Huang Yaokun Linguistic Collected Papers

Author: Huang Yaokun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-08-01
Features: "A soldier who doesn’t aspire to be a marshal is no good soldier" is a well-known saying in the military. I would like to imitate it and say, "A scholar without aspirations is no true scholar, at least not a good one." Aspiration, in ancient times, meant "seeking the way"; "seeking the highest," meant having lofty goals. As a scholar, the result of one’s pursuit is reflected in the uniqueness of their writings; "seeking the highest," means their works must possess distinctive features, or even remarkable and important ones—this should be a universal truth. The collected essays of Professor Huang Yaokun are not numerous in words, yet they possess and important features. What kind of features? How many? First and foremost, "substance," the "substantial" "Yin." Every essay in Professor Huang’s collection, from the main text to the footnotes, is substantial. What do I mean by this? His articles contain no baseless claims or empty rhetoric. No baseless claims mean every sentence is grounded and well-supported, with no wild imaginings or speculative assertions, but rather grounded arguments and meticulous reasoning. No empty rhetoric means "no water," as often said in mainland academic circles. Let’s look at his discussion of the "five tones" in Shen Geng’s "Four Tones, Five Sounds, Nine Combinations, and the Reversed Links," which refers not to tones or sound links, but to "the analytical method of five rhyme categories." He elaborates on them one by one, as if peeling an onion, leading to conclusions. Similarly, in his essays on "the family of five tones" and "Na Yin (Na Jia)," he draws upon extremely rich evidence, ranging from classical texts and historical records to unearthed Qin and Han bamboo slips. Some of the books and writings mentioned are unknown to many, leaving one in awe. I have been studying phonology for some time, but I was unaware of "Na Yin" and "Na Jia" until the late 1980s, when I read Professor Huang’s major work in the Journal of the Society for the Study of the Song Dynasty from Kyoto University. It was then that I learned about these terms. By the early 1990s, while researching Lu Zongmai’s Qieyun Method, I reviewed a large number of Song Dynasty literary collections and found that many scholars of the time discussed "Na Yin." This shows that terms like "the family of five tones," "the family of five tones," "Na Yin," and "Na Jia" were very common social and cultural phenomena in ancient times. Regrettably, few understand them today. The Thirty Letters of the Dunhuang Manuscripts in the British Library is an important classic of classical Chinese phonology, or Qieyun studies. Professor Huang reviews the strengths and weaknesses of previous research and, based on pre-Tang rhyme catalogs, offers his own conclusions, re-determining their order. For example, the long essay "A Study of the Examination Rules and Comparative Analysis of the Song Dynasty’s Qieyun Charts," published in the New Yanjing Journal, is a meticulous comparison by Professor Huang, who points out that the examination rules before the charts in these two Song Dynasty Qieyun charts are not identical. The examination rules of the Song Dynasty’s Qieyun Zhizhangtu could not have been copied or adapted from the Four Tones Equal to as seen today. His arguments are solid and difficult to refute. In short, every essay in this book is grounded in reality—a fact beyond dispute. In Chinese, "substance" is often linked with "simplicity," forming the term "pingshi," which shows that "substance" was originally ordinary, natural, and expected. Yet in today’s academia, "substance" is extraordinary, commendable, and something to be promoted. Look at how many articles in today’s newspapers and online are condemning and denouncing the improper conduct and even corruption in academia! Regrettably, the results are minimal. This only highlights how "substance," which should be ordinary, has become extraordinary. In these times, "substantiality" is so rare and precious that every time I read Professor Huang Yaokun’s articles, I am filled with excitement and admiration, thinking: "In this world, there are still such truly substantial writings!" It reminds me of Sun Xinggong’s words in The New Stories of the World·Literature: "Try throwing this on the ground—it must make the sound of metal and stone!" I interpret this as: Only true substance can make such a sound. How can works filled with "water" achieve this?