The Representation of Silence in Text: Examples from Two Selected Koans
Ming-yu Tseng*
Abstract
This paper explores how silence is represented in text, particularly in religious text. To illustrate the relation of silence to verbal expression, a rhetoric of silence is proposed. It consists of four points: (1) silence is a textual element and strategy; (2) silence is a communicative act; (3) silence is as powerful as language; (4) ways of representing silence are ways of signifying silence. Then, by analyzing two koan texts from Ch’an/Zen writing, this paper investigates how silence is narrated and represented in the texts and what silence might signify. Such investigation also shows how silence, words, and narrative are interwoven in the shaping of textuality.
Keywords： koan, narrative strategy, silence, religious discourse, textuality, treatment of silence in text, pragmatic-philosophical approach