On the Negative Wei in Classical Chinese

Wei, a negative in Classical Chinese, was phonologically quite similar to fei, another negative in the same language. Their only difference was in their initial segments-wei had m as its initial segment whereas fei had p. Syntactically and semantically it closely resembled fei in some instances, but in the majority of instances it was thought to be more akin to the negative wu. In this article the environments where wei occurred in the preCh'in literature are closely examined, and it is shown that wei, even where it seemingly was functionally equivalent to wu, was in fact, just like fei, a particle of nominal or clausal negation. Wei differed from fei only in that it explicitly marked what we may term 'subjunctive mood'. This term is suggested by the fact that wei figured most prominently in the protases of conditional and/or concessive sentences where situations assumed or conceded are contrary to known facts. The analogous use of certain m-initial negatives, in place of their p-initial counterparts, in verbal or adjectival negation supports the conclusion that the use of wei, in place of fei, in nominal or clausal negation was not haphazard but systematic

Chinese history and philosophy · History · Philosophy

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