Argument Distinctive Context Functioning of 被 bei (Based on the Material of the Late Classical Chinese Text – “Lunheng”).

Abstract

The paper deals with some features of Late Classical Chinese based on material from «Lunheng» (1st century AD), specifically, the process of 被 bèi grammaticalization and its possibility to be a distinctive context for noun lexemes. In modern Chinese, 被 bèi is a passive marker in sentences such as O 被 bèi SV. There is also a short form like O 被 bèi V, which is the initial stage in the formation of a passive construction, while the full form appears in late medieval texts. However, it is necessary to understand when exactly the process of grammaticalization of 被 bèi began, and whether this process affected the language of Late Classical Chinese. The main questions this paper addresses are: (1) when did the process of 被 bèi grammaticalization begin; (2) is 被 bèi still a verb in the Late Classical Chinese language and can we syntactically distinguish an argument of a clause in the context of 被 bèi. Not only are verb functions of 被 bèi (which can be found in 5th century BC texts) analyzed, but also supposedly its original nominal functions in earlier texts. The study shows that the passive-like 被 bèi begins to appear even in BC texts, but the verbal lexeme functions remain a major. It can be assumed that in Late Classical Chinese, particularly in the language of the «Lunheng» text, the lexeme 被 bèi doesn’t have passive marker qualities and 被 bèi can and should be analyzed from the point of view of lexical categories, as a transitive verb specifically. Such conclusions make it possible to analyze 被 bèi in an argument distinctive context, that is, the position of 被 bèi in a sentence next to any lexeme can help to identify the syntactic function of this lexeme within the specified context. This means it is possible to determine the position of the argument of any clause, which can later be used for PoS parsing of Late Classical Chinese texts.