Chinese Fiction of the Cultural Revolution

Chapter 11. Military Words and Expressions

Chapter 11 Military Words and Expressions MILITARY WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS DEFINED In practical contexts, military words and expressions can be classified into two categories according to their usage: One covers military words and expressions in literal use, i.e. they are used to refer to organizations, people, materials, and acts in a real military sense; the other category includes military words and expressions in metaphorical use, i.e. they are used to indicate organizations, people, materials, and acts which are not related to real military affairs. Compare the following examples: (1) Ta hai xiang dao Qi Zhixiong cong chuangdong sai gei ta de mianxie, TIanmen Zhen shang de qiangsheng, Ji-Yunhe bian de paohuo. Ta xiang dao zai feiji saoshe xia de yun liang che dui, zai xiaoyan zhong chongsha de qian jun wan mao [He also thought of the cotton-padded shoes given him by Qi Zhixiong through the window, the shots in Tianmen Town, and the artillery fire at the] i Canal. He thought of the grain transport corps under the strafing from the aircraft, and the thousands of soldiers charging forward in the smoke of gunpowder.] (0, p. 648) (2) 'Hao, wo zhe yi qu, women jiushi zai liang tiao zhanhao, yi ge zhendi shang dazhang; shou de zhu hai bu suan, hai yao chong de shang cai suan hao zhanshi!' [Right, after I go there, we shall be fighting in two trenches which 194 • Chinese Fiction of the Cultural Revolution belong to one battlefield. It is not enough to hold the position; only by charging forward can we be counted as good soldiers.] (H, p. 462) The military items (underlined) in paragraph 1 are used in a literal sense, but those in paragraph 2 are metaphorical. In isolation, the literal meaning of paragraph 2 clearly concerns fighting, but in context the whole paragraph is related to political action rather than military affairs. Before he leaves for self, examination at the commune government office, the speaker, as the main hero, encourages other village cadres to continue opposing the secretary of the Party committee of the commune. Full of military words and expressions, this politicized speech has a distinctive military flavour. For the purposes of stylistic analysis, it is only military items in metaphorical use that are taken into account.! As stated before, we lack an ideal reference book for identifying the military items, although Joseph 0. Lowe's A Dictionary of Military Terms: Chinese,English and English,Chinese is helpful in determining the military connotations. However, linguistic intuition can take more effect here because as a class ofspecialized terms, military words and expressions have a relatively established meaning range. According to our investigation, the military words and expressions under discussion included in pre,CR and CR novels roughly belong to the following semantic groups. Military Organizations or Units Examples: tujidui [shock brigade] (G, p. 26), niangzijun [detachment of women] (G, p. 499), houqinbing [rear,service units] 0, p. 123), meng,hu pai [fierce'tiger platoon] 0, p. 300), canmoubu [department of staff officers]' zhenggui budui [regular troops] 0, p. 466). Military People Examples: zhanshi [soldiers] (H, p. 167), jiangjun [general] 0, p. 502), zhanyou [battle companion] (0, p. 507), lao jiang xin bing [veterans and new recruits] 0, p. 417), nan bingniijiang [male and female soldiers] 0, p. 44), xiaojiang [young general or militant] 0, p. 17), siling [commander] 0, p. 123), qian jun wan rna [thousands of troops] (0, p. 648). Military Materials Examples: zhanchang [battlefield] (H, p. 315), cidao [bayonet] (G, p. 455), wuqi [weapon] 0, p. 80), dapao [artillery] (H, p. 418), baolei [fortress] (E, p. 106), Military Words and Expressions • 195 zhangu [battle drum] 0, p. 299), xiaoyan [smoke of gunpowder] (1, p. 81), paosheng [boom of guns] (H, p. 392). Military Acts Examples: tiaozhan [challenge to battle] (A, p. 305), xuanzhan [proclaim war] 0, p. 216), guashuai [take command] (H, p. 72), zhandou [fight] (F, p. 378), jingong [take an offensive] (H, p. 357), fanji [counterattack] (1, p. 92), paohong [bombard] (H, p. 400), chongfeng chu zhen [charge forward] (H, p. 511), xiu bing ba zhan [truce] (1, p. 30). In counting, the following two types of military items are excluded from the investigation, although they share some characteristics of military words in metaphorical use. (1) A military item used as a person's nickname. For example, in The Builders, Guo Zhenshan's nickname is 'Hongzhaji' [bomber, indicating his domineering...