A Study Of Chinese Color Terms In Pre-Sui Dynasty

The historic evolution research of vocabulary field is an important content for establishing complete Chinese vocabulary history. The color term is a big divided part of vocabulary gathering from the acceptation angle which has some abjuration with a limited research possibility. With the Pre-Sui dynasty divided into ancient times and mediaeval times(based on the Dong-han times), researching on pre-Sui Chinese color terms'historic evolution and describing its acceptation gathering and combinative relationship is the base of establishing a complete Chinese color terms history and Chinese vocabulary history, and also an important platform for discovering interrelated vocabulary phenomena and regulations.The pre-Sui color terms system mainly comprises five categories of phraseologies: red, black, white, cyan, and yellow. From ancient to mediaeval times the system's single syllabic words are generally steady with exhibition of a large quantity in common and highly frequent usage rate. Meanwhile, the system's complex tone phraseologies change greatly in rapid quantity increase and a relatively low proportion in common, which generally speaking, have the formation models of apposition and affixation.Through the previous analysis all these five categorized color terms can be divided into diverse acceptation accumulations in addition to the tendency observation of the combination between one certain color term acceptation and other one, especially the adjacent color term and accompanied diagnostic one. This combination has the forms of single syllabic words and complex tone words, in which the former has a hidden combined acceptation, while the latter showcases the realistic shell.Through observation on the objective arrangement situations of all main single syllabic words and six categorized terms we can understand the difference in arrangement objectives of main members within the same term field. The common point represents the side of identical acceptation within members, while the different is due to minute difference and diverse origins among one another. Take this word"缟''as an example, which originally means white raw silk. But later it only means abstract whiteness after separation of the color acceptation from the objective meaning. Restrained by its acceptation origin and modifying only the fabric objects it develops no arrangement ones in other terms fields. As for this word"骍'', which originally means the red horse, it is used to modify animals when developing the abstract red acceptation. So is the word"骊''.We can also observe some color terms'evolution from ancient times into mediaeval times in terms of usage frequency and arrangement objects which can explain and corroborate each other. The most obvious example is that the term"红''showcases the prominent tendency to replace the word"赤''in terms of usage frequency, arrangement ranges, and word-building capabilities. With the declining status of such words like"纁'',"苍'',"玄''and"缁'', they develop no new arrangement objectives in succession to ancient ones. With the ascending status of such words like"绛'',"绿'',"黑''and"皂'', the arrangement range of these words develop greatly.Taking into consideration of color terms'usage frequency, word-building capabilities and arrangement ranges, we think that the five-color terms group including"赤'',"黑'',"白'',"青''and"黄''has a basic color terms of"赤'',"玄,黑'',"白'',"青''and"黄''in ancient times, while they are"赤'',"黑'',"白'',"青''and"黄''in mediaeval times. It's easy to see that the black categorized terms"玄''and"黑''change from two into only one, the"红''has the tendency to replace the"赤''for the red terms, and"绿''to replace"青''for the cyan ones.Colors and nominal objects usually have a fusion form in ancient times and a batch of phraseologies take place in mediaeval times consisting of color terms plus original word with color acceptation having spillage over the original word due to the latter's wearing away and expansion for accurate expression or because of word shapes, rhetoric and perceptions. The mediaeval times vocabulary develop from enfolding into unfolding with color terms'acceptation spillage as its one sort, which conform to the general Chinese vocabulary developmental tendency.Nominal objects are denominated on the basis of colors impacted upon ancestors'visualizing thoughts, which is represented in a series of same-origin single syllabic nominal terms with colors'meanings showcasing the derivations in ancient times, while in mediaeval times which is represented in the complex tone terms with color terms as the constitutional elements functioning as delimitations and classifications or by means of metonymy. We can explain the two methods'cognitive mechanisms utilizing the intellective modes of metonymy and metaphor.Through the pectination over the acceptations evolution modes of mostly used 30 single syllabic color terms we discover that featuring the family similarities, the color terms acceptation system is formed by means of metonymy and metaphor, which is based on different far or near meaning correlations between categorized acceptations and original color acceptations with derivations of 195 items which belong to eight categories.There are some dictionaries having neglects in color terms'gleanings and explanations mostly due to lack of knowledge in color terms'complication processes, haziness, and cultural specialities. The discovery in the problems of color terms'paraphrases can boost the related dictionaries'consummation.