QCAA Chinese Extension flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

典故 (allusion)

A compressed reference to a classical story, poem, or historical event. Recognising it unlocks a layer of meaning the author expects the educated reader to supply independently.

白话文运动

The early twentieth-century campaign to replace classical 文言 with written vernacular. It democratised literacy and shifted literature's centre from moral instruction to individual experience.

儒家价值观

A value system centred on 仁 (benevolence), 礼 (ritual propriety), and hierarchical duty among ruler, minister, parent, and child. It shapes much pre-modern Chinese narrative structure.

道家自然观

The Daoist view that human striving distorts a natural order best left alone. Texts using it often praise withdrawal, simplicity, and 无为 (non-action) over ambition.

文言语体特征

Classical Chinese style marked by single-syllable words, particles such as 之, 乎, 者, 也, and extreme conciseness. Grammar relies on position and context rather than inflections.

散文 genre

A flexible prose form privileging personal reflection, memory, and lyrical description. Its argument is usually implicit, carried by imagery rather than stated thesis.

互文性 (intertextuality)

The way a Chinese text echoes earlier texts through quotation or allusion. Such echoes may signal respect, or may be inverted for ironic effect.

五四文学转向

The 1919 intellectual movement that championed science, democracy, and vernacular writing. It produced literature focused on individual consciousness and social critique.

首先/其次/因此

Sequencing connectives that mark first point, second point, and conclusion. They make argument structure explicit for listeners in spoken or written exchange.

在一定程度上

A hedging phrase meaning 'to some extent'. It lets a speaker qualify a claim without abandoning it, signalling balanced judgement rather than absolute assertion.

虽然……但是……

A concession-rebuttal frame. The first clause grants an opposing point; the second asserts the speaker's position, producing an evaluative rather than one-sided statement.

换句话说

A reformulation marker meaning 'in other words'. It signals the speaker is restating a point to clarify it, often after noticing misunderstanding.

我想确认一下

A polite clarification formula meaning 'I'd like to confirm'. It prefaces a check of facts or intent without implying the other speaker was unclear.

未必 (not necessarily)

A negative hedge asserting that something is not guaranteed. It challenges an implied absolute claim while leaving room for exceptions, useful in discussion.

书面语体

The formal written register, favouring 较为, 尤为, and 相当 over colloquial intensifiers such as 挺 and 超级. Required in extended written responses.

与此同时

A simultaneity marker meaning 'at the same time'. It links two concurrent developments, helping listeners track parallel strands in a narrative or argument.

反问句 (rhetorical question)

A question form used to assert, not to ask. 难道……吗？ expects agreement and carries strong evaluative force, often signalling indignation or persuasion.

竟然/居然

Evaluative adverbs marking surprise at something contrary to expectation. Their presence reveals the author's assumed norm and implicit judgement.

所谓 (so-called)

A modifier that distances the author from a term, often implying the label is unearned or contested. It is a compact marker of sceptical stance.

情态动词等级

Degrees of certainty expressed by modals: 必然 and 一定 are high, 应该 and 大概 medium, 可能 and 也许 low. Comparing them reveals confidence differences.

叙述视角

The perspective from which a story is told: first person (limited, personal), omniscient third person (authoritative), or restricted third person (suspenseful, information-controlled).

反讽 (irony)

A gap between surface praise and underlying criticism. In Chinese texts it often appears as elevated classical diction applied to trivial or corrupt subjects.

作者与叙述者

The author writes the text; the narrator speaks within it. A character's or narrator's view is not automatically the author's endorsed position.

态度词分类

Adjectives naming stance: 同情 sympathetic, 批判 critical, 讽刺 satirical, 无奈 resigned, 赞美 admiring, 客观 detached. Naming stance precisely is a core analytical move.

论据层级

An evidence hierarchy: statistics and documented cases outrank personal anecdote, which outranks bare assertion. Identifying the level tests whether a claim is supported.

议论文结构

The three-part argument essay: 引论 states the thesis, 本论 develops claims with evidence, 结论 restates and extends. Structure is assessed alongside content.

观点-论据-分析

The body-paragraph formula: state a claim, supply evidence, then explain how that evidence proves the claim. Skipping the analysis reduces the paragraph to assertion.

由此可见

A cohesion marker meaning 'from this it can be seen'. It introduces an inference drawn from preceding evidence, signalling analytical movement rather than summary.

归根结底

A concluding marker meaning 'in the final analysis'. It introduces the root cause or ultimate judgement after subordinate points have been considered.

字数分配

A planning rule for extended responses: roughly ten percent introduction, seventy-five percent body, fifteen percent conclusion. It prevents an overlong opening.

引用的整合

Quotation must be introduced, kept brief, then interpreted. A quotation left without commentary supplies evidence but earns no analytical credit.

展望式结论

A conclusion that projects future implications of the argument. It adds value beyond restatement, but should be chosen instead of, not alongside, a call to action.