| Abstract |
This article seeks to interpret the newly conjoined oracle bone inscriptions: “Bing xu bu, que zhen, wo zuo ji fang shan er xian, fu qi ding jian,” with a special focus on the syntax and character forms of the sentence “wo zuo ji fang shan er xian.” As per the periodization of characters, this article argues that the character “” refers not so much to “fire” as to “mountain,” and the character “” shall be interpreted as “thus,” an adverb that qualified the verb “zuo” (build) or the verb-object construction “zuo shan er” (build two mounds) omitted in this case. With regard to the syntax of this sentence, this article clarifies the double-object construction that follows the verb “zuo” (build) from the perspectives of semantic roles and argument structure, according to which it claims that the term “shan er” (two mounds) is the direct object and “ji fang” (city wall) the indirect object of the verb “build.” Besides, by reference to related examples, this article infers that the term “ji fang” is an abbreviated expression of “erect fortified city walls.” Therefore, the entire sentence can be interpreted as follows: “We built two mounds for the erection of the city walls.” Finally, this article concludes with a new collation of related inscriptions on the basis of this interpretation. |
