The Emergence Of Word-meaning In Early China: N... May 2026

If you'd like to dive deeper, I can focus on a specific chapter like the or explain the distinction between yan and ming . Which part interests you most?

The guide you're looking for refers to by Jane Geaney, published by SUNY Press in 2022. This work explores how the concept of "word-meaning"—content independent of a specific instance of use—first developed in China. Core Thesis and Arguments The Emergence of Word-Meaning in Early China: N...

: Explores how these models appeared in specific genres and figurative language. If you'd like to dive deeper, I can

: A central argument is that the term yi (typically meaning duty or morality) transitioned into a metalinguistic term for "meaning" because it already functioned as an external, normative "model" for interpreting texts. : Rather than assuming "meaning" always existed as

: Rather than assuming "meaning" always existed as a concept, Geaney argues that it emerged as a response to the explosion of textual production and encounters with radically different writing forms like Buddhist sutras.