A Brief History of Ancient Chinese Linguistics

Author: Li Shuhao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Second, it is the need of Confucian classics. During Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, to adapt to the needs of feudal unification, Confucianism was exclusively esteemed, and the Five Classics Scholars were established, making Confucianism the official learning. At that time, the dominant position was held by the school of Confucian classics represented by Dong Zhongshu's "Gongyang" school. The teaching method of the school of Confucian classics was based on oral and ear transmission, with distinct master-disciple lineages and extremely strict family laws. Generally, they only studied one classic and accepted the doctrines of their predecessors. Thus, although they encountered problems of textual interpretation when explaining ancient classics, they made little achievement in linguistic research. In contrast to the school of Confucian classics was the school of ancient script classics. The school of ancient script classics initially encountered problems related to characters. The "Book of Han · Bibliography" says: "At the end of Emperor Wu's reign, Prince Gong of Lu destroyed Confucius's mansion to expand his palace and discovered ancient script versions of the Book of Documents and the Book of Rites, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety, totaling dozens of chapters, all written in ancient characters. Kong An, a descendant of Confucius, obtained all the books and compared them with twenty-nine chapters, finding sixteen additional chapters. He presented them to the court." The "Book of Han · Biography of Confucian Scholars" says: "The Kong family had ancient script versions of the Book of Documents, and Kong An read them using the current script." "Current script" refers to the clerical script prevalent in the Han Dynasty. That is to say, for classics written in ancient characters, they had to be transcribed using Han Dynasty clerical script. To transcribe, it was necessary to compare characters from different eras, naturally requiring examination and research of the form, sound, and meaning of the characters. The school of ancient script classics did not have a fixed master-disciple lineage at the beginning; they had to think independently and put great effort into studying characters and interpreting ancient meanings. To understand the classics, it was necessary to place the study of language and characters in the forefront. This fostered significant progress in linguistic and character research. Therefore, many scholars of ancient script classics were also famous specialists in phonology, such as Zhang Cheng, Du Lin, Wei Hong, Mai Kui, Xu Shen, Fu Qian, Ma Rong, and Zheng Xuan. Wang Guowei said: "The reason why ancient scholars were also specialists in phonology was that the transmitted classics mostly used ancient script, and their interpretation of classics required the help of phonology, while the variant characters were also sufficient for the study of phonology, hence the emergence of many phonology specialists." During the Eastern Han Dynasty, famous Confucian scholars such as Jia Yi, Xu Shen, Ma Rong, and Zheng Xuan not only studied multiple classics but also learned both ancient and current scripts, exposing them to various classics, different texts of the same classic, or different interpretations of the same term. Through comparative research, they chose the better and followed it. Third, the government at that time placed importance on phonology. The "Book of Han · Bibliography" says: "After the rise of the Han Dynasty, Xiao He drafted the laws, also writing the regulations, saying: 'The Historian tested students, those who could recite 9,000 characters were qualified to become historians. They were also tested in six scripts, and those who passed were appointed as secretaries, historians, and clerks. If officials and commoners submitted documents with incorrect characters, they were immediately punished. The six scripts were ancient script, variant characters, seal script, clerical script, twisted script, and insect script, all of which were used to understand ancient and modern characters, carve seals, and write banners and letters.'" The "Explanation of Characters · Preface" also records similar information. It can be seen that literacy was an important standard for selecting officials in the early Han Dynasty, and those who made mistakes in characters were punished by law. At that time, the government also took the initiative to collect characters and determine the "correct reading." The "Book of Han · Bibliography" says: "During the Yuan Shu period, hundreds of phonology specialists from all over the country were summoned, each recording characters in the courtyard. The six arts and all books were thus largely complete. The "Cangjie" contained many ancient characters, but common teachers had lost their correct readings. During Emperor Xuan's reign, a person skilled in correcting readings was summoned, and Zhang Cheng learned from him, passing it down to his grandson Du Lin, who wrote annotations and compiled them."
### Characteristics of Han Dynasty Linguistics
The linguistic research of the Han Dynasty was primarily characterized by textual interpretation. The establishment and development of Han Dynasty textual interpretation had two important manifestations. First, Han Dynasty Confucian scholars wrote for ancient classics. The works of Confucian scholars in the Western Han Dynasty are recorded in full in the "Book of Han · Bibliography," most of which have been lost today. Eastern Han Confucian scholars not only commented on the Six Classics but also annotated other pre-Qin classics and even works from the Western Han Dynasty. Among the annotations of the Han people, the "Textual Interpretation and Commentary of the Book of Songs by Mao Heng" and Zheng Xuan's "Annotation of the Book of Songs," "Annotation of the Rites of Zhou," "Annotation of the Book of Rites," and "Annotation of the Book of Rites" are particularly important. The textual interpretation materials in the annotations are quite rich, but their drawback is that they are relatively fragmented. Second, several important monographs on language and characters emerged. In the Western Han Dynasty, there were "Erya" and "Local Dialects," while in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were "Explanation of Characters" and "Explanation of Names." The Han Dynasty was also the era when Chinese characterology was formally established, marked by Xu Shen's "Explanation of Characters." Strictly speaking, the study of character forms does not belong to the scope of linguistics, but due to the ideographic features of Chinese characters, the study of sound and meaning often requires the help of character forms, hence the inclusion of characterology in traditional Chinese linguistics. As for another important component of traditional Chinese linguistics—phonology—it was still in its infancy during the Han Dynasty and had not yet developed into an independent discipline. Mr. Zhang Shilu said: "At that time, the examination of character sounds had not yet become an independent specialized study separate from characterology and textual interpretation. Therefore, when indicating the pronunciation, the goal was merely to describe the relationship between the phonology and the meaning of the characters, without conducting a clear analysis of the character sounds themselves." However, the Han Dynasty people had already reached a high level in phonetic analysis. Zhou Zumo said: "By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholars had become proficient in discerning sounds. In discussing the positions of sounds, there was the method of the horizontal mouth on the tongue. In discussing the openness of rhymes, there were categories such as inner speech, outer speech, quick speech, and slow speech. In discussing the opening and closing of rhymes, there were terms such as the open mouth and the closed mouth. In discussing the length of tones, there were distinctions such as long speech and short speech (see He Xiu's notes on the 28th year of Zhuanggong in the "Gongyang Commentary"). Analyzing every detail and distinguishing between subtle differences—this can be called understanding the principles of phonology and achieving profound expertise." This laid the foundation for the establishment and prosperity of phonology in the Wei, Jin, and subsequent dynasties.
Xu Shen, styled Shu Zhong, was from Wan Shi Village, Zhao Ling County, Runan Prefecture (now Yancheng City, Henan Province). According to Qing Dynasty scholars, he was born around 58 CE and died in 147 CE. He was a famous scholar of ancient script classics. In addition to "Explanation of Characters," Xu Shen also wrote "Differences in the Five Classics," "Ancient Script Explanation of the Classic of Filial Piety," and "Annotations to the Huainanzi," all of which are now lost, with only "Explanation of Characters" surviving. The purpose of Xu Shen in writing "Explanation of Characters" was, on the one hand, to explore the origins and structures of characters, examining their form, sound, meaning, and their relationships, as he said in the postscript of "Explanation of Characters": "Based on form, connect and extend, to investigate the origins of all things." On the other hand, it was also to achieve the goal of understanding classics through the study and organization of characters, thereby serving the politics of the time. He said: "Characters are the foundation of the classics and the beginning of the state's governance" (Preface to "Explanation of Characters"). At that time, the interpretation and use of characters were extremely chaotic, and Xu Shen believed that this chaos was intolerable. He said: "People use their private interests, making it impossible to determine right and wrong. Devious speech and heretical words make scholars doubt." (Ibid.) This chaos even affected the correct implementation of law. He said: "The Minister of Justice explained the laws, even using characters to interpret the law. 'Strict person receives money,' 'Strict' is a character, 'stop sentence.'" (Ibid.) One reason for this chaos was indeed that clerical script had been used for a long time, and the forms of characters had changed greatly compared to ancient characters, making it difficult to trace the original meaning of characters through clerical script. However, the more serious problem was that the rigid scholars of the school of Confucian classics often used unscientific and arbitrary methods to interpret the characters of classics, distorting the characters and hindering the normal development of Confucian classics. The "Book of Han · Bibliography" says: "Later, the classics had already deviated, and scholars who were knowledgeable did not follow the principle of being open-minded and avoiding doubt, but instead focused on splitting meanings, evading difficulties, using clever and devious speech, and destroying the forms. The explanation of five-character texts reached tens of thousands of words. Later generations became even more reckless, so that children learned one art and only understood it when they were old. They clung to what they had learned, ignored what they had not seen, and ultimately concealed themselves." As a scholar of ancient script classics, Xu Shen devoted his life to writing "Explanation of Characters" to change this situation and achieve "understanding categories, correcting errors, enlightening scholars, and revealing the divine meaning" (Preface to "Explanation of Characters").
### The Position of "Explanation of Characters" in the History of Chinese Linguistics
"Explanation of Characters" is primarily a work on characterology. Regarding the content, format, and value of "Explanation of Characters" in the history of characterology, most works on characterology have already discussed them, so here we will only elaborate on its position and value from the perspective of the history of linguistics. First, the emergence of "Explanation of Characters" marked the formal establishment of Chinese characterology, making it an pioneering work in characterology with the significance of establishing a discipline. Before "Explanation of Characters," several works on characterology had already appeared, including: (1) "Shizu Pian"; (2) "Cangjie Pian"; (3) "Ailü Pian"; (4) "Boxue Pian." The preface to "Explanation of Characters" says that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, "speech varied in sound, and characters varied in form. When Emperor Qin Shi Huang first unified the world, Li Si, the Prime Minister, proposed standardization, abandoning those that did not conform to Qin characters. Li Si wrote 'Cangjie Pian,' Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Carriage Office, wrote 'Ailü Pian,' and Hu Wujing, the Minister of the Imperial Historian, wrote 'Boxue Pian,' all taking Shizu large seal script or slightly modifying it, known as small seal script." During the Western Han Dynasty, these three character books were collectively called "San Cang" and also referred to as "Cangjie Pian." The "Book of Han · Bibliography" also records four other character books: (5) "Fanjiang Pian" by Sima Xiangru; (6) "Jiju Pian" by Shi You; (7) "Yuangang Pian" by Li Chang; (8) "Xunzuan Pian" by Yang Xiong. Of the eight character books, only "Jiju Pian" survives. These character books are more like primers for young students rather than dictionaries. They only provided some character materials for the writing of "Explanation of Characters," so only "Explanation of Characters" can be considered as the first complete, rich, and self-contained dictionary in China. "Explanation of Characters" is the starting point of Chinese characterology and dictionary studies, and Xu Shen is the founder of Chinese characterology. Under the direct influence of "Explanation of Characters," Zhang Yi of the Wei Dynasty wrote "Commentaries on Ancient and Modern Characters," Lü Chen of the Jin Dynasty wrote "Zilin," Gu Yewang of the Liang Dynasty compiled "Yupian," and Sima Guang and others of the Song Dynasty compiled "Luepian," all of which had formats similar to "Explanation of Characters." Mei Yingzuo's "Zihui" and Zhang Zilie's "Zhengzitu" of the Ming Dynasty, and the "Kangxi Dictionary" of the Qing Dynasty, still adopted the format of "Explanation of Characters," though with some consolidation and reduction. Xu Zhan of the Southern Tang Dynasty wrote "Commentary to the Explanation of Characters," a work on the study of "Explanation of Characters." The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of the study of "Explanation of Characters," with the emergence of the four great scholars—Duan Yucai, Gui Fu, Wang Yun, and Zhu Junsheng. Since the "Qian-Jia period," there have been no fewer than two or three hundred works on "Explanation of Characters" (as quoted by You Ren in the "Commentary to the Dictionary of Textual Interpretations"). This led to the formation of a specialized discipline—the study of "Explanation of Characters."
Second, "Explanation of Characters" also holds important value in textual interpretation and lexical studies. Because "Explanation of Characters" analyzes the form structure of each character, it allows us to examine the original meaning of the word represented by the character at the time of its creation through the form of the character. Yan Zhihui said: "Generally, the book follows certain rules in its organization, analyzing the origins thoroughly, and Zheng Xuan often cites it in his annotations. If one does not believe in its explanations, then one would be unaware of the meaning of even a single stroke or dot." (Family Precepts of Yan Zhihui · Book Evidence) Especially for characters whose original meanings have long been obscure, through "Explanation of Characters," we can clearly understand them. For example: "Zi, the nose, resembles the shape of a nose." This meaning cannot be found in ancient classics, but it can be found in oracle bone inscriptions. "Er, the beard, resembles the shape of a beard. The Book of Rites says, 'Make its scales and er.'" The original meaning of "er" is rarely used in ancient texts, and the borrowed meaning is generally used. For characters commonly used in ancient texts, we can also understand their original meanings through the explanations of "Explanation of Characters," and then understand the extended meanings through the original meanings. This is an important method of mastering word meanings by simplifying the complex. For example: "Xiang, to exit from the north-facing window, consists of the radical for roof and the radical for mouth. The Book of Songs says, 'Seal the xiang and open the doors.'" "Xi, to fly repeatedly, consists of the radical for bird and the sound of Zi. From the original meaning of 'Xiang'—'to exit from the north-facing window'—we can derive four extended meanings: 'towards, facing,' 'direction, tendency,' 'returning, revering,' and 'approaching.' From the original meaning of 'Xi'—'to fly repeatedly'—we can easily grasp seven extended meanings: 'reviewing, practicing,' 'learning,' 'understanding, familiarizing,' 'accustomed, habit,' 'favored person,' and 'overlapping, mutually causal.'" Thus, we can see the important significance of "Explanation of Characters" in textual interpretation and lexical studies.