A Study On The Synonymy Of "Huainanzi"

Synonym combination is a language phenomenon in which two synonyms are used together as one grammatical item, conveying one relatively complete meaning. The comprehension of synonym combination is instructive in emendating, punctuating and annotating ancient books. The paper represents and analyzes all the synonym combinations with a view to their structure types and semantic composition in the book of Huainanzi(《淮南子》)The paper also ananlyzes the5distinguishing features of synonym combination and explores the reasons for synonym combination. Then the paper makes textual criticisms and explanations of several difficult words. At last, the paper points the importance of synonym combination in lexicography and the emendation of ancient books. The paper contains7chapters:1. IntroductionFirst, we summarize the previous research findings of other scholars, introduce the composition, circulation, rearrangement, editions, linguistic value and research status of the book Huananzi(《淮南子》)Then we reveal the research value of synonym combination in the book Huainanzi(《淮南子》)and illustrate the methods of our research.2. Definition of Synonym CombinationThe chapter is divided to two parts. On the one hand, we definite synonym combination and considers rational meaning as the most important factor in the definition of synonyms. One identical sememe, instead of all sememes, is the sufficient condition to definite synonyms. On the other hand, we give23examples of the synonym combinations in the book Huainanzi (《淮南子》),analyze semantemes of the components of the synonym combinations, and illuminate analytical and general effects of synonym combination in semantics.3. The Structure Types of The Synonym Combinations in the Book Huainanzi(《淮南子》)The book Huainanzi(《淮南子》)contains961synonym combinations, including873disyllabic,4trisyllabic,83quadrisyllablc and1pentasyllablc. In this chapter, we classify the synonym combinations into3types according to the number of syllables, and give some examples respectively.4. The Semantic Composition of the Synonym CombinationsThe chapter introduces8representative types of the synonym combinations in the book Huainanzi (《淮南子》)5. The Characteristics of The Synonym Combination and the ReasonIn this chapter, we find there are5characteristics of the synonym combination:(1)the imparity of quantity,(2)the looseness of structure,(3) the integrity and regularity of meaning,(4)the flexibility of combination,(5)the singleness of the grammatical functions. Then we explore the reason for synonym combination.6. Textual Criticisms and Explanations of Difficult WordsIn this chapter, we make textual criticisms and explanations of some difficult words.7. The Utilitarian Value of Synonym CombinationIn this chapter, we point the importance of the synonym combination in lexicography and the emendation of ancient books.