Did Classical Chinese (文言) have similar use of punctuation marks (标点符号) as modern Chinese?
No. Classical Chinese was not punctuated. The reader could add marks, called 讀 (pronounced tòu/do) and 句; 讀 was like a comma, 句 like a period. That’s the extent of it. So this sometimes brings different readings. A good example is from the Analects, 泰伯：子曰民可使由之不可使知之 If you punctuate it this way, it is the reason … Read more