Zhuaiyule Period Study

The paper makes thorough investigation and overall description to the comparative constructions in Zhuzi Yulei. The comparative constructions include equality and superiority. Using the methods of quantitative statistics and qualitative analysis, the paper analyses the structural features and semantic features of every comparative constructions in Zhuzi Yulei, in order to reveal the development of the comparative construction in the Southern Song period.There are a large number of comparative constructions in ZhuziYulei. The comparative words include "yui(与)""yu((于)","ru(如)","si(似)","ruo(若)"and "bi(比)"."yu(与)"could be used in equal comparison, and the others could be used to show the degree of equal or superior. The above comparative words can constitute a variety of structural forms. On one hand, they inherit the expressive ways of ancient Chinese, such as the patterns of "X+yu(与)+Y+xiang-si(相似)"and "X+W(verb or adjective)+yu(于)+Y",etc; on the other hand, they use some new expressive ways, such as the patterns of "X+bi(比)+Y+bu-tong(不同)/xiang-si(相似)"and "X+yu(与)+Y+yi-ban(一般)+(W)",etc.We will discuss the change of these comparative constructions.The paper also presents tentative explanations for some special grammar phenomenons, such as the two different negative forms of "yu(与)" and the appearance of the comparative construction "X+yui(与)/ru(如)/i(似)+-Y+auxiliary+ W(verb or adjective)". Besides,we point out that the word "bi(比)"can be used as a verb or a preposition in Zhuzi Yulei. The comparative verb "bil(比)"in Zhuzi Yulei can still be used in lots of stuctures formed in ancient Chinese. And there are lots of examples of comparative stuctures with the preposition "bi(比)",being used both for the expressions of superiority and equality.In the last part, we briefly discuss the evolution of the comparative constructions from pre-Qin to the Southern Song period, so that we can futherly reveal the historical development of the comparative constructions in Zhuzi Yulei.