Study Of Appellation Terms In Jin Ping Mei Continued

This paper focuses on the appellation terms appeared in the book named Jin Ping Mei Continued.Appellation terms are used to express all kinds of social relations and the social roles people play. The ones which express relative relations are called relative appellation terms and those that express the social roles people play (mainly involves people's identity, status, occupation, etc.) are called social appellation terms. "In ancient China, males were regarded as the centers of families the foundation of which was the patriarchal clan system. Relatives were divided into three kinds: zongqin, waiqin, and qiqin. " Zongqin is also called neiqin, which refers to all the males of the same clan and their spouses and unmarried girls are also included. Waiqin refers to the blood relatives of the female members of a family. Qiqin refers to wife's relatives. Social appellation terms is divided into seven kinds: appellation terms of general kind, appellation terms for characteristics, appellation terms for relations, appellation terms for identity, appellation terms for respect and modesty, appellation terms for detestation, tease and affection and religious appellation terms.This article makes a classification and description of about 161 relative appellation terms and 789 social appellation terms appeared in the book Jin Ping Mei Continued. From the classification and analysis, we can see the characteristics and meanings of these appellation terms.Firstly, great changes in relative appellation terms and little changes in social appellation terms.There are about 161 relative appellation terms appeared in the book Jin Ping Mei Continued. These appellation terms, especially the appellations for immediate relatives, most of which are still in use now, have experienced little changes except for the appellation for wife which has changed a lot as a result of the social system reformation. However, most of the social appellation terms have changed greatly with the development of history and the reform of the social morphology except for the religious appellation terms.Secondly, one word with several meanings.In Jin Ping Mei Continued, some appellation terms may refer to different objects in different communicational environment. That means one appellation term may indicate many different objects. This is one of the manifestations of the variety and diversification of Chinese appellation terms.Thirdly, many words of the same meaning.Some appellation terms may have many different forms which refer to the same person or the same kind of person. This kind of appellation terms is widely used. Almost every appellation terms for immediate relatives has many different forms. People can select a proper one to meet different needs in their communication. Thus, such kind of appellation terms is still being used now. This is why there is such an abundant vocabulary for Chinese.The appellation for females have many different forms, which shows people in that time attached great importance to female's virginity and that was a discrimination against females. It was also a reflection of the idea that males are superior to females and the cruelty of the feudal ethical code.Fourthly, the generalization of relative appellation terms and appellation terms for official positions.The generalization of relative appellation terms and appellation terms for official positions is to address non-relatives by relative appellation terms and to address a person with no official position by official position appellation terms or a person with a lower official position by a higher official position appellation terms. The former is also called the socialization, externalization, transformation of relative appellation terms or modeled-appellation terms. The latter is also called the over-step appellation terms.Fifthly, most relative appellation terms are used in narrations instead of dialogues.There are plenty of appellation terms in Jin Ping Mei Continued. However, most of them are used in narrations instead of dialogues, which is a great difference between Jin Ping Mei Continued and Jin Ping Mei and A Dream of Red Mansions. As a result, this book is much inferior in building images through dialogues. And it also impairs the artistry of this book to a certain degree.Sixthly, the widely use of religious appellation terms.In Jin Ping Mei Continued, the idea of transmigration runs through the whole book. There are as many as 102 kinds of religious appellation terms and there is a obvious tendency of secularization which can be seem from the same configuration of heaven, hell and man's world and the same way in addressing monks, Taoists and supernatural beings as address human beings and the widely use of modeled-appellation terms.The above characteristics is a reflection of the patriarchal clan conception, the rigid hierarchy, the notion that males are superior to females, self-modesty and the idea of official-orientation.