Presentation Schedule
Semiotics and Logical Differentiation in the Yinwenzi (109574)
Session Chair: Pawel Zygadlo
Sunday, 12 July 2026 16:05
Session: Session 4
Room: UCL Torrington, G13 (Ground Floor)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
This paper explores topic–comment structures in the Yinwenzi (《尹文子》), emphasising their semiotic and argument-organisational significance. As a text concerned with relationships between ming 名 (names), xing 形 (forms), and shi 實 (actualities), the Yinwenzi occupies an important position in early Chinese thought on language and reasoning. Although its links with the Mingjia and Huang-Lao traditions are acknowledged, the discursive mechanisms through which its argumentative concerns are expressed have not been systematically analysed. Drawing on theories of topic–comment structure, this study explores how the Yinwenzi establishes semiotic entities as discourse topics and controls their interpretive scope. "Logical" refers to structured relations between categories and coherent argumentation, not formal deductive systems. The analysis is conducted at three hierarchical levels. First, it investigates how ming, xing, and shi are used as stable discourse topics to define referential domains. Second, it examines how comments perform relational operations through implicit strategies such as contrastive predication and negation. Third, it analyses how topic chaining enables sequential development through anaphoric binding: when a topic is sustained across clauses, each comment must align with prior possibilities, creating constraints that guide argumentative progression. This acts as an argumentative technology, facilitating complex reasoning without a formal apparatus. The paper argues that the Yinwenzi uses topic–comment organisation as a strategy to manage argumentative coherence. By establishing the topic, the text provides an interpretive anchor that guides the reader's interpretation, promoting normatively charged claims without the need for formal logical structures.
Authors:
Pawel Zygadlo, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Pawel Zygadlo is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China
See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule
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