punctuate ancient texts; determine phrasing
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to punctuate classical Chinese text; to determine phrasing pauses
literaryThis term is specifically used in the context of reading and annotating ancient Chinese texts, which originally lacked modern punctuation. The pauses or "sentences" determined this way are often shorter than modern grammatical sentences.
Xué学
xí习
wén文
yán言
wén文
，
shǒu首
xiān先
yào要
xué学
huì会
zhèng正
què确
duàn断
jù句
。
To learn classical Chinese, one must first learn to punctuate correctly.
Zhè这
běn本
gǔ古
shū书
jīng经
guò过
zhuān专
jiā家
zǐ仔
xì细
duàn断
jù句
，
fāng方
biàn便
le了
hòu后
rén人
yuè阅
dú读
。
This ancient text has been carefully punctuated by experts, making it easier for later readers.
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Tā他
zhèng正
zài在
wèi为
nà那
piān篇
méi没
yǒu有
biāo标
diǎn点
de的
gǔ古
wén文
duàn断
jù句
。
He is currently punctuating that classical text which lacks punctuation.
Bù不
tóng同
de的
duàn断
jù句
fāng方
shì式
yǒu有
shí时
huì会
dǎo导
zhì致
duì对
wén文
yì义
de的
bù不
tóng同
lǐ理
jiě解
。
Different ways of punctuating can sometimes lead to different interpretations of the text's meaning.