Chapter 1: Repetitive Forms — Repetition (Leidie / Repetition)
Section 1: Leidie (Repetition)
I. Definition and Functions of Leidie
“The same character, word, phrase, or sentence, whether connected or separated, is used repeatedly in order to strengthen tone and to give speech or writing a sense of rhythm as a rhetorical device.”¹ “Leidie,” also called “repetition,” refers to “the conscious repeated use of certain words or sentences in order to express intense, deep, and lingering emotions, or to emphasize a particular meaning, or to mark the segmentation, rhythm, and cadence of the content, thereby forming a repetitive aesthetic; this rhetorical method is called repetition.”² The rhetorical functions of “leidie” include the following: (1) highlighting and emphasizing a particular object, intensifying a certain emotion; (2) making the hierarchical structure more complex.
In the field of literature, poetry is the genre that most frequently employs “leidie.” Repetition (leidie) in poetry is also called “futa” (refrain or reiteration). It possesses special expressive power, capable of revealing strong and profound thoughts and emotions, strengthening tone, forming melodic beauty, and producing an effect of “one chant with three sighs.” Regarding this, the prose master Zhu Ziqing, in Classical Talks: The Book of Songs, Chapter Four, stated: “The rhythm of folk songs mainly relies on repetition, also called refrain; originally, folk songs focus on expressing emotion, and as long as the emotion is fully conveyed through repeated expression, it suffices, without the need for many words. Repetition can be said to be the life of folk songs, and rhythm is thus established upon it.”
He also said, “The characteristic of poetry seems to lie in circular repetition, what is called going in circles; after all is said and done, only that little point is expressed. Repetition is not for saying less, but for making what is said less yet more intense.”³ Repetition can make sounds vivid and prominent, produce special auditory effects, and also serve descriptive and expressive functions, strengthening the imagery of language and intensifying semantic expression, thereby arousing resonance in readers and listeners and enhancing the artistic appeal of poetic lines.
II. Historical Development of Leidie
As early as in The Book of Songs, reduplication was already widely used, such as in “Zheng Feng: Zi Jin”: “Qing qing zi jin, you you wo xin. Zong wo bu wang, zi ning bu si yin?” The “qing qing” and “you you” in the opening line are examples of reduplicated words. In southern literature such as The Songs of Chu, works like Qu Yuan’s “Nine Chapters: Lamenting the Wind” and Song Yu’s “Nine Arguments” both contain consecutive reduplication, demonstrating that reduplication originated very early. Slightly later, in Nineteen Ancient Poems, pieces such as “Green, Green the Riverbank Grass” and “Far, Far the Cowherd Star” also employ consecutive reduplication.
In Tang poetry, examples include Meng Jiao’s “Song of the Parting Son”: “Before departure, stitch by stitch sewn tight; fearing his return will be delayed and slight.” In Song lyrics, Xin Qiji’s “Ugly Slave”: “In youth, not knowing the taste of sorrow, I loved climbing high towers, loved climbing high towers; to compose new lyrics, I forced myself to speak of sorrow. Now having fully known the taste of sorrow, I wish to speak, yet stop; wish to speak, yet stop; instead I say, what a fine cool autumn.” This is an example of repeated sentences. In the Yuan dynasty, Qiao Ji’s “Tianjingsha”: “Orioles, swallows, spring, spring; flowers, willows, true, true; everything, charm, charm; delicate, tender; proper, proper, everyone,” the entire piece is completed in one continuous flow of reduplicated words.
In terms of sentence-level repetition, there are also outstanding examples, such as Su Shi’s “Watching the Tide” of the Song dynasty: “Misty rain over Qiantang, the Zhejiang tide; before seeing it, countless regrets cannot be dispelled. When it comes, there is actually nothing at all; misty rain over Qiantang, the Zhejiang tide.” This is a “repetitive sentence” structure where the beginning and ending echo each other, demonstrating remarkable talent and ingenuity.
The earliest discussion of the rhetorical use of “leidie” appears in Chen Kui’s Wenze of the Song dynasty, which explains it through five categories: “similar characters,” “interweaving,” “indirection,” “repetition,” and “same heading.”
Section 2: The Formal Aesthetics of Leidie
I. The Basis of Formal Beauty
The formal beauty of the rhetorical device “leidie” derives from the aesthetic principles of “uniformity” and “repetition,” which are closely related. “When various material elements are arranged in the same way, simple repetition is formed, producing the beauty of uniformity.”⁴ Hegel pointed out: “Uniformity is generally an external consistency; more precisely, it is the consistent repetition of the same form. Such repetition, with respect to the form of the object, becomes a unifying factor that confers and determines its character.”⁵
The principle of repetition can also be called the principle of uniformity. This principle, originally a very simple form, can be applied everywhere to produce a simple and pure pleasure. Often, things that appear to have no value when viewed individually acquire a certain interest once arranged repeatedly. The poet Xu Zhimo wrote in “Xu Zhimo’s Diary: Notes on West Lake”: “Quantity itself is beauty. When quantity increases, it seems to follow a natural law, naturally producing a particular arrangement, a particular rhythm, a particular pattern, stirring our aesthetic instincts and arousing our aesthetic emotions.” The beauty of repetition is most deeply appreciated by poets.
Scholar Huang Qingxuan, citing the aesthetician George Santayana’s concept of “multiplicity in uniformity” from The Sense of Beauty, proposed: “Leidie is a repeated occurrence of imagery, either overlapping or reiterative… In aesthetics, leidie is based on multiplicity within uniformity.”⁶ This provides a clear and concise explanation.
II. The Aesthetic Effects of Leidie
Most rhetoricians divide the rhetorical device “leidie” into “reduplication” (reduplicated characters) and “repetition” (repeated words).
(1) Reduplication (Repeated Characters)
- Rhetorical Features
“It is a rhetorical method in which the same character or monosyllabic word is repeated consecutively without interval.”⁷ Reduplicated characters must be “used in close succession and have identical meanings,”⁸ constituting a “superimposition of identical structures and expressions,”⁹ in order to produce the sound effect of “reduplicated phonation.” Such reduplication “not only enhances the auditory effect of language, that is, strengthens its sense of rhythm and melodic beauty, harmonizes tones, and makes it easy to recite; it can also express a particular emotional flavor.”¹⁰ - Aesthetic Effects of Reduplication
The aesthetic effects of reduplication include three aspects: (1) musicality, (2) descriptiveness, and (3) evocative rendering.
(1) Musicality
This refers to the harmonious tones, coordinated level and oblique tones, and clear rhythm produced by “identical initials and finals,” as well as the expression of emotion “through alliteration and rhyme.” For example: “Seeking, seeking; cold, cold, desolate, desolate; miserable, miserable, sorrowful, sorrowful” (Li Qingzhao, Southern Song, “Slow, Slow Tune”), where seven groups of reduplicated words are used consecutively and divided into three lines, creating a slow and lingering rhythm. It is praised as an eternal masterpiece precisely because it fully expresses the female lyricist’s sorrow after experiencing the fall of her country and the loss of her home, and struggling amid turmoil.¹¹
“Identical initials and finals” and “alliteration and rhyme” are both “disyllabic metrical units.” The “foot” is the smallest unit of metrical measurement in English poetry; the main types and numbers of feet determined through metrical analysis define a poem’s meter. In the phonological system of classical Chinese poetry, this is called a “pause” (dun).
“Identical initials and finals” (reduplicated sounds) are formed by the repeated alternation of identical initials and finals, creating a rhythmic pattern. Their phonological structure is: a character with identical initial and final + another character with identical initial and final, forming a repetitive linkage pattern. “Alliteration and rhyme,” on the other hand, form rhythmic cycles through the unity of contrasting sound qualities. Alliteration, rhyme, and reduplication are all musical forms; they are pleasing to the ear because, in addition to rhythmic patterns within the metrical units, they are accompanied by tonal pauses, forming compound rhythmic sound segments within the metrical units.¹²
(2) Descriptiveness
This refers to its delicate expressive power in imitating sounds and depicting forms, as well as expanding artistic conception in detailed description,¹³ enabling “images to appear like paintings, concrete and vivid.”¹⁴ Forms of reduplication include disyllabic ones such as “pianpian” and “niaoniao” (descriptive words), “dada” and “jiujiu” (onomatopoeic words); trisyllabic ones such as “lushiyouyou” and “liangjingjing” (color-descriptive words); and quadrisyllabic ones such as “lenglengqingqing” and “honghonglielie” (descriptive words), “xixilili” and “dingdingdangdang” (onomatopoeic words). When appropriately used in poetic passages, they can produce a melodic quality of “repeated chanting and choral echo, cyclical recurrence,” that is, through various types of syllabic repetition, a strong sense of rhythm and regular cadence can be formed.
(3) Evocative Rendering
Reduplicated characters can also produce a strong effect of rendering. The “auditory sensation” generated by syllabic repetition can emphasize, highlight, render, and set off features of scenery, narrative plots, character movements, character psychology, and environmental atmosphere.
(2) Repetition (Repeated Words)
- Rhetorical Features
Repetition refers to “the use of the same character, word, or sentence at intervals within a passage.”¹⁵ From a formal perspective, repeated words must appear either “continuously or at intervals,” that is, repetition includes two subtypes: “continuous repetition” and “interval repetition.”¹⁶
(1) Continuous Repetition
Its form consists of expressing the repeated element continuously, without any intervening words or sentences. Common forms include continuous repetition of words (characters), phrases, and sentences.
(2) Interval Repetition
Its form involves other words, sentences, or paragraphs intervening between the repeated words or sentences. Common forms include repetition with intervening words (characters), intervening sentences, intervening paragraphs, and repetition at the beginning and end.
From the semantic perspective of repeated expressions, repetition can be divided into “repetition” and “reduplicative diction.” “Reduplicative diction and repetition as rhetorical figures are different: in reduplicative diction, what is repeated are characters, and the meanings of the repeated characters are not identical; in repetition as a rhetorical figure, what is generally repeated are words, phrases, or sentences, and the meanings of the repeated components are identical.”¹⁷
2. The Aesthetic Effects of Repetition
“In order to highlight a certain meaning or emphasize a particular emotion, the rhetorical method that intentionally causes the same word, sentence, or even paragraph to appear repeatedly is called repetition.”¹⁸ The functions of repetition include four aspects: (1) prominence, (2) stratification, (3) descriptiveness, and (4) musicality.
(1) Prominence
It can highlight key points and emphasize focal ideas, making the image of things more distinct and strengthening the expression of emotion.
(2) Stratification
It makes the narrative structure more clearly layered and can enhance the organization and vividness of narration.
(3) Descriptiveness
It enables the detailed depiction of states and conditions and deeply reveals the psychological activities of characters.
(4) Musicality
“Circular recurrence, repeated chanting and layered singing” can enhance the melodic beauty of language through forward-backward correspondence and cyclical return, thereby strengthening the sense of rhythm.
Section 3: The Formal Structure of Leidie
In terms of formal structure, the rhetorical device “leidie” is divided into the “base form” and the “repeated form.” The part that is repeated is called the “base form,” and the part that repeats it is called the “repeated form.”
I. The Unity of Content between the Base Form and the Repeated Form
The base form in “leidie” is only one, while the repeated form may be many. However, regardless of how many repeated forms there are, in terms of linguistic form and expressed content, they must be consistent with the base form; otherwise, it is not “leidie” but “reduplicative diction.” In other words, only when the linguistic code and the informational substance are identical can it be considered repetition.¹⁹
II. The Structural Independence of Repetition
The so-called “structural independence” means that the base form and the repeated form of repetition are each independent structural entities; there is no relationship of modification or mutual dependence between them. If the repeated form is removed, the original basic structure remains intact, and the essential meaning is not fundamentally affected.
“Seeking, seeking; cold, cold, desolate, desolate; miserable, miserable, sorrowful, sorrowful. When warmth returns yet cold lingers, it is hardest to recuperate. Three cups, two cups of thin wine—how can they withstand the sudden evening wind? The geese pass by; just as I am heartbroken, they are old acquaintances. Chrysanthemums cover the ground in heaps; worn and withered, who now would pick them? Guarding the window alone, how can the night be endured? The parasol tree, together with fine rain, until dusk—drip by drip. In such a situation, how can a single word ‘sorrow’ suffice?” (Li Qingzhao of the Song dynasty, “Slow, Slow Tune”)
In the opening couplet, seven groups of reduplicated words are used consecutively: “Seeking, seeking; cold, cold, desolate, desolate; miserable, miserable, sorrowful, sorrowful,” and later, “until dusk—drip by drip.” These reduplicated words do not stand in relationships of modification or mutual dependence. Even if the repeated forms are removed, the original basic structure remains intact, and the essential meaning (the emotion of sorrow and grief) is not fundamentally affected. However, in terms of rhythm, it would become shorter and more abrupt, losing the slow, slightly helpless melodic quality produced by repeated chanting and layered singing.
“The courtyard, deep, deep—how deep is it? Willows pile in mist, curtains in countless layers. At places where carved saddles and jeweled reins roam, from high towers one cannot see the road to Zhangtai. The rain sweeps across, the wind rages at the end of the third month. Doors close at dusk; there is no way to keep spring from staying. Tearful eyes ask the flowers; the flowers do not speak. Scattered petals fly past the swing.” (Ouyang Xiu of the Northern Song, “Butterflies in Love with Flowers”)
In the opening line “The courtyard, deep, deep—how deep is it?”, the first two characters “deep, deep” are reduplicated words, functioning grammatically as adjectives modifying the noun “courtyard.” The third “deep,” although seemingly repeated, actually functions as a verb; its part of speech differs from the previous two, and its grammatical role is also different. Therefore, the third “deep” should not be regarded as a reduplicated word but rather as “reduplicative diction.”
Another example is the line “Tearful eyes ask the flowers; the flowers do not speak.” The first “flowers” is a noun functioning as an object, while the second “flowers” is a noun functioning as a subject. Although both are nouns, grammatically the former is in a passive structure and the latter in an active structure. Their parts of speech and meanings are similar, but their grammatical roles differ—should this be regarded as reduplication? The author believes there is still room for consideration. This sentence is originally a compound sentence, semantically containing two layers: “I, with tearful eyes, ask the flowers” and “the flowers are silent toward me.” If the repeated form is removed, ambiguity arises, yielding two interpretations: “I ask the flowers with tearful eyes; the flowers are silent toward me,” or “I ask the flowers with tearful eyes; I am silent toward the flowers.”
Section 4: The Manifestational Forms of Leidie
Reduplication can make sounds vivid and prominent, produce special auditory effects, and also generate descriptive and expressive functions, strengthening the imagery of language and intensifying semantic expression.
The rhetorical device “leidie” can be formally divided into two categories: “continuous reduplication” and “interval repetition.” Each can further be classified, according to compositional units, into repetition of “words (characters),” “phrases,” “short expressions,” “sentences,” and “initial-final repetition,” encompassing both repetition (leidie) and reduplication (reduplicated words).
I. Continuous Reduplication
This refers to expressing the repeated element continuously, with identical words, phrases, short expressions, or sentences closely connected, without any intervening words or sentences. Common forms include: (1) continuous repetition of single words, (2) continuous repetition of phrases, and (3) continuous repetition of sentences. The following poetic examples illustrate these forms:
(1) Continuous Reduplication of Single Words (Reduplicated Characters)
“The same character is used consecutively to form a disyllabic word.”²⁰ Reduplicated characters, also called “reduplicated words” or “double words,” are a type of compound word formed through the rhetorical technique of leidie. Such words consist of two or more Chinese characters identical in form and meaning, repeated together. These reduplicated words, according to their parts of speech, can function as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. Common grammatical patterns include ABAB, AABB, ABB, AAB, and AA.
Consider the reduplication poem by the Tang dynasty monk-poet Hanshan:
“Vast, vast the Cold Mountain path;
Lonely, lonely by the cold stream’s edge.
Chirping, chirping, birds are often heard;
Silent, silent—there is no one more.
Bleak, bleak, the wind blows against the face;
Flurrying, flurrying, snow gathers on the body.
Morning after morning, the sun is unseen;
Year after year, spring is unknown.”
In this poem, each line begins with reduplicated words, following the AA pattern. The use of reduplication not only strengthens the imagery—visual imagery such as “Cold Mountain path,” auditory imagery such as “cold stream’s edge” and “birds are often heard,” and action imagery such as “wind blows against the face” and “snow gathers on the body”—making the imagery vivid and moving, but also harmonizes the rhythm, giving it a measured and graceful cadence.
In modern poetry, poets also frequently use reduplication:
Xin Yu, “Variations of the Face”²¹
“This face was once a large, large tender leaf
This face was once a round, round moon
Now it is a deflated ball
Kicked around by time
This face face face face face overlapping
In the directionless journey of smoke
Self-immolates”
“Large, large” and “round, round” follow the AAB pattern and function as adjectives. “This face face face face face overlapping,” with five consecutive “face” characters, is an expanded AA pattern functioning as a noun. In this poem, reduplication serves to emphasize meaning and harmonize rhythm.
Yu Guangzhong, “The World in the Mirror—A Secret Dream”²²
“On the windless water stretching ten miles
Slender, slender are the fine stems filling the mirror
Graceful, graceful are the twin reflections
Faint, faint are the distant mountain hues
Empty, empty is the tranquil scenery
Light, light is a small boat
With two or three figures aboard
Floating in illusory transparency”
In this stanza, the poet successively uses five groups of reduplicated adjectives. Their use creates a gentle and measured rhythm, and the reduplicated adjectives make the nouns they modify more vivid, enhancing the evocative power of imagery. The poet’s brush follows the shifting focus of vision, like a zoom lens moving in and out: beginning with nearby lotus flowers, whose slender stems fill the mirror-like lake surface; then the graceful reflections of lotus stems; next, the lens pulls far away to faint mountain hues and empty scenery; then it returns to a nearer view, where a small boat floats lightly on the lake; finally, the lens moves closer to the boat, revealing two or three human figures aboard.
In modern poetry, there are also cases where large quantities of reduplication appear, usually to create special visual effects. For example, in Ye Weilian’s poem “Continuous Stream,” more than a hundred instances of the character “locust” are arranged across six lines, producing a shocking visual effect. This has already surpassed the inherent meaning of the rhetorical device “leidie” and entered the stage of “pictorialization.”
Wu Sheng, “In a Foreign Forest”²³
“In a dazed and trance-like pacing,
all sounds and stirrings
often transform into tens of thousands of words,
murmuring and murmuring again,
like willow branches by the riverbank swaying without cease,
thread by thread, strand by strand, entwining me.”
In this passage of verse, the poet makes extensive use of reduplication, including the adjective “dazed and trance-like,” the quantitative adjective “tens of thousands,” the adverb “thread by thread, strand by strand,” and the verb phrase “murmuring and murmuring again,” thereby creating a gentle rhythm and a romantic atmosphere. As the poet paces in a foreign forest, he transforms the sounds he hears into a metaphorical form (like willow branches by the riverbank), expressing, after sensory transference (synesthesia), a visual image (willow branches swaying endlessly by the riverbank / threads and strands entwining me).
(2) Continuous Reduplication of Phrases (Reduplicated Words)
“Words composed of two or more different characters are used consecutively. This has a clear effect of strengthening the momentum of expression.”²⁴
Yu Guangzhong, “Percussion Music”²⁵
“Hyacinths and dandelions
remain unhappy after National Mourning Day
unhappy, unhappy, unhappy”
Xiang Ming, “Reading the Newspaper”²⁶
“As soon as the presbyopic glasses are adjusted,
all the printed characters suddenly begin to shout together:
relief
relief
relief”
In these two poetic examples, the continuous appearance of phrases forms a dense rhythm, strengthens the force of expression, raises the volume, and draws the reader’s attention. Although reduplicated words can indeed intensify tone and emotional impact, the number of repetitions and frequency of use must be carefully controlled, because the same kind of “stimulus” can easily numb readers or even make them feel weary.
Ye Weilian, “Thames River, Flow Quietly”²⁷
“Even those who fall into death
see before them only the flourishing traces of the new generation
evaporating desires of love and material want
like fish swimming in water, delighting in water, yet unaware of water
without regard for historical memory
without regard for the positives and negatives of emotion
enjoy, enjoy, enjoy
enjoy endless life”
In this passage, there are not only reduplicated characters (“new new humanity”; “positive positive, negative negative”), but also reduplicated phrases (“without regard”; “enjoy”), as well as interval repetition of characters such as “in” and “water,” presenting a highly diverse set of leidie forms. These are used to express the hedonistic, pleasure-indulgent lifestyle of the new generation. The simile “like fish swimming in water, delighting in water, yet unaware of water” is particularly vivid; “unaware of water” carries multiple possible meanings and is highly thought-provoking.
(3) Continuous Reduplication of Sentences (Repeated Sentences)
“Two adjacent sentences that are completely identical. Such repetition is most effective in expressing strong emotions.”²⁸ In classical poetry, continuous repetition of sentences appears, such as:
“In youth, not knowing the taste of sorrow,
I loved climbing high towers, loved climbing high towers;
to compose new lyrics, I forced myself to speak of sorrow.
Now having fully known the taste of sorrow,
I wish to speak, yet stop; wish to speak, yet stop;
instead I say, what a fine cool autumn.”
(Xin Qiji, “Ugly Slave”)
This lyric uses consecutive repeated sentences in both the upper and lower stanzas; the two groups of repeated sentences respectively express the actions and realizations of two different stages of life.
Luo Ying, “A Cat’s Autumn”²⁹
“Autumn
rests among withered leaves
within traps
one can also hear that coarse, shallow call belonging to the cat
calling for a restless
glimmer of starlight
a glimmer of starlight
from the base of the mountain peak
leaps onto my restless bare feet
numerous starlights
paint the cat’s flickering leaps
leaping to gather autumn
into the warm pool of its eyes”
In this passage, the repeated sentence not only performs its inherent function but also serves to connect the semantic flow of the preceding and following text. In form, such repeated sentences resemble the rhetorical device of “anadiplosis” (linking the end of one clause to the beginning of the next), and their connective function is also similar, making them not easily distinguishable. In this case, the first “a glimmer of starlight” functions as the object of “calling for a restless,” whereas the second “a glimmer of starlight” serves as the subject leading “from the base of the mountain peak,” clearly differing in function.
Zhang Cuo, “Anecdotes of Tea”³⁰
“That monk let out a sigh,
before his eyes rows upon rows of tea trees,
in the future page after page of koans,
letting those lay disciples, Chan masters, and ascetics
after tea and meals, at the sound of morning bells and evening drums,
desperately pursue and question:
you came from the West over thousands of miles—
what exactly is the meaning?
what exactly is the meaning?”
The final line, “what exactly is the meaning?”, is repeated once, forming a “sentence repetition at the end of the passage,” which can lengthen the rhythm and create an echoing effect. Semantically, it also serves to emphasize meaning. This passage narrates the story of Bodhidharma coming from India to spread Buddhist teachings, incorporating legendary elements that claim that bitter tea trees originated from Bodhidharma’s cut eyelashes.
II. Interval Reduplication
Identical words, phrases, short expressions, or sentences are repeated at intervals—at the beginning and end of lines or clauses—without inserting other words or phrases between the repeated elements. “That is, other words, sentences, or paragraphs intervene between the repeatedly used words or sentences.”³¹ Common forms include: (1) repetition with intervening words, (2) repetition with intervening phrases, (3) repetition with intervening sentences, (4) repetition with intervening paragraphs, and (5) initial-final repetition.
(1) Repetition with Intervening Words (Leizi / Similar Characters)
“The same character, word, or sentence is used at intervals within a passage.”³² These repeated elements, depending on their parts of speech, may function as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or relational words.
Luo Qing, “Nüwa Battles the Giant Excavator — A Sketch of Taiwan”³³
“Looking over, looking over,
the battle of sand and gravel loading by the riverbank
has just ended in extreme brutality,
the mountains, unable to rush to aid in time, grow anxious, their faces ashen,
only able to stand shoulder to shoulder at the horizon, veins linked to veins,
towering and unmoving, forming a formation ready to face death.”
This passage depicts the greed of sand and gravel operators extracting river resources, damaging river hydrology and ecology. In the line “shoulder to shoulder, veins linked to veins,” the words “shoulder” and “vein” are each repeated at intervals, presenting the magnificent scene of continuous mountain ranges in the distance.
Yu Guangzhong, “Sea Sacrifice”³⁴
“The surging current rolls forward, pushing the old cosmos;
stars brighten, stars fade; the moon rises, the moon sinks;
various flags are fiercely struck by the wind, striking, striking.”
In the line “stars brighten, stars fade; the moon rises, the moon sinks,” the words “star” and “moon” are each repeated at intervals, expressing the passage of time through their alternation. This compound sentence is also, in form, a parallel sentence. In modern poetry, inserting structurally balanced sentences (such as repetition, parallelism, and listing) within free verse can regulate rhythm, strengthen expressive force, and prevent the lines from becoming loose due to irregular sentence lengths.
Zhang Mo, “War, By Chance”³⁵
“Tonight the moonlight is like an endless layer of skin,
angular bunkers suddenly fall from my eyelashes,
many dreams without dreams,
many hands without hands,
many faces without faces,
many voices without voices,
layer upon layer plowed, piled, rising higher,
within that deeply gazing yet choking vision,
within that grassland of time shadowed by full-bearded years.”
Poet Zhang Mo, with a military background and experience of wartime, naturally possesses a profound understanding of the brutal nature of war. This passage describes the poet, in a sleepless night, recalling his time on the front lines, witnessing firsthand the tragic scenes of countless bodies with mutilated limbs scattered across the battlefield. These inescapable memories remain like shadows deeply embedded in time.
“Many dreams without dreams,
many hands without hands,
many faces without faces,
many voices without voices”
In this passage, the parallel structure employs a shared sentence pattern: “many without ■ of ■.” The use of formal interval repetition creates a regular rhythm and vividly outlines the real scenes of the battlefield.
(2) Repetition with Intervening Phrases (Leici / Similar Words)
Words composed of two or more different characters are used at intervals within a passage, forming a regular rhythm.
Luo Qing, “After the Disaster Occurs Again — A Sketch of the Mine Pit”³⁶
“The tunnel is silent, the coal seam is silent,
even the gentle and quiet carbon dioxide is silent,
what remains with us is only the igneous rock pressing down overhead.”
In the line “the tunnel is silent, the coal seam is silent,” the phrase “silent” constitutes repetition with intervening phrases. The “silent” in the second line is repetition with intervening sentences. The three occurrences of “silent,” arranged before and after, present the tragic scene of a mining disaster, where miners trapped deep in the tunnel are on the brink of death.
Yu Guangzhong, “Kowloon–Canton Railway”³⁷
“You ask me what kind of taste Hong Kong has, what kind of taste;
holding your small postcard, I smile in sorrow.”
In the line “You ask me what kind of taste Hong Kong has, what kind of taste,” the phrase “what kind of taste” is repetition with intervening phrases. The poet could originally have omitted this phrase, yet deliberately repeats it in order to emphasize the sensory word “taste,” highlighting the poet’s mixed and complex emotions at that moment.
(3) Repetition with Intervening Sentences (Leiju / Similar Sentences)
Identical sentences are used at intervals, separated by one sentence within a passage, forming a regular rhythm.
Ya Xian, “The Circus Clown”³⁸
“Beneath the purely sorrowful straw hat,
the ladies are smiling,
trembling the Chinese pagodas on their folding fans,
the ladies are smiling,
laughing at what I have mixed in
between giraffes and antelopes.”
“The ladies are smiling” is repetition with intervening sentences. Spoken from the clown’s perspective, it forms a sharp contrast with the clown’s inner feelings—namely, an intense contrast of “external warmth and internal coldness.” Even though the clown is inwardly sorrowful, he must conceal it and strive to amuse the audience.
Zhang Mo, “Death, Farewell”³⁹
“Death, farewell,
emptiness, farewell,
moaning, farewell.
The old sun still leaps forth from the edge of the clouds,
time is cold and silent,
we, naked,
sit in the cradle of infancy;
we, naked,
sit on the train of death;
we, naked,
sit at the end of the horizon;
we, naked,
slowly,
quietly,
forcefully push open this primordial wilderness.”
“Farewell” is repetition of a phrase with intervening sentences. “We, naked,” is repetition of a sentence with intervening sentences.
“We, naked,” when combined with the following lines, also forms a “progressive parallelism.” Both the first half and the second half of this passage consist of structurally regular “balanced sentences,” giving the rhythm a cyclical, recurring melodic quality.
(4) Repetition with Intervening Paragraphs (Leiju / Similar Sentences)
Zheng Chouyu, “Skylight”⁴⁰
“The stars are all beautiful, each occupying the seven nights in rotation,
and that small blue star in the south?
Water from the spring source already wanders idly along the four walls,
the tinkling clay jar has not yet been lowered.
Ah, the stars are all beautiful,
and in dreams there resounds only one name,
that name, free as flowing water…”
The sentence “the stars are all beautiful” is repetition with intervening paragraphs, appearing at the beginning of two separate stanzas, serving an emphatic function. Zheng Chouyu’s early lyric poetry is romantic and gentle, and this poem “Skylight” is one of his representative works. The poem describes the poet imagining the skylight as a deep well; lying on his bed, he feels as if he is reclining within the well, imagining the stars outside the skylight coming to his roof tiles to draw water. The use of personification turns the stars into gentle young maidens holding clay jars to fetch water. “Water from the spring source already wanders idly along the four walls / the tinkling clay jar has not yet been lowered”—the “tinkling” of the clay jar is an onomatopoeic expression, giving the lines both sound and imagery.
Luo Zhicheng, “A Candle Falls Asleep Within Its Own Flame”⁴¹
“A candle falls asleep within its own flame.
Baby, let us quietly walk downstairs.
Let us tidy up the world you kicked over before sleep,
the little anger you left on the carpet,
bring it back into the warm quilt to melt.
A candle falls asleep within its own flame.
The cradle of time gently sways,
death breathes softly,
we quietly walk around it,
baby, tightly holding the secret document with which we seek rescue from eternity.
Let us go fly kites on the beach!
From the gap pierced by meteors in the night sky,
we inquire about the routines of the stars.
Let us go skiing upon your hair;
everything, please do not disturb our civilization.
A candle has fallen asleep, like a marvelous brush, drawing dreamlike lines into the air.
Let us go to the bakery before closing
to purchase tomorrow morning’s breakfast;
if you wish, later
we shall steal the navigation map of the earth.
A candle falls deeply asleep within its own flame.
Baby, use your beautiful lips to blow it out.
The death we nurture within our bodies grows day by day;
through our love,
what are they saying to each other? Baby,
but you are both beautiful and drowsy; before sleep,
those feelings, you place them crookedly upon the dressing table.”
The sentence “A candle falls deeply asleep within its own flame” is repetition with intervening paragraphs, appearing as the opening line of the first, third, and fourth stanzas. This poem is written by a father about his daughter; the lines reveal the father’s love for his child. After the daughter falls asleep, the father tidies her toys, tucks in her blanket, and then sits beside her, beginning a beautiful and warm reverie: “Let us go fly kites on the beach! …”
(5) Initial–Final Repetition
Zheng Chouyu, “A Farewell”⁴²
“This time I leave you—it is wind, it is rain, it is night.
You smile slightly; I wave my hand,
and a lonely road stretches out in two directions…
Yet I do not mistakenly enter the orchard of golden fruits,
but instead mistakenly enter Werther’s grave…
(omitted in the middle)
This time I leave you, and will no longer think of seeing you again.
Thinking of this moment, you have already quietly fallen asleep.
Leave all that remains unfinished between us to this world.
This world—I still tread it earnestly,
yet it has already become your dream…”
“This time I leave you” is an example of initial–final repetition, which in rhythm produces the effect of correspondence between the beginning and the end. This lyric poem employs a “simultaneous yet spatially separated imaginative projection,” narrating how, after parting from his lover on a night of bitter wind and rain, the poet imagines his lover’s feelings and activities at that very moment during his journey home.
Section 5: The Distinction Between Leidie and Parallelism
(1) Repetition (leidie) focuses on the literal repetition of words or sentences, whereas parallelism focuses on similarity or identity of structure, similarity of meaning, and consistency of tone.
(2) The primary function of repetition is emphasis and highlighting, whereas the primary function of parallelism is to strengthen momentum and rhetorical force.
(3) The components that constitute parallelism must be continuous, whereas repetition, although it may be continuous, can also occur at intervals.⁴³
Notes
- Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 531.
- Wang Yizao et al., Rhetoric in Literature and Language, Hong Kong: Macmillan, 1987, p. 93.
- Zhu Qiaosen, ed., Miscellaneous Talks on New Poetry, Taipei: Kaijin Culture, 1994, p. 22.
- Liu Shucheng et al., Basic Principles of Aesthetics, Shanghai: People’s Publishing, 2005, p. 81.
- Hegel, Aesthetics (Vol. 1), trans. Zhu Guangqian, Taipei: Liren, 1981, p. 188.
- Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 651.
- Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan, eds., Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1221.
- Cheng Weijun et al., eds., General Guide to Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1991, p. 761.
- Lei Shujuan, Aesthetic Rhetoric of Literary Language, Shanghai: Xuelin, 2004, p. 99.
- Tang Songbo and Huang Jianlin, eds., Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Figures of Speech, Taipei: Jianhong, 1996, p. 805.
- Lu Jiaxiang and Chi Taining, eds., Illustrated Dictionary of Rhetorical Methods, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education, 1991, p. 40.
- Same as note (9), p. 74.
- Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan, eds., Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1221.
- Lu Jiaxiang and Chi Taining, eds., Illustrated Dictionary of Rhetorical Methods, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education, 1991, p. 40.
- Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: Guojia, 2004, p. 417.
- Same as note (3), pp. 838–839.
- Same as note (3), p. 761.
- Same as note (13), p. 586.
- Wu Zhankun, General Treatise on Common Figures of Speech, Shijiazhuang: Hebei Education, 1990, p. 219.
- Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: Guojia, 2004, p. 413.
- From Xin Yu, Collected Poems of Xin Yu: Leopard, Taipei: Hanguang, 1988, pp. 61–63.
- From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong (Vol. 2): 1982–1998, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, pp. 165–167.
- From Selected Poems of Wu Sheng, Taipei: Hongfan, 2000, pp. 41–43.
- Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: Guojia, 2002, p. 414.
- From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong I, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, pp. 208–220.
- From Xiang Ming, Recollections of Water, Taipei: Jiuge, 1988, pp. 204–205.
- From Ye Weilian, The Taste of Rain, Taipei: Erya, 2006, pp. 81–88.
- Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: Guojia, 2002, p. 416.
- From Luo Ying, The Catcher of Clouds, Taipei: Linbai, 1982, pp. 113–114.
- From Zhang Cuo, Fourteen Errors, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1981, pp. 10–13.
- Cheng Weijun et al., eds., General Guide to Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1991, p. 839.
- Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: Guojia, 2002, p. 417.
- From Luo Qing, Videographic Poetics, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, pp. 105–109.
- From Zhang Cuo, ed., Island of a Thousand Songs, Taipei: Erya, 1987, pp. 38–47.
- From Zhang Mo, Century Selection of Zhang Mo’s Poetry, Taipei: Erya, 2000, pp. 12–13.
- From Luo Qing, Videographic Poetics, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, pp. 115–119.
- From Zhang Cuo, ed., Island of a Thousand Songs, Taipei: Erya, 1987, p. 48.
- From Ya Xian, Collected Poems of Ya Xian, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, pp. 152–154.
- From Ya Xian et al., eds., Genesis Poetry Selection, Taipei: Erya, 1984, pp. 96–98.
- From Zheng Chouyu, Collected Poems of Zheng Chouyu I: 1951–1968, Taipei: Hongfan, 1979, pp. 163–164.
- From Zhang Cuo, ed., Island of a Thousand Songs, Taipei: Erya, 1987, pp. 471–473.
- From Zheng Chouyu, Collected Poems of Zheng Chouyu I: 1951–1968, Taipei: Hongfan, 1979, pp. 130–132.
- Cheng Weijun et al., eds., General Guide to Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1991, p. 841.
