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Classical Chinese - Coggle Diagram

- - - - 二 ‘They are different/divided.’
        不一 ‘They are varied/disparate/disunified.’
- - - - Marked off with a final particle such as 哉, 也, or 乎
        
        大哉堯之為君 ‘How great Yao was as a ruler!’
- - - - 自 + Time phrase + VP + 至于 + Time phrase
      - 自 + Time phrase
- - - - when no object is present, 自 indicates that
        the action of the verb is being performed reflexively
      - If the verb has an object,自 indicates that
        the action is being performed by the subject him/herself
    - - the action of the verb refers to all members of the set to which the subject belongs
    - - the action of the verb refers to no members of the set to which the subject belongs
    - - the action of the verb refers to this member of the set
        (in addition to, or occasionally instead of, others)
      - 亦 is translated as ‘also’ or ‘for his/her/their part
        
        王亦知之 ‘The king also knew of it.’
      - Sometimes 亦 is translated as ‘surely’, ‘indeed’, or ‘greatly’
        
        亦將有以利吾國乎 ‘Surely you must have some means of benefitting my state?’
      - pattern [A] 不亦 B 乎 forms a rhetorical question in which 亦 is not translated
        
        不亦大乎 ‘Is it not large?
    - - 乃
        
        (as nominal sentence particle): ‘is actually..., turns out to be...’
        
        此乃兩主之事也 ‘This is in fact a matter [instigated by our] two masters...’
        
        ‘then, only then’;
        
        五往乃得視之 ‘He was only able to inspect it after going five times.’
      - 猶
        
        ‘still’
        
        猶未知退 but still do not have the sense to withdraw...’
        
        (as nominal
        sentence particle) ‘be like, analogous to’
        
        猶欲之楚而北求之也 ‘This is like wanting to go to Chu and seeking it in the north.’
  - - - These can be prefixed to verb phrases or clauses
        (i.e. SUBJ + VERB PHRASE) to form subordinate clauses
        
        人主雖賢 ‘Even though a ruler may be capable.
        非如是 ‘Unless he is like this
      - frequently appended to noun phrases
        
        雖 may be translated as ‘even’ and 非 as ‘only’
        
        雖小子知之 ‘Even a small child would know it.’
        非明主弗能聽也 ‘Only an enlightened ruler can listen to him.’
- - - - 王(s)從東道(coverb)入(v)其國(o)
  - - - relative to a place or time, or
        relative to a particular thing, person, or topic
        
        吾聞之於王
        
        止於門外
    - - is preposed only to indicate emphasis
    - - 進之楚王 ‘He presented it to the king of Chu.’
    - - As for the relationship between
        
        父之於子也，令有必行者，必不行者
        
        As for the relationship between a father and a son, there are commands that would certainly be carried out and those that would certainly not be carried out.
  - - - 王以刀殺臣 ‘The king killed the vassal with a sword.’
    - - 治之以仁 ‘He kept them in good order by means of humanity.’
    - - 以 often appears between two clauses
        
        the first being the means for accomplishing the second or the second being the goal of the first
        
        in order to’ or ‘as a means to’
        
        殺人以自生 ‘He killed others to keep himself alive.’
      - object pronoun 之 is never used with 以;
        instead 以 alone appears
        
        translated as ‘by these means’, ‘thereby’, or ‘for this reason’
      - Set patterns
        
        以為. 以 [A] 為 B means ‘make A into B’ or ‘consider A to be B’.
        
        以我為君子 ‘He considers me to be a gentleman.’
        
        何以 means ‘by what means’ or ‘how’.
        
        吾何以知其善也 ‘How do I know that he is good?
        
        可以. Literally this means ‘can be used as a means to.’
        
        可以食之 ‘He can eat it.
        
        堪士不可以驕恣屈也 ‘Able men cannot be humbled by means of arrogance and unbridled behaviour.
        
        足以 ‘enough to’,
        難以 ‘difficult to’,
        易以 ‘easy to’
        
        所以. ‘the means by which’ or ‘the reason why’
        
        其所以亡者二 ‘There are two reasons why it perished.’
        
        The means by which
        
        是三者，非所以養德也 These three things are not the means to nourish virtues
        
        The reason why
        
        所以不對
        This is the reason why I am not replying.
        
        以 with transfer verbs
        
        以 X VERB Y, ‘transfer X to Y’
        
        以王之死告民 ‘They announced the death of the king to the people.’
        
        以 with position words
        
        以 followed by a position word indicates a range in space or time
        extending from a point in the direction described by the position word
        
        自今以後 ‘From now on...’
        自中人以上 ‘People from the middle level on up.’
        
        所以然
        
        而不知其所以然 but does not know why this is so.
- - - - She stopped him
      - actual (‘factitive’) or in the mind (‘putative’)
        
        大之
        
        He made it bigger’;
        ‘He considered it to be large.’
- - - - 之 Placed between a subject and its verb
        
        the subject functions as adjunct
        
        If the subject is known from context, 其 may be substituted
        
        王之來 ‘the king’s coming’ / ‘that the king comes’
        其來 ‘his coming’ / ‘that he comes’
  - - - In most cases, the resulting noun phrase will replace the subject
        
        仁者不為 One who is humane would not do this.
        
        天下之君有好仁者 ‘There are rulers in the world who are fond of kindness’
    - - refers not to a specific person or people,
        but to the performance of the action in general
        
        為善者非善也 ‘Doing good is not [in itself] goodness.’
    - - It means ‘this thing X’ or ‘this person so-and-so’
        
        國者君之車也 ‘(This thing) the state is the lord’s chariot.’
  - - - 所為 ‘that which he does’
      - If the subject is present, it exists in an adjunct relationship with the 所 noun phrase
        
        之 may be added
        
        其 may be used when the subject is already known from context
        
        君子所為 ‘what a gentleman does’
    - - 者 marks the end of the nominalized phrase
        
        我所不為者 ‘what I would not do’
    - - 有所知 ‘There is something she knows’ or ‘She knows something.’
      - Often with 有 and 無 the 所 is omitted
        
        欲有求於我 ‘He wants to seek something from me.’
        
        有 and 無 are frequently used with 以 in this way
        
        吾無以知其善者 ‘I have no way of knowing which ones of them are good.’
    - - 不知其所受之 they are not conscious of where they receive this from
- - - - Noun Phrase
        
        Coordination
        
        both units have equal rank
        
        母女
        
        車與牛
        
        Subordination
        
        two nouns have unequal rank
        modifier (adjunct) and head phrase
        
        N1 + N2 國王
        
        Pr + N 我國
        
        Adj + N 大雨
        
        N1 + 之 + N2
        天之子
        NP1 + 之 + NP2
        天下山水
        
        Uses of 之
        
        Particle between
        modifier and head
        
        (pronoun) ‘him, her, it’
        
        (verb) ‘Go (to)’
      - pronoun 己
        
        ‘second degree’ version of ‘self’
        once removed from the most immediate subject of the verb
        
        臣恐王自殺 ‘The minister was afraid that the king would kill himself/commit suicide.’
        臣恐王殺己 ‘The minister was afraid that the king would kill him.’
- - - - 楚之南
    - - 外國
    - - 上 ‘superiors (in a hierarchy or bureaucracy); the emperor’
      - 下 ‘inferiors, subordinates’
      - 後 ‘heir, successor, descendants’
      - 左右 ‘attendants, entourage, advisors’ (of a ruler)
- - - - 皆, 莫, 必
    - - 上索我者 ‘The authorities want me
        以我有美珠也 because I have a beautiful pearl.
- - - - can be used adverbially, especially with the negative 不 in which case it means ‘why’ or ‘how’ 王何不用其臣
    - - functioning as object, interrogative pronouns are always preposed
        何見
- - - - ‘to arrive’; ‘arrive at,
        reach’ (a place or time)
        
        (as adverb) ‘most,
        perfectly’
        
        (as adjunct or adverb)
        ‘utmost, perfect; -est, the most...
      - 去之
    - - 出其妻
- - - - 子欲往
      - 不得進
- - - - preposed pronoun
        不我知
      - 弗
        不 + 之
      - refusal
        女不從其父
    - - Possessive verb
      - A location as
        the subject
        山有木
        
        有A有B 有國有家
        
        有A無B 有秦無楚，
        
        無A無B 無地無民
        
        無A有B 無獨有偶
    - - refers to something that has just been mentioned 是人來
      - be right, correct, hold true
    - - in the sense of ‘mostly’ or ‘in large numbers’,
        can refer either to the subject or the object
    - - often means simply ‘to do’
        誰為之
        
        Sometimes 為 also has the meaning
        ‘become’, ‘act as’, ‘amount to’, or even ‘to be’
        
        A 為 B implies an equivalence which may be temporary, or based on general
        
        我為臣 ‘I act as the capacity of the vassal.’
        
        為is used to express a general opinion
        
        八子不為少 ‘Eight sons is not / does not constitute a small number.
      - 為 sometimes takes an indirect object,
        which precedes the direct object
        
        吾為之臣 ‘I act as a vassal to him.’
    - - • It indicates a change from one state to another, or
        • It indicates the accomplishment or completion of an action which was previously undone
        
        王死矣 ‘The king has died’ / ‘The king is now dead.’
    - - 也 can occur as final particle in verbal sentences
        
        Sometimes it forms an embedded verbal sentence,
        a verbal sentence embedded within a nominal sentence frame
        
        This adds the meaning ‘it is/is not the case that’
        (the action described in the sentence took place)
        
        古之人非無寶也，
        其所寶者異也,
        ‘It is not true that the people of antiquity had no treasures;
        what is true is that what they treasured was different.’
    - - 哉 is used to show emphasis
      - !
        
        美哉 This is beautiful!
    - - used at the end of a sentence
        it is often an interrogative final particle
        
        求之與？
      - together; and
      - (as a transitive verb) ‘to give’
    - - negative command used in the second person
      - refrain from’ when used in the third person
      - When the object of the verb is the pronoun 之,
        the contraction 勿 is used
      - 無望君之死 ‘Do not hope for the lord’s death.’
    - - ‘out of reach’
      - not as good as; inferior to
        
        狀貌不及中人 His looks and bearing hardly measured up to the average man.
    - - to not have enough time
        
        未及學 The student had yet to complete their studies
      - yet to reach
        
        未及山而還 He has not yet reached the hills and he returned.
    - - 不如: ‘not as good as; inferior to’
      - 無如: ‘no one can compare with’
        
        無如寡人之用心者 No one can compare to how much effort I put in it
    - - Some
        
        或A或B: ‘Some will do A, and others will do B.’
        
        或謂 or 或曰: ‘Someone said’
    - - to be so, be true; consider to be so, agree with
      - 然 can also be used as a suffix: ‘ly
        
        怵 chù: ‘to shock’ → 怵然 chùrán: ‘shockingly; in a shocking manner’
    - - simply; that’s all, that’s it
        
        直不百步耳
        They did not quite run a hundred paces
    - - 不勝 bùshèng ‘cannot bear or stand; be unequal to’
    - - ‘all the..., all the various...
      - Fusion particle: 之 + 乎
        
        有諸？ ‘Does this exist?
      - Fusion particle: 之 + 於
        
        君子求諸己 ‘What the gentleman seeks, is in himself.’
- - - - 聞而知之 ‘He knew it from having heard about it.’
- - - - 吾
      - 予 / 余
      - 我
    - - 爾
      - 汝 / 女
      - 若
    - - 之
        
        cannot be the subject
      - 其