Modern Chinese Slang Chu Theory

The term "liyu (slang)" first appears in Shang Shu, and has a long history. Although ancient dictionaries had cited slang and vulgarism, and modern dictionaries have also explained them, works devoted wholly in this field are rarely found. Since slang does exist in daily life, and is used both by ordinary people and in literary works, it needs a systematic and deep study.Slang is generally regarded as coarse language in dialect, and somewhat this is the case. But modern standard Chinese also contains a rather large amount of fixed expressions, which are similarly not elegant. These expressions are just the topic of the present research.This paper, on the basis of Mr. Liu Shuxin's opinions, studies slang's character, extent, structural characteristics, origin, semantic features, uses and rhetoric effects. Slang can be defined as spoken coarse language, which is not elegant and rather fixed. It includes the two-part allegorical sayings, vulgar clauses and vulgar idioms. And it usually develops from people's daily life, and has fixed patterns with some reasonable freedom. So besides the vulgar side, it can also bring some vivid and humorous effects, which other non-slang expressions are not able to. The slang properly used in literature can be helpful in describing the characters, enhancing their truthfulness, and finally bringing more artistic charm to the works. Finally, slang, due to its vulgarity, is not proper to be used in serious situations.