Chapter Five: Conversion of Word Classes
Conversion (conversion of parts of speech)

Section One: Definition and Function of Conversion of Word Classes

I. Transformation of Word Classes

“When a lexical item changes its original word class and appears in language use, thereby making its meaning more novel and enriched, and making its semantic expression more flexible and vivid, this is called conversion of word classes”¹. “Conversion of categories refers to the deliberate use of a certain category of words as another category in linguistic expression. The conversion of word categories is also the temporary transformation of a word’s part of speech. Therefore, some scholars call conversion of categories: the flexible use of parts of speech, or a rhetorical variation in the grammatical usage of a certain word’s part of speech.”²

The rhetorical device of “conversion of word class” is based on grammatical word categories, involving the “temporary change of a word’s part of speech.” The use of conversion is naturally a rhetorical strategy employed by the author to achieve a specific expressive purpose, deliberately shifting word class in usage: on the one hand, it enables words to function as substitutes. From ancient texts, we can clearly observe that due to lexical poverty, when ancient writers needed to express complex emotions but could not find appropriate terms, they would transform the part of speech of certain words, thereby generating expanded meanings and expressing emotion more precisely. Moreover, such transformations often created a fresh and unusual impression, producing an excellent substitutive effect. On the other hand, based on the original meaning, new meanings are derived, making language lively and vivid, allowing readers to perceive the author’s flexible mastery of language.³

The functions of conversion include: (1) it makes language concise and condensed; (2) it allows expansion and contraction of textual structure, producing either balanced beauty or dynamic variation in language; (3) it enhances imagery and vividness in language.⁴ The use of conversion requires attention to three principles: grammatical correctness, semantic naturalness, and expressive vividness.

II. Historical Development of Conversion of Word Classes

Long ago, people already widely applied “word class variation” in both spoken and written language. For example, in Tang dynasty poet Du Fu’s “To a Retired Scholar Wei Eight,” the line “Visiting old friends, half of them are ghosts, startling cries warm the heart,” uses three instances of conversion within one couplet: “old” (adjective → noun), “startled” (verb → adverb), and “warm” (adjective → verb). Another example is Li Bai’s “Cutting water with a sword, yet the water flows more; lifting a cup to dispel sorrow, yet sorrow grows,” where the final word “sorrow” shifts from noun to adjective. In Su Shi’s “Meditation on the Past at Red Cliff,” the word “spirit” changes from noun to adverb, modifying “travel.” In Qin Guan’s “Splendid Hall Fragrance,” words such as “secretly” and “lightly,” originally adjectives, are converted into adverbs modifying verbs such as “undo” and “separate.”

From the perspective of diachronic linguistic evolution, vocabulary continuously expands and develops with the passage of time, becoming richer and more complete. The phenomenon of word-class transformation has long been noted. For example, in Qing scholar Zeng Guofan’s “Reply to Li Meisheng,” he wrote: “Substance and function: substantive words are used functionally, and functional words are used substantively. What is meant by substantive words used functionally? For example, ‘spring wind winds people, summer rain rains people’ (Shuoyuan: On Virtue). The upper ‘wind’ and ‘rain’ are nouns; the lower ‘wind’ and ‘rain’ are used as verbs meaning to nurture, thus functional usage. ‘Taking off clothes to clothe me, offering food to feed me’ (Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Marquis of Huaiyin). The upper ‘clothe’ and ‘food’ are nouns; the lower usage takes them as verbs meaning favor or bestowal.”⁵ This not only indicates that nouns are content words while verbs and adjectives are function words, but also shows that the same character, depending on its syntactic position, may change its part of speech and meaning. This corresponds to the ancient view that “meaning arises from context” and “words have no fixed category; parts of speech are determined by sentence usage.” It also points out that later scholars’ idea that converted words should be read with alternative pronunciations (modern so-called polyphonic readings) did not exist in ancient textual tradition.

In concise poetic forms such as regulated verse and quatrains, converted words often play a key role, functioning as structural pivots or what classical poetics calls the “poetic eye.” For instance, in Wang Anshi’s “Mooring at Guazhou,” the line “The spring wind again greens the south bank of the river; when will the bright moon shine on my return?” the word “green” (used as a verb) enlivens the entire poem and even determines its lasting literary value.

Modern Chinese grammarians, in the early period, divided parts of speech into nine categories⁶. Most instances of conversion occur among nouns, verbs, and adjectives, as well as the derived adverbial forms. That is, nouns, verbs, and adjectives may mutually transform, extending also to adverbs.

Section Two: Semantic Structure of Conversion of Word Classes

The rhetorical device of conversion, when applied in modern poetry, resembles cosmetic transformation applied to performers, producing effects of transformation and inversion. Conversion enlivens poetic lines and introduces variation. From a linguistic typological perspective, Chinese is an isolating language, in which each character has a fixed form; word meaning and part of speech are not determined by morphological inflection but by syntactic position. The same lexical item may take on different parts of speech, meanings, and even pronunciations depending on its position in a sentence, without any change in form. Therefore, conversion is a change in part of speech.⁷

Words that undergo conversion often simultaneously carry both their original meaning (basic meaning) and their converted meaning (extended meaning)⁸. The original meaning represents the “constant nature” of the word class, while the converted meaning represents its “variable nature,” and such converted meanings often produce strong rhetorical effects. This distinguishes “conversion” from “polysemy.” In polysemy, although a word may have multiple meanings (such as puns), its part of speech does not change and remains constant.

For example, in Yu Guangzhong’s “My Solidification”:

“I was originally quite liquid,
also fond of flowing, easily boiling,
and fond of playing on rainbow slides.”

In the phrase “quite liquid,” the word “liquid” is originally a noun; with the addition of the particle “-like” or “-state,” it functions adjectivally. Semantically, it shifts from its original meaning of “liquid substance” to the meaning of “free-flowing” or “fond of freedom,” demonstrating conversion of part of speech.

In contrast, in Chen Li’s “Mistress,” puns operate as follows:

“My mistress is a slack guitar
hidden in its case, a smooth body
that even the moonlight cannot touch...”

According to the definition, “when a word, in addition to its original meaning, also carries the meaning of another word with the same pronunciation, it is called a phonetic pun.”¹¹ In this poem, “tuning the instrument” and “flirting” are phonetically similar; the poet cleverly uses this feature to suggest the emotional changes of the female figure, representing a phonetic pun. The words “guitar” and “emotion” are semantically different, but their parts of speech remain unchanged, both being nouns.

Section Three: Manifestational Forms of Conversion of Word Classes

The manifestational forms of conversion of word classes generally revolve around the three categories of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These three categories, due to positional shifts within sentences, often develop into adverbs. Other types of conversion include numerals, interjections, and pronouns; such forms are not common in modern poetry. In some cases of conversion, it is often necessary to add an auxiliary marker before or after the word to identify its grammatical category, in order to achieve the function of conversion.¹² The discussion is as follows:

I. Conversion of Nouns

Nouns may be converted into verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. “Converted nouns retain certain features of verbs or adjectives. When nouns are used as verbs, in addition to retaining their original nominal meaning, they also acquire a sense of action and behavior; when nouns are used as adjectives, they strengthen qualities such as color, state, and nature.”¹³ Nominal suffixes often take the form of added elements such as “-guo,” “-le,” “-zhe,” and “-qilai,” thereby converting nouns into verbs.

1. Noun → Verb

Zheng Chouyu, “Journey”¹⁴
“Anyway, after the great famine year, war will still be discussed.
I might as well still go be a mercenary.
(I might as well still go be a mercenary.)
I have once been a husband, once been a father, and almost walked through it all.”

In this passage, the words “husband” and “father” are originally nouns; through conversion and the addition of “-guo,” they become verbs, meaning “to be a husband” and “to be a father.” The word “guo,” originally a verb, is transformed through conversion into an adverb modifying the converted verbs “husband” and “father.” As for the phrase “walked through,” originally a verb phrase, the addition of “-guo” does not change its verbal nature. It may carry two meanings: one is “death,” meaning having walked through the journey of life; the other is “becoming a mercenary,” meaning embarking on a path of no return into military service.

A similar syntactic structure appears more fully developed in Zhang Cuo’s poem “Fallen Leaves.”

Zhang Cuo, “Fallen Leaves”¹⁵
“How should I tell the wind of my drifting life story?
That which grew from the roots cannot hold onto its roots.
Ten years ago I
had been tree-ed, flower-ed, fruit-ed.
Had been umbrella-ed, shaded, forested.
And the result of ten years—
is merely this fragment of loneliness and solitude?
And how should I weep with dew over the bitterness of my life?
Roots sink downward, I rise upward.
What connects us is only that faint pulse of breath.
For ten years I have also been flowered and blossomed
and red-flowered and green-leaved,
yet what is clearly traced is only the palm lines of my fate,
left to be drenched by rain,
left to be soothed by sunlight.”

In addition to “flowering in full bloom” functioning as adjective-to-verb conversion, “tree,” “flower,” “fruit,” “umbrella,” “shade,” “forest,” and “red flower green leaf” are all nouns used as verbs. Through conversion, the scope of usage (context) of words is expanded and semantic richness is enhanced.

Chen Kehua, “New New Three Pieces: ‘In Memory of Paul’”¹⁶
“Everything has become only a little bit now.
A little bit of revolution was made.
A little bit of democracy was made.
A little bit of moaning:
Democracy, democracy, people rule.
And those continuously rising testicles of yours.
That thing of yours.
Tears for thirty years
still cannot be ruled.”

The three nouns “revolution,” “people,” and “tears,” with the addition of “-le,” are converted into verbs. This passage, in a humorous and mocking tone, describes the vicissitudes of Taiwan’s democratic development. The lines “a little bit of revolution / a little bit of democracy / a little bit of moaning” may also be regarded as lexical segmentation, in which word groups are split for use, often resulting in conversion of word class.

Zhou Mengdie, “Coldness Without Fear of Cold”¹⁷
“Even if I have never once been fish in dreams,
bird in dreams, butterfly in dreams,
once living long here,
I still become dazed and bewildered,
unexpectedly and naturally,
becoming Zhuangzi.”

When suffixal markers such as “-le,” “-zhe,” “-guo,” and “-qilai” are attached to nouns or adjectives, the part of speech often becomes verbal. “Fish,” “bird,” “butterfly,” and “Zhuangzi” are all nouns, yet the poet uses them as verbs, endowing them with dynamic qualities, making the poem vivid and richly imagistic.

1. Noun → Adjective

Li Bai, “Farewell at Xie Tiao Tower in Xuanzhou” (Selected lines):
“Cutting water with a sword, the water flows even more;
lifting a cup to dispel sorrow, sorrow becomes even greater.”

Facing flowing water with a sword cannot stop its course; similarly, pouring wine to drown sorrow cannot extinguish inner grief. It expresses extreme helplessness and sorrow. The word “sorrow,” originally a noun, is transformed at the end into an adjective.

Du Shenyan, “Early Spring Outing and Gazing in Harmony with Vice Prefect Lu of Jinling”:
“Clouds and mist emerge over the sea at dawn;
plum and willow cross the river into spring.”

These lines describe clouds and mist changing above the sea, and plum and willow trees sprouting green buds and red blossoms in early spring, as if spring crosses the river from north to south. “Dawn” and “spring,” originally nouns, placed after “sea” and “river,” function as suffixal modifiers and are thus converted into adjectives.

Yu Guangzhong, “Reascending Datun Mountain”¹⁸
“Let us descend along the dark dragon ridge for now,
using touch to perceive.
We may also traverse this line of medieval
leaves and bells.
Parting your heavy eyelashes of night,
you discover myth is punctual.
The night sky is, very ‘Greek’.”

“Very Greek” is one of Yu Guangzhong’s early famous expressions. “Greek,” originally a noun, is here converted into an adjective, meaning “romantic” and “classical elegance.” If restored as “romantic and elegant,” the expression would become plain and unremarkable.

Yu Guangzhong, “Datun Mountain”¹⁹
“Spring is an extended April Fool’s Day, where love is in fashion.
Zhuo Wenjun has been dead for two thousand years, yet spring is still spring.
Still seventeen, still seventeen and a half.
Still clouds are swans, and female students are larks.
Still clouds are ballet, and female students are hesitant.”

In this passage, the poet repeatedly uses three converted forms—“swan,” “lark,” and “ballet”—all of which are nouns converted into adjectives, making ordinary images vivid, dynamic, and suggestive.

Zhou Mengdie, “On the Peak of the Lonely Summit”²⁰
“Every road points to the beginning!
At the end of the water source. As long as your toes lightly touch,
a thousand feet of cold spring will surge forth from where you step,
like ghee. There is no need to scoop or drink it;
your face is already flushed, your heart already opened.”

“Ghee,” originally a noun, is used here as an adjective modifying the verb “surge forth,” meaning “intensely rich.” The cold spring surges forth like ghee in intense abundance. This image derives from the Buddhist expression “anointing the head with ghee.” Poet Zhou Mengdie’s deep immersion in Buddhist thought brings philosophical depth into his poetry.

1. Noun → Adverb

Su Shi, “Prelude to the Song of Water Melody”:
“In dreams of my old homeland, I wander in spirit; those sentimental people would surely laugh at me for my early white hair.”

The word “spirit,” originally a noun, is converted into an adverb modifying the verb “wander.”

Shen Linbin, “Flanders”²¹
“This year’s laughter is stuck on that honeysuckle tree.
The wind blows the sea like a waltz.”

“Waltz,” originally a noun, is converted into an adverb meaning “in a rhythmic manner,” modifying the verb “blows,” expressing the state of action. The wind blows the sea, rhythmically raising waves.

Ye Weilian, “Birdsong in the Deep Night”²²
“But I indeed followed that rising melody
into their deeply emotional lament.
It was so musically
expressing the memory of their dreams,
the sweetness of distant recollections and the heavy melancholy of the future.
Some rapid broken tones,
some hoarse trembling,
striking the leaves like startled clouds flying away.”

“Music,” originally a noun, takes the suffix “-ly/di” and is converted into an adverb meaning “in a musical manner” or “with rhythm,” modifying the verb “express.” “Startled,” originally a verb, is converted into an adjective meaning “disturbed,” modifying the noun “clouds.” “Sweetness” and “melancholy,” originally adjectives, appear at the end of sentences and are converted into nouns, though their meanings remain semantically continuous.

II. Conversion of Verbs

Verb conversion is mainly used in relation to nouns and adjectives. “Verb conversion can give static form to continuously emerging phenomena, thereby achieving an expressive effect of motion within stillness and stillness within motion, and highlighting the nature of things for descriptive purposes.”²³ Prefixes such as “ke-” attached before verbs can turn them into adjectives (e.g., “laughable,” “fearful”). Suffixes such as “-zi,” “-tou,” and “-de” are often added to nouns (e.g., “cheater,” “suffering”).²⁴

(1) Verb → Noun

Xin Qiji, “He Xinlang”:
“How greatly I am aged! Sorrowful that throughout my life, companions have scattered; how many remain now?”

“Companions,” originally a verb, is here converted into a noun meaning “friends who have interacted and traveled together throughout life.”

Xiang Ming, “Towering”²⁵
“Do you see it?
What I have devoted my heart and blood to
is that vast expanse of blankness,
rising from the ground,
majestic and firm,
a kind of occupation.
Its name is towering.”

In this passage, two converted forms appear consecutively: “occupation,” a verb converted into a noun; and “towering,” an adjective converted into a noun. Through conversion, the language gains freshness and novelty, demonstrating how conversion can generate new meanings and stylistic innovation.

Du Shisan, “Snake: Written for the Prostitutes of Taipei”²⁶
“Because of the loss of a promise stained with verdigris,
you are punished into transforming into a snake.
According to the descending temperature of the human world,
the winding road and the
rich world of desire
are reshaped into a body of ice-cold
serpentine
and multicolored patterns
used
for
crawling…”

“Serpentine,” originally both verb and adjective, is converted into a noun. From its preceding modifier “ice-cold,” one can infer its nominalization. In parallel with “pattern,” a noun, it is grammatically aligned, confirming its nominal function. The poet’s omission of explicit markers such as “of” preserves ambiguity and allows retention of its original verbal resonance.

Zhou Mengdie, “Bird Path”²⁷
“I wish to ask the great eagle,
but the great eagle is high in the sky,
busy circling,
busy gathering momentum for flight,
its proud and overwhelming posture,
its hooked beak, sharp claws, and deep eyes
make me tremble.”

“Circling,” originally a verb, is here converted into a noun.

1. Verb → Adjective

Su Shi, “Prelude to the Song of Water Melody”:
“Rocks pierce through clouds, startled waves strike the shore,
raising thousands of piles of snow.”

The word “startled,” originally a verb, is used here adjectivally, meaning “shocking” or “startling.” It transforms the tone from plain description into a powerful and dramatic scene.

Du Fu, “River Crossing, Seeing Off a Guest”:
“Tears follow the cup of farewell wine; sorrow arises with the sound of flute.”

“Urge” and “blow,” originally verbs, are converted into adjectives modifying “cup” and “flute.”

Xiang Ming, “Hanging Basket Plants”²⁸
“In the past they said
you are a transplanted herb
that need not touch the ground,
no longer longing for your homeland,
greedy for ready-made nourishment.”

“Transplanted,” originally a verb, with the addition of “-de,” is converted into an adjective modifying “herb.”

Shen Huamo, “Bay II”²⁹
“On the calm sea surface,
scattered with many noisy
waterbirds landing and taking off.
Someone is feeding bread crumbs.
A baby stroller is placed aside.”

“Noisy,” originally a verb, is converted into an adjective meaning “clamorous” or “loud.”

1. Verb → Adverb

Du Fu, “To a Retired Scholar Wei Eight”:
“Life is such that we cannot meet; movement is like participation and Shang stars.”

“Movement,” originally a verb, is here used as an adverb meaning “frequently” or “often,” expressing the poet’s wandering life and inability to meet old friends.

Zhou Mengdie, “Morning of the Mynah Bird”³⁰
“A small butterfly,
black substance, white pattern,
circling around purple lilacs and flying,
and not even fearing the cold dew
that wets her garments.”

“Circling” and “wets” were originally verbs. In this passage, in order to modify the following verbs “fly” and “wet,” they are converted into adverbs. After verbs are converted into adverbs, they can restrict the action or state of the modified verbs, making them more precise and explicit. For example, in this poem, “circling” refers to moving in a circular motion with the lilac as the center. “Wets” carries a dual meaning of “penetration” and “coloring,” which is different from the simple meanings of “soaking” or “moistening.”

III. Conversion of Adjectives

Adjectives are mainly converted into nouns, verbs, and adverbs. “When used as nouns, qualities and states are solidified and acquire a sense of materiality; when used as verbs, they carry strong dynamic coloring. Both uses have strong descriptive functions.”³¹ Adjectives undergoing conversion are often accompanied by suffixes such as “-le” and “-qilai.”

(1) Adjective → Noun

Tang dynasty poet Du Fu also makes use of conversion. In “In Reply to Vice Commander Li’s Written Composition”:
“Red enters the tenderness of peach blossoms; green returns to the freshness of willow leaves.”
And in “Thoughts on Visiting Zheng Dian in Jiangyu”:
“Favoring light shines upon fragrant leaves and abundant green;
dotted peach blossoms unfold small red.”

In these lines, “red,” “green,” and “jade green” were originally adjectives and are converted into nouns, making colors become concrete imagery and enriching the visual landscape of the poem.

Similarly, in Song dynasty Zhang Shi’s “Occasional Composition on the First Day of Spring at Xie Pavilion”:
“One suddenly feels life everywhere before the eyes;
spring wind blows water into uneven green.”

Faced with abundant green vitality, the poet feels that everywhere is filled with life. The spring wind gently brushes across the river, and the reflected green willows ripple unevenly on the water surface. “Green,” originally an adjective, here refers to the reflected green imagery in water and is converted into a noun. This “green” illuminates the poetic line and allows readers to vividly feel the uneven vitality of spring.

Xiang Ming, “Crossing Xingjian Bridge”³²
“A single ear, only sensing
a vast plain of loneliness all in motion.
Three or five leaves drift in,
colliding into my embrace.
Announcing: going to enjoy spring—what a lively movement!
Mountains move out of eyelashes,
clouds move out of the sky,
fish move out of irrigation channels,
birds move out of forests,
flowers move out of stems.”

Poet Xiang Ming clearly understands the value of conversion. In these passages, he uses three instances of conversion at once, and further employs parallelism to extend the imagery of “movement,” constructing a layered rhythmic structure. The three conversions are: (1) “plain”: noun converted into adjective; (2) “loneliness”: adjective converted into noun; (3) “movement”: verb converted into noun.

In the line “a vast plain of loneliness all in motion,” the word order of “plain” and “loneliness” is interchanged. The original structure would be “a vast loneliness of the plain all in motion,” which is more ordinary. After inversion, it gains freshness. “The loneliness of the plain” is the abstraction of a concrete image (transforming the real into the abstract), while “loneliness in motion” is the concretization of an abstract emotion (transforming the abstract into the real). The two operate like interwoven threads, complementing each other between virtual and real, showing highly skilled technique.

Yu Guangzhong, “Xiluo Bridge”³³
“Standing towering, the soul of steel is awake.
A solemn silence resounds.
Standing, a vast silence.
Awake, the soul of steel.”

Poet Yu Guangzhong is also a master of conversion. In these examples, he uses “noun → adjective” (steel, originally a noun, adjectivized) and “adjective → noun” (silence and stillness, originally adjectives, converted into nouns). Through these transformations, meaning becomes richer, revealing the poet’s flexible command of language and the liveliness of expression.

1. Adjective → Verb

When suffixes such as “-zhe,” “-le,” “-zhu,” and “-qilai” are added, adjectives can be converted into verbs. For example, Song dynasty Jiang Jie’s “A Cut Plum: Crossing Wu River”:
“Time easily casts people aside;
it reddens cherries and greens bananas.”

“Red” and “green,” originally adjectives, are converted into verbs here, meaning that time ripens cherries and turns bananas from light green to deep green.

Similarly, Su Shi’s “Huanxi Sha”:
“Who says life cannot return to youth?
The water before the gate can still flow westward.”

Although poets often say “time easily casts people aside,” if one maintains vitality and refuses to grow old, one may still regain youthful energy. “West,” usually an adjective, is here converted into a verb.

Xiang Ming, “Tumor”³⁴
“In the end, you are nothing more than
trying to turn me
into a thin sheet of paper.
Something on that paper—
everything touched by sun and moon
competes in tears and exclamations:
this is poetry.”

“Thin” was originally an adjective; here it is converted into a verb meaning “to make me thin.” The “tumor” is a pathological cellular growth, benign or malignant; malignant tumors are feared as cancer. Such tumors gradually reduce a person to emaciation. The poet metaphorically compares long-term, exhausting poetic creation to suffering from an incurable malignant tumor, an imaginative and unconventional association.

Ya Xian, “For the Bridge”³⁵
“In the clouds within the river
the sky is blue with Han dynasty blue.
Christ gently touches the gentleness of antiquity.”

This passage employs a rhetorical device in which the same word is repeated within a sentence. A brief analysis shows that in both phrases, the adjectives in the first position are converted into verbs, while those in the second position are converted into nouns.

Chen Kehua, “Notes from the Eastern Temple”³⁶
“Long after the Buddha had left, I arrived.
The earth was colder, more alien, and more orderly than I had imagined.
When I hurried through the temple gate toward the nearest pagoda,
the evening cooking smoke blurred the already reincarnated mist of tears…”

The poet, traveling through ancient Japanese Buddhist temples, feels their coldness and solitude. Seeing evening smoke envelop the pagoda, he laments the gradual withdrawal of Buddhism from human hearts. “Blurred,” originally an adjective, is here converted into a verb meaning “to make indistinct.”

Shen Huamo, “Entwined”³⁷
“Because the scenery is so dazzling,
you and I should be a little romantic.
For example, drinking or running about.
Night-depth water sounds and candlelight
are suitable for appearing at this moment.”

“Romantic,” originally an adjective, is converted into a verb meaning “to indulge in joy.” Faced with such beautiful scenery and a romantic atmosphere, the poet suggests indulging in drinking, running, and nocturnal candle-lit wandering.

1. Adjective → Adverb

Du Fu, “New Moon”:
“Rising faintly beyond the ancient frontier,
already hidden behind the dusk clouds.”

“Faint” and “already,” originally adjectives, are placed before the verbs “rise” and “hide” as prefixal modifiers, converting into adverbs.

Wang Wei, “Returning to Wangchuan”:
“Tendrils of water plants are hard to settle;
willow fluff easily flies.”

The contrast between “difficult” and “easy” highlights the different properties of water plants and willow fluff. Both “difficult” and “easy” function as prefixal modifiers before “settle” and “fly,” converting from adjectives into adverbs.

Qin Guan, “Splendid Hall Fragrance”:
“At this moment of heartbreak,
the fragrance pouch is secretly untied,
the silk ribbon lightly parted.”

In this moment of farewell, full of sorrow, the poet secretly unties a fragrance pouch as a keepsake. “Secretly” and “lightly,” originally adjectives, are here converted into adverbs modifying “untie” and “part.”

Zhou Mengdie, “Rainy Days”³⁸
“I do not know from where it drifts in—
a fallen leaf—
like someone’s palm, lightly
striking my shoulder.”

“Lightly,” originally an adjective, is here understood as an adverb modifying the verb “strike,” even though it is not explicitly in adverbial form. It remains grammatically valid as it describes the manner of action.

Yu Guangzhong, “Datun Mountain”³⁹
“Spring is very new; spring calls me on Datun Mountain.
The entire spectrum brightly calls me.”

“Brightly,” originally an adjective, is converted into an adverb with the addition of “-ly,” modifying the verb “call.” Standing on Datun Mountain, the poet overlooks the nighttime scenery of Taichung, describing it as a brilliant spectrum.

Notes

(1) Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 241.
(2) Cheng Weijun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Reference of Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1991, p. 785.
(3) Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: National, 2004, pp. 101–104.
(4) Lu Jiaxiang & Chi Taining (eds.), Dictionary of Explanatory Examples of Rhetorical Methods, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education, 1990, p. 302.
(5) Zeng Guofan, “Reply to Li Guancha Hongyi,” in Complete Works of Zeng Guofan, Taipei: Dajun Books, 1982, p. 63.
(6) The nine parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles, interjections. A more recent classification adds “quantifiers,” “numerals,” and “modal particles.” See Liu Lanying & Sun Quanzhou (eds.), Grammar and Rhetoric, Guangxi Education Press, 1987 (1st ed.).
(7) Mainland scholar Wang Li proposed three morphological states of words: original form, quasi-form, and transformed form. “Transformation” refers to “the change of original part of speech due to positional relations and influence from other words.” Cited in Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 241.
(8) Scholar Huang Lizhen states: “When a word changes its original part of speech, it becomes an appropriate substitute word because, in addition to its original meaning of the original part of speech, it also gains a new meaning produced by the new part of speech; in other words, it simultaneously carries both old and new meanings.” See Practical Rhetoric, Taipei: National, 2004, pp. 104–105.
(9) From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong I, Taipei: Hung-Fan Bookstore, 1981, pp. 112–113.
(10) From Chen Li, Selected Poems of Chen Li, Taipei: Jiuge, 2001, pp. 18–19.
(11) Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 435.
(12) Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric (Revised Edition), Taipei: National, 2004, p. 108.
(13) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Great Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Arts, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Press, 1991, p. 267.
(14) From Zheng Chouyu, Collected Poems of Zheng Chouyu I, Taipei: Hung-Fan, 1979, pp. 200–201.
(15) From Zhang Cuo, Sonnet of Error, Taipei: China Times, 1981, pp. 40–42.
(16) From Chen Kehua, Beautiful and Profound Asia, Taipei: Shulin, 1997, pp. 146–147.
(17) From Zhou Mengdie, Century Selected Poems of Zhou Mengdie, Taipei: Erya, 2000, pp. 71–73.
(18) From Yu Guangzhong, Five-Colored Youth, Taipei: Aimei Literature, 1970, pp. 47–49.
(19) From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong: 1949–1981, Taipei: Hung-Fan, 1981, pp. 62–64.
(20) From Zhou Mengdie, Century Selected Poems of Zhou Mengdie, Taipei: Erya, 2000, pp. 54–57.
(21) From Luo Fu & Shen Zhifang (eds.), Forty Years of Creation Poetry Selection 1954–1994, Taipei: Creation Poetry Magazine Press, 1984, pp. 180–181.
(22) From Ye Weilian, The Taste of Rain, Taipei: Erya, 2006, pp. 77–80.
(23) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Great Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Arts, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Press, 1991, p. 267.
(24) Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric (Revised Edition), Taipei: National, 2004, p. 108.
(25) From Xiang Ming, The Face of Youth, Taipei: Jiuge, 1982, pp. 41–42.
(26) From Du Shisan, Notes of Sighs, Taipei: China Times Culture, 1990, p. 172.
(27) From Zhou Mengdie, Century Selected Poems of Zhou Mengdie, Taipei: Erya, 2000, pp. 100–103.
(28) From Xiang Ming, Reminiscences of Water, Taipei: Jiuge, 1988, pp. 40–41.
(29) From Shen Huamo, “Every Sentence Is a Cause, for You,” Taipei: Yuan Shen, 1991, pp. 20–22.
(30) From Zhou Mengdie, Century Selected Poems of Zhou Mengdie, Taipei: Erya, 2000, pp. 65–68.
(31) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Great Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Arts, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Press, 1991, p. 267.
(32) From Xiang Ming, The Face of Youth, Taipei: Jiuge, 1982, pp. 75–77.
(33) Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong (Vol. 1): 1949–1981, Taipei: Hung-Fan Bookstore, 1981, pp. 88–90.
(34) From Xiang Ming, The Face of Youth, Taipei: Jiuge, 1982, pp. 38–40.
(35) From Ya Xian, Collected Poems of Ya Xian, Taipei: Hung-Fan Bookstore, 1981, pp. 167–170.
(36) From Chen Kehua, Beautiful and Profound Asia, Taipei: Shulin, 1997, p. 183.
(37) From Shen Huamo, The Mood of Water Lilies, Taipei: National, 1978, pp. 137–138.
(38) From Zhou Mengdie, Century Selected Poems of Zhou Mengdie, Taipei: Jiuge, 2002, pp. 62–64.
(39) From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong I, Taipei: Hung-Fan Bookstore, 1981, pp. 155–162.