Chinese“sanwen”（散文）&EnglishEssay

WuMengru

【Abstract】Knowing intimately the specific differences between Chinese “sanwen”（散文） and English essay benefits writers as well as readers in both creation and comprehension. This article would respectively focus on words and sentences in both languages to demonstrate the characteristics of the two languages including word choice，word repetition & synonym replacement and syntactic structure （句法结构）. Hoping that after reading this article，your understanding of Chinese and English would arrive at a higher level and your writing proficiency would be slightly enhanced as well.

【Key words】word choice； word repetition； formal logic； semantic coherence； connectives

Chinese people are more conversant with expressing intuition and feelings naturally than conducting analysis and argumentation（中国思想类型长于直觉而短于分析辩证）. Therefore when composing an essay，they tend to express their private feelings and expose their original inner world to readers，just as Zhu Guangqian （朱光潜） once commented that，the essential character of a well-written essay is to create a “sincere and home-like” style（家常亲切）. While due to the Westerners analytic and logical way of thinking，they tend to attach great importance to exactness，logic and lucidity when composing essays. The following parts would respectively center on words and sentences to illustrate the different characteristics of Chinese “sanwen”（散文） and English essay.

The differences of word choice between Chinese “sanwen” and English essays are reflected in two aspects. For one thing，the most conspicuous characteristic of the English words maybe its exactness and lucidity； while Chinese authors are inclined to employ fuzzy words（模糊词）. In Bacons “Of Study”，for example，the words the author chose are more specific and precise in meaning： “Some books are to be tasted，others to be swallowed，and some few to be chewed and digested.” These remarkable words “tasted”，“swallowed”，“chewed and digested” present to us a vivid picture of the way we are supposed to read with exactness. “Tasted” means “some books are only to be read in parts”； “swallowed” means some book are only deserve for general understanding； while “chewed and digested” indicates that some books are to be “read wholly with diligence and attention”. From the above example stands out the characteristics of exactness and clearness of the English words，which enable us to keep pace with the authors train of thought.

While in Zhus essay “tandushu” （談读书），Chinese peoples immemorial pursuit of “hazy beauty”（朦胧美） induces some expressions to be quite ambiguous. When he tries to persuade the young into working harder，he employs the phrase “你不努力跟着跑”. In Chinese，“跑” possesses several meanings including “①奔，两脚交互向前迅速跃进；②很快地移动；③逃；④漏泄：～电；⑤为某种事物奔走”，but we are still incapable of figuring out the exact meaning unless we integrate the word into the whole paragraph even the entire essay in which the Chinese synthetic way of thinking （综合性思维：注重整体） embodies. Therefore，the diction of Chinese “sanwen” is quite ambiguous and vague as it were.

For another thing，word repetition is a common occurrence in Chinese “sanwen”，often used deliberately to build sense of rhythm and emphasis； whereas in English essays，the variety of words，that is，the synonym replacement，are immensely valued. Take one example，in “Of Study”，Bacon puts that “Read not to contradict and confute； nor to believe and take for granted； nor to find talk and discourse”，in which “believe” and “take for granted”，“talk” and “discourse” are actually of the similar meanings，and he uses different words implying same senses to achieve Western aesthetic perception. Likewise，in “《談读书》”，Zhu remarks that “你与其读千卷万卷的诗集，不如读一部《国风》或《古诗十九首》，你与其读千卷万卷古希腊哲学的书籍，不如读一部柏拉图的《理想国》”，in which “千卷万卷” is employed repeatedly to achieve purpose of strengthening effect of expression and making a profound impression. The prevalence of word repetition may be a typical Chinese way of writing to attain the unique artistic conceptions （意境）.

Then with regard to sentences，which are going to be used as another aspect to illustrate the characteristics of Chinese “sanwen” and English essay，they are restricted by “formal logic” （形式逻辑） and are noted for their compact form in English. Therefore，unlike the multifarious and unfixed sentence structure of Chinese “sanwen”，the sentences of English essays are comparatively formal and fixed in that most sentences contain a subject which is noticeable and a verb which is completely subject to the subject（受主语支配）. Besides，plenty of connectives implying logical relationships may be employed to make sentences more compact and relations of sentences more distinct. In “Of Study”，for example，Bacon writes “They perfect nature，and are perfected by experience： for natural abilities are like natural plants，that need pruning by study； and studies themselves，do give forth directions too much at large，except they be bounded in by experience”，here definitely，the subject and verb are both apparent，and all these connectives serving for clarifying and demonstrating make the meaning all the more logical and clear.

On the contrary，the sentences in Chinese “sanwen” are not associated with each other by evident conjunctions，and because Chinese is a “topic-prominent language”（主题显著语言），the subject is usually covert and the verb is relatively flexible in form. For instance，in the second paragraph of Zhus essay，it goes like this：

世间有许多人比你忙得多。许多人的学问都是在忙中做成的。美国有一位文学家、科学家和革命家富兰克林，幼时在印刷局里做小工，他的书都是在做工时抽暇读的。

This is a typical propositional paragraph composed of three sentences without any linking words. These three sentences although logically link with each other，in the textual appearance they are three separate sentences. In addition，it requires a considerable effort to find out the exact subject and verb of those seemingly separate sentences. Thus，Chinese sentences put much emphasis on semantic coherence （语意连贯） than standard form.

Conclusion：

All these exact，specific and multifarious words，combining with the compact and clear syntactic structure of English essay make it effective and easy to read. All these somewhat vague and fuzzy words with the addition of the flexible syntactic form in Chinese “sanwen” make it intriguing and pleasant to mind. To conclude，the key law of Chinese essay is to build an artistic conception（養气，营造意境）； whereas the key law of western essay is to research and reflect on objects（对对象的研究和思考），thus as for English，lucidity is the highest principle.

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