The field of linguistics has been dominated by Western linguists for such a long time during which the study of linguistics in China has made seemingly a little progress. However, there is something noteworthy in anci...The field of linguistics has been dominated by Western linguists for such a long time during which the study of linguistics in China has made seemingly a little progress. However, there is something noteworthy in ancient Chinese intellectuals' thoughts for that they were also concerned with language phenomena while dealing with philosophy issues. As an outstanding representative of Confucian school, Xunzi had discussed the social essence of language, the relationship between language, world and people, and the development of language, etc. in his Zhengming, which possesses an enlightening significance on nowadays study of linguistics among Chinese scholars. Based on an overview of this classic works, this paper was intended to explore the linguistic view of Xunzi from two perspectives: the relationship between "ming" and "shi" (name and nature), and that between language and human thought. His awareness of language cognition was touched upon as well.展开更多
文摘The field of linguistics has been dominated by Western linguists for such a long time during which the study of linguistics in China has made seemingly a little progress. However, there is something noteworthy in ancient Chinese intellectuals' thoughts for that they were also concerned with language phenomena while dealing with philosophy issues. As an outstanding representative of Confucian school, Xunzi had discussed the social essence of language, the relationship between language, world and people, and the development of language, etc. in his Zhengming, which possesses an enlightening significance on nowadays study of linguistics among Chinese scholars. Based on an overview of this classic works, this paper was intended to explore the linguistic view of Xunzi from two perspectives: the relationship between "ming" and "shi" (name and nature), and that between language and human thought. His awareness of language cognition was touched upon as well.
