'Zui' (the most), an adverb of degree, is very frequently used in modern Chinese. It is generally assumed that anything that can be regarded as 'zui' must be unique in number and take the leading place undoubtedly. Actually, 'zui X' represents a gradient rank of 'zui'. What is more, what is covered in the rank can be multiple or plural as well as singular or unique in number. The paper begins with an examination of 'zui X' in all dimensions, followed by a specific description of the paradigm of (1) quantifications, (2) co-ordinations and (3) covert generalizations of multiple individuals conta...
