Study On The Evolution And Use Scope Of The Character "打"

Based on the former research, this article further analyzes on the font, pronunciation, meaning, as well as the capacity for word-building of the character "打". By comparing the usage of the character "打" in A Dream of Red Mansions with that in Four Generations Under One Roof, this paper analyzes the evolution of the meaning within the period between 1750's and 1950's, and ends up with conclusions as follows:First, the character "打" is the variant of "朾". and "(?)" and "(?)" are the sealcharacter of "打". The word "打" has evolved from the word "(?)", and "(?)" waslater added by Xu Xuan. Secondly, according to the phonetic notations of "打" enumerated in this paper, the essential vowel of "打" or its resemblance has already been in Tang Dynasty. Furthermore, there are three tones to this character, namely flat, fluctuation/fall and fluctuation.This paper summarizes the ancient 55 usage, modern 36 usage, and modern dialectical usage of "打". Based on this research, the article explores the evolution of "打" when it is explained as "買". As for the word-building, this paper analyzes the grammar characteristics, the types as noun objects and verb objects of "打", as well as the cases when "打" is used as preposition, conjunction, or auxiliary word.By examining the use of the character "打" in A Dream of Red Mansions with that in Four Generations Under One Roof, it is concluded that in A Dream of Red Mansions there are no "打" functioning as classifiers, in contrast with some uses in Four Generations Under One Roof. Therefore, we conclude that in the mid-20th century when Four Generations Under One Roof was written, "打" was widely employed as classifiers. When "打" is used as a single verb, new meanings have emerged as "send out, shoot, emit, dash, etc"; meanings as "rehearse, twist, rush, crash and seek" however have abated.