Publications

Publication details [#14795]

Wu, Zi-lin. 2020. “At the Risk of Our Life in Chinese”——A Linguistic Explanation on Pythagorean Style. Study & Exploration 7. 193+200 pp. URL
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
Chinese

Abstract

Based on the unique view of the universe, Chinese culture has established metaphorical thinking that emphasizes “image”, intuition, experience, and body perception, which is different from western logical thinking focusing on conception, analysis, deduction, and argumentation. The academic writing forms according to metaphorical thinking are notes, quotations, legal cases, commentaries, which present the style of fragment. Since 20th century, greatly influenced by the western discourse system, Chinese gradually lost its subjectivity, and the tradition of thought and culture is weakened as well. However, Qian Zhongshu’s study shows that, in order to keep the vitality of Chinese, we should combine metaphorical thinking with logical thinking, and exert the superiority of Chinese sufficiently. By this way, we can express complicated human spirits much better. Pythagorean style is trying to help Chinese regain subjectivity, whose internal mechanism is in line with the traditional writing experience, thinking mode, cultural paradigm, etc., and aims at solving conflicts in modern Chinese academic writing so as to build a new kind of sensibility and open an endless space for spiritual creation.