A Study Of The Structure Of Topics In The Guo Yu

The Guo Yu is a country-specific history book with mainly conversational discourse and narrative discourse.As one of the representative works of the pre-Qin Chinese language,it has preserved the real face of the pre-Qin Chinese language and is of great research value.In this paper,we apply information structure theory to the discourse of the Guo Yu,examining its coherence and topic chains,and also exploring the factors that influence the topic structure of the Guo Yu and the counter-effect of topic structure on discourse.The study also examines the factors that influence the topic structure of the Guo Yu and the counter-effects of topic structure on discourse.In the marked coherence mode,from the perspective of discourse function,markers can be divided into topic structure markers,logical relationship markers,information source markers,and interpersonal interaction markers.The topic structure marker can suggest the beginning of a topic,the change of topic and the return to the topic;the logical relationship marker can suggest the progression of semantics,transitions,cause and effect,contrasts and examples;the information source marker is mainly composed of"X闻之"and"X有言曰",leading to what the speaker Interpersonal interaction markers attract the other person’s attention and allow for a natural transition in conversation.The frequency of the three reflexive forms is as follows:zero reflexive alone>pronoun reflexive>noun reflexive,more often in combination with each other;prefixed refers mainly to the pronoun"之",and is mostly found in"臣闻之""有言之曰".The reason for this is to avoid being top-heavy and to emphasise the content of the reference.The above two types of coherence are in fact closely related to the topic chains of the Guo Yu.This paper divides the Guo Yu into purely narrative and conversational styles according to the text,and on the basis of previous work outlines that the purely narrative style has a typical topic chain,a pre-referential topic chain,a subject-participant topic chain,a subject-participant topic chain,a subject-participant topic chain,a presentational topic chain,a ’thimble’ topic chain and a "In the conversational style,there are more prereferential topic chains and fewer ’implicit double-topic’ topic chains,and both texts have the use of overlapping topic chains.In contrast to the modern Chinese texts,the differences lie in the short predicate part of the chain topic structure and the use of special markers such as "夫" and "矣";the similarities lie in the preference for the use of the overlapping topic chains,and the fact that the use of the overlapping topic chains in Guo Yu conveys a message that may be different from the semantic meaning of the individual topic chains.The use of chains may be semantically opposite to the use of individual chains.Finally,the paper finds that the status of the speakers affects the use of modifiers,the amount of information output and the turn of phrase in the dialogue,and that the topic structure of the Guo Yu affects in turn the use of the personal pronouns and the position of the topic in the discourse.It also helps in the proofreading process.In addition to these formal devices,there are three syntactic devices to introduce the topic: the present structure,the rhetorical question,and the direct introduction of the topic,and "矣" can change the tense of the preceding and following scenes into the present perfect,the future perfect,and the clause in which the latter is located.It also concludes that the principles of conversation in the Guo Yu are the principle of cooperation theory,the principle of invisible discourse conflict and the principle of violation of cooperation,and that the increasing lack of cooperation between the two sides of the conversation from left to right may result in an increase in the frequency of turn-taking and the use of abnormal means such as silence or body language to end the turn of conversation.