Abstract: The formation of Dong-Xi in Chinese with the meaning of "all kinds of concrete or abstract things" proceeded in two steps. The first step was to produce the meaning of "abstract things (things, etc.)" in the Tang Dynasty; the second step was to produce the meaning of "referring to specific things" in the Song Dynasty. The meaning of "referring to abstract things (things, etc.)" produced in assimilation of syntagmatic combination with THING (shi in Chinese), and the meaning of "referring to concrete things" produced in assimilation of the aggregation with THING + AFFAIR (wu+ shi in Chinese).