Song Dynasty Old Phonology and Research on Wu Kai's "Supplement to the Poems' Sounds"

Author: Zhang Minquan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The book Studies on Ancient Phonology of the Song Dynasty and Research on Wu Yu is divided into two parts, spanning over 500,000 words. The first part is titled "Studies on Ancient Phonology of the Song Dynasty," and the second part is "Comprehensive Examination and Annotations of Wu Yu's Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs." In the first part, the author elucidates the establishment and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology from three aspects: the historical foundation of Wu Yu's ancient phonology, the historical reasons for the development of ancient phonology after the Southern Crossing, and the general overview of Song Dynasty ancient phonology research after the Southern Crossing. Subsequently, the author discusses the research on the ancient rhyme divisions of the Book of Songs by Zheng Xiang and Xiang Anshi, explores Cheng Jiong's General Form of Ancient Rhymes and its ancient phonological thought, introduces the research on the Book of Changes rhymes by Tang Gongfu and Feng Qi, and comprehensively elaborates on the formation and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology, which was primarily based on textual evidence.
At the same time, the author analyzes and examines the writings of Zhu Xi, such as The Collected Interpretations of the Book of Songs and Annotations to the Chu Ci, along with his theory of yeyin (tonal adjustment), as well as Fang Songqing's Corrections to Han's Collection and its ancient rhyme annotations, Wang Yinglin's Annotations on the Quickly Acquired Book and its ancient rhyme collation. The author objectively analyzes and summarizes the formation and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology, which was primarily based on yeyin annotations. The author also devoted significant effort to comprehensively collecting scattered discussions on ancient phonology in the collected works and miscellaneous writings of Song Dynasty scholars, such as Gong Yizheng's Notes of Jie Yin, Yuan Wen, Wang Liu, and Ye Daqing's theories on ancient phonology, as well as the ancient phonological views of Wei Liaoong and Li Congzhou. These are highly valuable materials on Song Dynasty ancient phonology that have yet to be and researched by previous scholars.
Finally, the author analyzes the pros and cons of the theory of yeyin transformation among Song Dynasty scholars, their understanding of the original sounds of ancient texts, and their perception of the yeyin theory, objectively and dialectically evaluating the historical achievements of Song Dynasty ancient phonology. The book also focuses on the exploration and research of Wu Yu's Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs. Although the original text of Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs is no longer extant, the author has collected numerous phonetic annotations related to it from the works of Song Dynasty scholars on the Book of Songs and other relevant texts. Through this, the author gains insights into the composition, format, the nature and relationship between Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs and The Collected Interpretations of the Book of Songs, the nature and relationship between Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs and Supplement to Rhymes, the ancient phonological research in Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs, and Wu Yu's phonological system. The author also clarifies the influence, dissemination, and shortcomings of Supplement to the Sound of the Book of Songs.
Additionally, the author conducts an in-depth investigation into the life and works of Wu Yu, particularly discussing the issues surrounding his works such as Supplement to the Book of Documents, Continued Explanations of the Analects, and Supplement to Rhymes.