yohosuff Posted April 28, 2008 at 12:14 AM Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 12:14 AM I came across this word, 修辞 in one of the texts I was studying. What's the meaning? The dictionary held one lonely entry, 1. rhetoric After a quick check on Wikipedia, I found this: Rhetoric is the art of harnessing reason, emotions and authority, through language, with a view to persuade an audience and, by persuading, to convince this audience to act, to pass judgment or to identify with given values. According to Plato, rhetoric is the “art of enchanting the soul.” Is this an accurate definition of 修辞? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tianjinpete Posted April 28, 2008 at 12:55 AM Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 12:55 AM Shakespeare has Cordelia call it "that glib and oily art" ... Recommend you start here: Rhetoric in Ancient China, Fifth to Third Century B.C.E. A Comparison with Classical Greek Rhetoric USC Press, 1998 by Xing Lu ...and work backwards to the Chinese sources ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohosuff Posted April 28, 2008 at 01:03 AM Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 01:03 AM Thanks tianjinpete, but where exactly can I find this book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tianjinpete Posted April 28, 2008 at 01:29 AM Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 01:29 AM yohosuff, you can see a limited preview at google books: http://books.google.com/ ...just key in the book's title ... I guess you are, as I am, here in China without a library or bookstore you can run to ... as you might imagine, rhetoric, whether we are talking about the Western or Eastern variety, is a big topic, so I thought I'd point you to a source where the crossroads meet ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohosuff Posted April 28, 2008 at 02:25 AM Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 02:25 AM Thanks for the tip! How "big" of a topic are we talking about here? What kind of person would consider rhetoric a "big" topic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tianjinpete Posted April 28, 2008 at 04:49 AM Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 04:49 AM Bigger than a dictionary entry that says, simply, "rhetoric"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohosuff Posted April 28, 2008 at 06:33 AM Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 at 06:33 AM 啊, 有道理, 有道理. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.