Boxi Learn › Chinese › Stage 4 · Systems and Argument
Two texts side by side
CN-3 A text is what the writer choseCN-4 Reading needs evidenceX-3 Look from another side
What many people think
A text means only what it says on its own.
The idea
Writers answer earlier writers; set two texts side by side and what the later one keeps, changes or drops shows what it is arguing with.
Explain it
A friend says, 'Li Bai's Phoenix Terrace just copies Cui Hao.' Answer with evidence: what did Li keep, what did he change, and what do the changes tell you?
Try at home
Take a song, nursery rhyme or slogan your family knows and find a version that rewrites it (a parody, a cover, an advert). Write both out side by side, mark 同 / 改 / 弃, and say what the rewriter wanted to say.