Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar

Review By any measure the most important book-length work on Classical Chinese grammar to have appeared in a Western language since Gabelentz's comprehensive grammar of more than a century ago ... a very sophisticated and scholarly treatment of Classical Chinese grammar, it is all the same entirely appropriate for even a beginning-level class. -- William G. Boltz ― Journal of Asian StudiesFinally there is a comprehensive grammar of Wenyan in English. Here in one volume one has handy the major grammar references needed to approach Classical Chinese texts. This useful book is the first comprehensive treatment of the grammar of the ancient form of Chinese used by the great philosophers like Confucius and Mencius.... useful to all students of Classical Chinese language and philosophy. ― WordtradeA most welcome and practical book ... I have been waiting for a book like this for years. The text is beautifully clear. And not only does it make work for people like me just that much more reasonable, it also reduces the man hours it usually takes merely to set out the sounds of even a short poem. I for one am grateful. -- Professor Wayne Schlepp, Deptartment of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto Product Description Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar is a comprehensive introduction to the syntactical analysis of Classical Chinese. Focusing on the language of the high classical period, which ranges from the time of Confucius to the unification of the empire by Qin in -221, the book pays particular attention to the Mencius, the Lunyu, and, to a lesser extent, the Zuozhuan texts.Renowned for his work in Classical Chinese, Edwin Pulleyblank opens the book with a brief historical overview and a discussion of the relationship between the writing system and the phonology. This is followed by an outline of the overall principles of word order and sentence structure. He then deals with the main sentence types - nominal predicates, verbal predicates, and numerical expressions, which constitute a special type of quasiverbal predication. The final section covers topics such as subordinate constituents of sentences, non-declarative sentence types, and complex sentences.Clear and well organized, Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar is an authoritative study and will be an invaluable resource tool for anyone involved in Chinese language studies. Book Description A classic in the field, this comprehensive analysis of classical Chinese includes a historical overview, principles of word order and sentence structure, and analyses of sentence types and complex sentences. About the Author Edwin G. Pulleyblank is professor emeritus of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.