This is an English abstract of the German Book about Chinese rhetoric:
Horsten, Klaus: Die Lehre vom Zurechtlegen der Worte. Xiucixue - Möglichkeiten und Regeln des Formulierens im Chinesischen. Ein Beitrag zur angemessenen Wertschätzung der chinesischen Literatur, Projekt Verlag, Bochum, 1998

Xiucixue — The Chinese "Lore of Figures of Speech"

A book concerning the rules and possibilities of verbal formulation in the Chinese language — considering the matter of adequate appreciation of Chinese literature

(Original version in German)

By Klaus Horsten (Vienna/Austria)

"A man was one day gathering fuel, when he came across a deer, which he pursued and killed. Fearing lest anyone should see him, he hastily concealed the carcass in a ditch and covered it with leaves."

Putting this simple description from Herbert Giles into question form changes it from assertoric form into a problematic issue:

"Wasn’t there one day a man gathering fuel? And was it not that he came across a deer, which he pursued and killed? Didn’t he fear lest anyone should see him? And was it not that he hastily concealed the carcass in a ditch and covered it with leaves?"

There are four figures of speech in the text example:

1. the Yinyong 引用, the "quotation"
2. the Moxie 摹写, the "description"
3. the Shewen 设问, the "question-posing"
4. and since my description in question form stems from a text of another author, we have herein also an illustration of the Fangni 仿拟, the "imitation".

All this may sound simple and familiar. This is not so with the following example, which shows a peculiarity of the Chinese language, especially the Chinese writing, and may not be easily found in any other present-day language.

It is possible to split some Chinese characters in such a way that every new piece is a new character with its own meaning. This pattern is called Xizi 析字, "splitting of characters". You can split, for example, the character 柴 into 此 and 木, forming the sentence (in "Classical" Chinese): 此木为柴 ci mu wei chai "this wood is firewood".

There are 30 such figures of speech, creating 30 possibilities for arranging the words of both "Classical" and "Modern" Chinese, which form - one chapter each - the thematic focus of the book about the Xiucixue, the Chinese "Lore of Figures of Speech".

Translation: The common translation of the term Xiucixue using "rhetoric" biases the view on the subject, and was therefore avoided. Rhetoric is always persuasive (rhetoric in the Latin tradition is a bene dicendi scientia ad persuadendum). The "figures of speech" described by the Xiucixue, on the contrary, can be used in a neutral sense, without the intention of persuasion.

Generally the author tried to translate all the terms word by word preserving the imagery of the Chinese language. He avoided to identify Chinese terms with Latin or linguistic ones from the Western tradition. In this way he avoided that we only find what we already already know. The risk is that some translations may sound antiquated or weird.

Each chapter consists of two parts.

1. The first part describes the pattern and its subvarieties in their verbal and mental dimensions, with illustrative examples both in "Classical" and "Modern" Chinese;
2. the second contains the original Chinese rules, which are to be followed in using the pattern, also sufficiently illustrated with extracts from outstanding Chinese texts.

   Example: The "splitting of characters" (the Xizi) described above for instance,

   • should not be a mere play on words, but should rather function as a means of high style expression
   • the splitting should represent the reverse order of the historical development, so that one is allowed to split only those characters that were formally composed of other characters.

These rules - most often aesthetic - exist in the tradition of the Chinese 文学批评 wenxue piping "literary criticism".

They are opening a door to the "world of aesthetic values" of Chinese literature.

Is it, and if so, how is it possible, especially for a Westerner, to adequately appreciate the Chinese literature - the literature from yesterday and today - despite the temporal and cultural distance?

A digression leads to the discussion of this question, a discourse which confronts the two philosophical positions of the "value relativism" ("Wertrelativismus") and the "value absolutism" ("Wertabsolutismus"). The author considers this question has hitherto been neglected in sinolgy.

According to relativistic position values are relative to a person, purely subjective. According to value absolutism values can maybe only found in a person ("This is not fair!"), but inside the person they are in a way independet ("Justice/injustice" has its own characteristics).

The theory of the "figures of speech" expands our understanding of "Classical" and "Modern" Chinese language and literature.

It enables us to form Chinese texts in a similar way. Because of this, the book can be helpful both for students and teachers of Chinese.

The 30 figures of speech are:

1. Gantan 感叹 "sigh of emotion". The figuring of words to sentences, which express emotions and feelings, is called Gantan.

2. Shewen 设问 "question-posing". The figuring of words to a question is named Shewen.

3. Moxie 摹写 "description". The words can be figured in the that they describe something, a thing, a person, amatter or an event. The Chinese theoretics are calling this word-figure-pattern Moxie.

4. Fangni 仿拟 "imitation". The figuring of the words according to the example created by another person is named Fangni. The literary predecessor is copied not exactly but in variation.

5. Yinyong 引用 "quotation". Not only to figure the own words but also the words of another person, this pattern is called Yinyong.

6. Cangci 藏词 "concealed words". In the case that a writer or a speaker figures the words in the way that some words are missing, the missing words however can be guessed, the he is using the pattern Cangci.

7. Feibai 飞白 "flying white". If somebody figures the words in the wrong way willfully and intentionally, then this method of mental and verbal expression is called Feibai.

8. Xizi 析字 "splitting of characters". It is possible to split some Chinese characters like a pice of wood with the ax in the way, that every new piece stands for a new character for ist own. This possibility of the Chinese script is named Xizi.

9. Zhuanpin 转品 "conversion of parts of speech". To use a word for example once as a verb once as an adjective and once as a noun in the same or the following sentences means the application of what the Chinese theoretics are calling a Zhuanpin.

10. Wanqu 婉曲 "bending". The Wanqu is the figuring of words in the way that they circumscribe or hint at a certain matter without direct reference.

11. Kuashi 夸饰 "exaggeration". Figuring the words in the way that the indicated measure surpasses the real measure is an application of the pattern with the name Kuashi.

12. Piyu 譬喻 "illustrative elucidation". Owing to the pattern Piyu it becomes possible to figure the words in the way that the described matter or the told event becomes visible for the inner eye. Complicated and abscure matters are getting more comprehensible.

13. Jiedai 借代 "loan substitute". Every matter has its own words. If you lend the words from another matter to name your own matter you are using the pattern Jiedai.

14. Zhuanhua 转化 "transformation". If the writer or speaker figures the words in the way that dead things become alive or - reversely - a living being becomes thing-like, then he writes or speaks in the tracks of the pattern Zhuanhua.

15. Yingchen 映衬 "contrast. In both, Classical and Modern Chinese , it is possible to figure the words to oppositions, so that vague differences become distinct thanks to the emanatingcontrast". The name of this verbal and mental pattern is Yingchen.

16. Shuangguan 双关 "double reference". To figure purposely ambiguous words is called Shuangguan.

17. Daofan 倒反 "reversion and turn-over". The words can be figured so that they - whether in an neutral or a mocking tone - mean the opposite of what was said. This possibility of Chinese language and Chinese thinking is called Daofan.

18. Xiangzheng 象徵 "symbol". The words can be figured in the way that a visible and comprehensible thing stands for an abstract and complex meaning. The name of this word-figure-pattern is Xiangzheng.

19. Shixian 示现 "presentation". If the figuring of the words is oriented by the sense perception, then things get described as if one can see, hear, smell, taste or feel them. Because the real sense perception is only possible in the present, therefore things of the past or in the future are getting presented as if they were happening now.

20. Hugao 呼告 "call-to". The ugao is the calling to things, plants, animals, human or over-human beings as persons. Non-personal beings become personalized. The figuring of the words consists in a certain order: first, the name of the called person is stated and then follows the question or information.

21. Xiangqian 镶嵌 "pressing-in and insertion". Spring, autumn, summer, winter , east, south, north, west , the five Chinese ground colours blue, yellow, read, white, black , the taste qualities sweet, sour, bitter, hot, salty , the five inner organs heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney , the numerical series one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten or the position references left, right , above, below are in themselves small word systems, word associations , which can be inserted - as a whole or scattered - in an existing word row. This word intarsia is called Xiangqian.

22. Leidie 类叠 "resembling and piling-up". To figure the same words successively or separated by different words is the word pattern Leidie.

23. Duiou 对偶 "corresponding pair-limbs". If you figure the words in the way that the words in two sentences becomes different, but their number and grammatical form is in the one and the other sentence the same, then you are building a Duiou.

24. Paibi 排比 arranging in similar limbs". To describe something in three or more sentencens of which the words have more or less the same grammatical form is called Paibi. The words in their meaning are different, the matter they refer to however is the same.

25. Cengdi 层递 "passing-on in layers". To describe something with decreasing or increasing words or sentences is called Cengdi.

26. Dingzhen 顶针 "thimble". To figure the words in the way that a word or word-group form the end of the preceding sentence returns at the beginning of the following sentence is named Dingzhen.

27. Huiwen 回文 "reverse script". To figure the Chinese characters in a row, so that it becomes possible to read the row forward and backward with meaning is called Huiwen.

28. Cuozong 错综 "entangling". One main possibility to form a Cuozong is the partly word-for-word partly synonymical repetition of a group of words.

29. Daozhuang 倒装 "varied wrapping-up". If you are using the same words forming two or more different sentences, then you are writing or speaking according to the pattern with the name Daozhuang.

30. Tiaotuo 跳脱 "jumping and omitting". If the words are figured according to a line, which is interruptet or stopped, then the Chinese Xiucixue-theoretics are speaking of a Tiaotuo. The flow of the sentence for example is interrupted by another person but continues after a while or the speaker is mentally blocked and breaks off his speech by himself.