Doing Power Threatening Acts (PTAs) in ancient China

Abstract

This study examines an unexplored type of speech act named jian, which took place uniquely in the context of ancient China. Taking it as a Power Threatening Act rather than a commonly studied Face Threatening Act, this study examined remonstrators’ strategic modulation of their jian, and the factors that might have influenced the choice of modulation strategies. The data come from Zizhi Tongjian. The major findings are as follows: first, the speech act of jian contained both ritualised and non-ritualised aspects; second, remonstrators would adopt different modulation strategies when performing jian, which can be generally divided into three modulation orientations of redress, aggravation, and a combination of redress and aggravation, with different degrees of rituality; third, the choices of modulation strategies reflected the game playing of the requirements of affiliational propriety and illocutionary effect within the jian act.