"compendium Of Materia Medica" Quantifier Study

This thesis analyzes measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica, using a combined methodology of synchronic and diachronic research.Chapter One classifies the measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica, focusing on the grammatical and syntactic functions nominal measure-words. Nominal measure-words are combined with numerals and nouns in various ways in Compendium of Materia Medica, and quantifier phrases function as many different grammatical items in its sentences. They generally reflected the common feature of measure-words in Ming Dynasty but meanwhile showed explicit laggardness.Chapter Two puts its emphasis on measurement measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica, including measure-words for length, measure-words for weight and measure-words for capacity. Every measure-word is described with its usage in Compendium of Materia Medica, and then is elaborated in diachronic terms as to explore its initiation and development.Chapter Three studies individual measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica, including individual measure-words for general purposes, hypo-general purposes and special purposes. They are categorized according to their semantic features or measurement objects as to make clear comparison. The first of the two premises to such contrastive study is to survey the collocations of every measure-word with nouns in Compendium of Materia Medica and to make a comparative list of measurement objects. The second is to investigate the synchronic and diachronic usage and development in writings of different dynasties with special focus on traditional Chinese medical writings. A panoramic and profound comprehension of individual measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica shall then be achieved.Chapter Four and Chapter Five respectively dissertate on collective measure-words and action classifiers in Compendium of Materia Medica. The collocations of action classifiers with verbs and the grammatical features of action classifiers are studied as to offer multiple perspectives.The conclusion part summarizes the major characteristics measure-words in Compendium of Materia Medica in terms of numbers and usages. It is concluded that number and grammatical forms of the measure-words are not diverse enough, that many of the measure-words are used exclusively in medical writings, and that Compendium of Materia Medica was conservative and lagged behind the progress of its time as whole in terms of measure-words.