Dative constructions and their extensions in Archaic Chinese: A study of form and meaning

The scope of this dissertation revolves around various dative constructions in Archaic Chinese which are identified by Alain Peyraube (1986, 1987, 1988a), but it must be pointed out that the ultimate aim of this dissertation is not to provide a comprehensive synchronic description of the several dative constructions in Archaic Chinese, nor to offer a diachronic study into the evolution of these constructions in the history of Chinese language. This dissertation aims to examine the motivational link between form and meaning in a range of linguistic structures in Archaic Chinese and which are directly associated with the semantic domain of GIVE. To put it simply and directly, the intricate relationship between linguistic form and meaning in Archaic Chinese will be investigated through the study of dative constructions in Archaic Chinese. To do so, the analysis in this dissertation will be conducted within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Grammar, the basic framework of which is laid out in Langacker (1987, 1991a, 1991b, 1999). We hope that this dissertation will on the one hand, contribute to the understanding of the grammatical organization of Archaic Chinese, which in turn helps to resolve some of the pending controversies in the study of Chinese dative constructions; and on the other hand, demonstrate the viability and usefulness of conducting research related to Chinese historical syntax from the theoretical framework of Cognitive Grammar.