Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a comprehensive grammar of Wenyan.
Review: I have been studying the Classical Chinese language for one year now and have been suffering through several inadequate grammar references. This wonderful book is the first comprehensive treatment of the grammar of the ancient form of Chinese used by the great philosophers like Confucius and Mencius. It uses modern grammar terminology and examples from the Classics to systematize this very complex language. Bravo.. Mr. Pulleyblank. You have strided through a field in which many have feared to tred!Anthony Barbieri-Low Harvard University Regional Studies:East Asia Program

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and much-needed
Review: In the _Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar_, Pulleyblank provides a much-needed, well, "outline" of the grammar of the Chinese classics. My favorite aspect of this book is its extensive examples, which help the reader of classic texts bridge the gap between the orderly world of grammar books and the always-disorderly world of actual texts.

Of course, one can always wish for more, e.g., I might hope for more on the usages of the various "prepositional" particles. Nevertheless, this is by far the best book of this sort I have seen (in a number of years of working with classical Chinese), and a vital aid to the student of classical Chinese.

Rating:
Summary: clear, concise, and a pedagogical model
Review: Though it is a short book and for a grammar book not difficult to read, I should point out that this is a reference book, rather than a textbook.

He explains, a concept which many other books for learning literary Chinese don't seem to understand. Because while there is a clear linguistic/cultural connection between modern Mandarin and classical Chinese, they're also very different. Many other books written for non-Chinese to learn the classical language focus on vocabulary which is only part of the story. When Chinese speakers learn modern Mandarin in school, they learn no grammar. But when they learn the classical language in school they use grammar. And so surely a non-native Chinese speaker, however capable in modern Mandarin, needs help as well. And, of course, learning the classical language helps you read the modern language.

The book is literally arranged in outline form (so, a good title) which makes the table of contents (which has characters) very easy to search. He doesn't waste your time with passages that may have only one grammar point to explain. He uses sentences. "Just the facts, ma'am." And Mr. Pulleyblank has been kind enough to give Pinyin with tone marks for each and every character in the book, no matter where nor how many times it occurs, the way it ought to be done for reinforcement.

My biggest complaint might be that he could have added some sections. To give one example, adjectives used as transitive verbs are listed under adjectives, with no hint they're there unless you read through the whole adjectives section, which then also mentions something he calls a "derived verb" the example of which looks to me like an adjective being used as a transitive verb, yet lies elsewhere in the book where it is not explained. And he dealt with adjectives as transitive verbs elsewhere outside of the adjective section. I think it's an important topic deserving of its own section. But this is an excellent book.

Pinyin and traditional characters in a crisp, attractive font. In fact, the whole layout of the book is very easy on the eyes, and it's on acid-free paper.

Though he has pinyin for 100% of his characters, I still think a couple of years of modern Chinese is best before tackling the classical language. I also think that although _Outline_ is very clear, a good literary Chinese textbook (see my Amazon guide) should be used first, since Pulleyblank's book is more of a reference, so you might be a little lost if you knew nothing of classical Chinese before picking this up.