In the 1920s, The New Culture Movement brought modern theory to Chinese society. The movement called for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and western standards, especially democracy and science. Younger followers favored western influence and reflected the western fashion in politic, education, speaking, writing and more. In contrast to Classical Chinese, vernacular Chinese came to be more common whether in expressing emotion or analyzing circumstances. Notwithstanding the good that new fashion would bring its adaptation left some bad effects. Yu Guang-shong wanted to draw attention to traditional Chinese principle. This article was written in 1987, but what the author identified as the bad habit of manipulating Chinese language with English grammar is still prevalent in Chinese society and many students make grammatical mistakes and leave them un-corrected.
Chinese Idiom 成語 is widely used in Classical Chinese. Good writing embraces fair and keen Chinese Idiom. A writer who uses numerous Chinese Idioms doesn’t represent his/her skill for creative writing, but shows the duplication of ancient scholars’ thinking. In spite of that, many students have little know of how to use Chinese Idioms today or use them properly in writing. The examples that Yu Guang-shong references in his article are both scathing and a sad commentary to our education. He said that many students in Hong Kong always say “總的來說” and forget the use of “總而言之”. These students probably don’t know the use of “一言難盡” and frequently use “不是一句話就能夠說得清楚”.
There is always a story behind every Chinese Idiom. Scholars chose them with consideration for their meaning, tone, situation, balance, harmony, and aesthetics. The lack of and often inapt use of Chinese Idiom symbolizes the lack of discipline and respect for culture within a society. Yu Guang-shong commented that many students have not obtained proficient English skill but started to employ awful Chinese.
There is certainly an undeniable contrast between English and Chinese language. For example, we say in English “His reduced income affects his life style.” Within this phrase, “his income” is called an “abstract noun” which is used often in English. However we can’t use an “abstract noun” while speaking in Chinese. In Chinese, we have to say “He changes his life style because of his reduced income.” (他因為收入減少而改變生活方式). The grammar for the use of an “abstract noun” affects how people choose the verb for the event being described. Here are the examples that Yu Guang-shong raised in the article:
(一) 本校的校友對社會作出了重大的貢獻。
(二) 昨晚的聽眾對訪問教授作出了十分熱烈的反應。
(三) 我們對國際貿易的問題已經進行了詳細的研究。
(四) 心理學家在老鼠的身上進行試驗。
Because of the impact of English grammar thinking habits, the verb in Chinese sentences have become tedious phrases. We could say them more simply like these:
(一) 本校的校友對社會貢獻很大。
(二) 昨晚的聽眾對訪問教授反應十分熱烈。
(三) 我們對國際貿易的問題已經詳加研究。
(四) 心理學家用老鼠來做試驗。(或：心理學家用老鼠試驗。)
In his article, Yu Guang-shong raised many issues of people’s habits for using adjectives, adverbs, present tense, or trying to ‘decorate’ sentences in wrong ways because of influences from learning English. Here are also additional examples of quite common mistakes where Chinese writing is influenced by English grammar:
(一) 我不會被你這句話嚇倒。
(二) 他被懷疑偷東西。
(三) 他這意見不被人們接受。
(四) 他被升為營長。
(五) 他不被准許入學。
we could just as easily say:
(一) 你這句話嚇不倒我。
(二) 他有偷東西的嫌疑。
(三) 他這意見大家都不接受。
(四) 他升為營長。
(五) 他未獲准入學。
Additionally, in English sentences we use “about” commonly, but Yu Guang-shong considered it an overuse in Chinese. Many Chinese learners thought adding 的 for creating the adjective word in a sentence. However, Yu Guang-shong pointed out how people overdo the use of these adjectives in the Chinese vernacular, and the less use of 的 is the number one lesson for the modern Chinese writers. I do need to keep it in mind as well.
It’s a long and deep article and Yu Guang-shong concludes it with a comment on how good or bad changes in writing could shape a society’s cultural development. Chinese language has been created with thousands years of history and we need to reflect that legacy and amplify it with coherent creativity.
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