Guangyun Sound System (Upper and Lower)

Author: Shen Jianshi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: This book was compiled by Shen Jianshi, with assistance from Liu Wenxing, Ge Xinyi, and others. Professor Shen was a renowned modern Chinese linguist and paleographer, who tirelessly inspired his disciples. In the 1930s, I was fortunate to receive his guidance and gained a glimpse into the methods of scholarly pursuit. The Sound System of Guangyun arranges the characters collected in the original Guangyun according to the phonetic system of phonetic compounding. Among the phonetic radicals that appear throughout the book, the initial phonetic components are reorganized into forty-one phonetic categories. Each phonetic category lists all the phonetic compounds with the same initial consonant in Guangyun, and the original Guangyun’s phonetic annotations and semantic explanations are recorded under each character. Additionally, the phonetic category, rhyme class, and aperture (open or closed) of each character are annotated beside the original form. The book is well-organized and systematic, resembling the Shuowen Xiesheng Pu by Qing Dynasty scholars. However, the Shuowen Xiesheng Pu is structured around ancient rhyme classes, while The Sound System of Guangyun is organized around phonetic categories, offering a unique approach. According to this arrangement, we can study the classification and pronunciation of ancient initial consonants based on the relationships of phonetic compounding. Furthermore, we can conduct comprehensive comparisons of phonetic compounds under the same initial consonant to investigate the development of related characters, words, and the connections between phonetic and semantic relationships. This is a revised edition of Guangyun, highly useful.