的 vs. 之

[bossidy]

隔离、断绝和中美外交风云的转折之年

A dictionary tells me that 之 is the literary equivalent of 的. If this is all there is to it, why would a sentence contain both?

 

[anonymoose]

Your question assumes that the default position would be to use the same character/word wherever possible. Isn't there a tendency, in any language, to try and avoid repeating the same word in a sentence? At least in Chinese, there is a strong tendency to avoid using more than one 的 in a phrase. 

 

Besides, 之 is often used in four character expressions of the form AA之B where AA represents a two character expression, and B is a single character, as in 转折之年，自知之明，后顾之忧 to name but a few.

[bossidy]

Thanks!

[Messidor]

Thorny question.

1. 之 is commonly followed by a monosyllabic noun (esp. locative noun) to form a disyllabic unit *. Eg. 兵荒马乱之中，凌驾于一切法律之上，惊世骇俗之作。的 is improper here because it's not as literary (nor as archaic) as 之.

2. In mainland China, wherever 的 can be used, 之 is often avoided unless (s)he's writing something rather formal or stylish.

3. When there are two slots for 的, and when the two slots are close to each other, it's a common practice to omit one of the possible 的, or (less frequently,) to replace one of them with 之. The one to omit / replace is often lower in the hierarchy / tree** --- put in a simpler way, the one to omit / replace is usually the innermost one in the modifying clause / phrase. Eg1. 我的书包 + 书包的拉链坏了 = 我的书包的拉链坏了 --> 我书包的拉链坏了 / 我的书包拉链坏了 ***. Eg2. ……而想到天下的无可庇风雨之茅屋的寒士 (冰心全集第八卷) = ……而想到天下的无可庇风雨的茅屋的寒士. Eg3. 却是自己厚着脸皮出来担当天下之重任的人 (叶圣陶《倪焕之》) = 却是自己厚着脸皮出来担当天下的重任的人.

 

To conclude, 之 is the literary equivalent of 的, and the usage of them are constrained by syntactic, prosodic and discursive rules.

 

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* One exception is "所在", which can be naturally fused with 之 to form the phrase …之所在 (the place where ... is)

** Or more precisely, the omission will change the structure of the hierarchy / tree.

*** Note that the two final sentences are believed to have two entirely different hierarchy / tree structure.