue or light green.
2. 靛蓝色：靛～。～紫。 Indigo blue.
3. 黑色：～布。～衣。 Black.
Similar case is 苍:
1. 深青色，深绿色：～翠。～天。 Dark blue or green.
2. ...
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Resources for learning classical Chinese
I have a very strong interest in classical Chinese (文言文), but I am unable to find any ressources for learning it that don't assume Chinese is your mother language. Can anybody give me some pointers?
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What kind of typology does ancient Chinese belong to?
Modern Chinese belongs to the group of languages are isolating, just like English, but even purer. English once was not isolating but possessed flection.
Is the situation with English similar to that ...
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how to translate "何如" in 呂氏春秋?
this question is made, and answer provided; in response to a comment in another question:
How to translate the phrase 利而物利章 in context?
cause, my explanation is too long to put in the comment area; ...
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How to translate the phrase 利而物利章 in context?
I am reading a passage from 呂氏春秋. I think I understand the basic meaning of the three first quarters, but then it becomes difficult. The hard part is the tiny snippet below and especially the last ...
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are there any free bilingual sources of chinese proverb?
In reference to the thread Is this [Ivanka Trump] Chinese proverb real? —“Those who say it can not be done, should not interrupt those doing it” and related news, I've created this question, and ...
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What is the relationship between vernacular and literary Chinese?
I don't quite get the difference between and relationship of vernacular Chinese to literary Chinese.
I know that "literary Chinese" does not represents sounds, the way an alphabet does, so it is ...
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how to search words / clauses in classical / literary chinese?
this question is made, and answer provided; in lieu of a long comment. though info might be controversial (from that area's view), i sincerely hope that it's helpful to anyone interested in chinese ...
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Ancient forms of characters
According to Wiktionary, "This character, 朙, is an ancient form of 明".
I'd like to know what exactly ancient forms are and their current role in the language together with some academic reference, as ...
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Is 未長未短 grammatically correct (in classical Chinese)?
Is 未長未短 grammatically correct (in classical Chinese)?
The article
http://www.hainan-today.com/2012/201201/web/201201_28.htm
uses “未長未短”:
但与大门前的“翻天覆地”相比，作为景区主体之一的“雨林谷”变化却“含蓄”许多，景观还是两年前的样子，没多没少，...
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