“Shift ”and “Transfer” Structures in the Organization of Writing

Author: Man-Ming Chen(Department of Chinese Literature,National Taiwan Normal University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 49, No.2
Date：October 2004
Pages：1-22
DOI：10.6210/JNTNULL.2004.49(2).01

Abstract：

In the organization of an author's Chinese writing, each structure of shifts and transfers develops a tempo, and the various tempos link to form the rhythm. Generally speaking, tempos are layered in parts and integrated as a whole to create rhythm. Furthermore, there are masculine and feminine modes of organizing a written text, and these help to determine the style. One can examine the process through which the author's writing is organized by means of "multiple, binary, and unitary (zero)" structures. Among these structures we can find the core, where the subject of the written discourse is located. This is the component that highlights the "theme" and "plot" of a literary work. The binary system may branch "downward" into multiple components (i.e., structures and tempos), or it may be integrated "upward" as a "single (0)" structure (i.e., theme, rhythm and style). Therefore it is possible to handle the tempo and rhythm that constitute a particular organization of a written text, but only if one can identify the core and secondary structures and examine the shifts and transfers. In this article, I focus on the dynamics of shift and transfer and discuss their function in "multiple, binary, and unitary (zero)" structures. Furthermore, I explore the philosophical implications of these shifts and transfers, and explicate their importance within an aesthetic context.

Keywords：organization of writing; shift; transfer; multiple, binary, and unitary (zero) structures; philosophical implications; aesthetic context

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