The Chinese Paragraph

[woodcutter]

I am currently teaching students of English how to write a good paragraph, and I realized that it seems to me that a good paragraph operates in exactly the same way in any language I have met, ie there should be a topic sentence, logical supporting sentences (hopefully in order of importance) and nothing irrelevant. Do you feel this skill is entirely the same in Chinese?

And if so, how about in old fashioned Chinese? How was that organized - since the characters seem to be written in such vast oceans?

[ananda]

yes, it should be universal principle. In ancient chinese,

for example, in 300 A.C or so, Jiang Tong, a consultant

of a prince wrote an article to Emperor to advice

"Migrate barbarians",

First part: described the current mess caused by barbarians' rebellions

here and there, the reason why this article generated.

Second part: In the history, those troubles made by the barbarians

rushed into china, also analyzed some success and failed

examples.

Third part: provide his advice in detail, after successful depressed the

rebellion, we should provide the money, food and send them

all back their home.

Fourth part: the others' opposite advice.

Fifth part: his answer to those opposite advice.

Sixth part: the good vision if advice accepted.

[yonglan]

I was taught that originally a Chinese paragraph, even a whole essay, was very different from English, primarily in that one didn't get to the point until the last line. But the same teachers who taught me this bemoaned that like other aspects of the language (such as multiple adjectives for one noun which had been a no-no they claim) Chinese (at least in Taiwan) has been too influenced by English. So, now paragraphs seem universal and more than one adjective before a noun is not uncommon. I'm mostly reporting what I've been taught. I'm no expert on the history and theory of Chinese writing.