Shuowen Jiezi Examples

Author: Wang Yun of the Qing Dynasty
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1987-12-01
Features: Shuo Wen Shi Li (Twenty Volumes), written by Wang Yun of the Qing Dynasty. Wang Yun (1784–1854), styled Guanshan, known as Lüyou, was a native of Anqiu, Shandong. He became a recommended scholar in the first year of the Daoguang reign (1820) and served as a county magistrate in Xiangning, Xugou, and Quwo in Shanxi. During the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras of the Qing Dynasty, the study of Shuo Wen reached a climax. At that time, Yan Kejun wrote Shuo Wen Jiao Yi, Duan Yucai wrote Shuo Wen Jie Zi Zhu, and Gui Fu wrote Shuo Wen Jie Zi Yi Zheng, each offering profound insights and achievements. However, these three works were all based on the original order of Shuo Wen Jie Zi, explaining each character individually, and could not break the original structure of Shuo Wen to "understand its general principles" and directly analyze its system or explore the laws of textual studies. Although Duan Yucai discussed "general principles" extensively in Shuo Wen Jie Zi Zhu, it was not a dedicated work. Wang Yun's Shuo Wen Shi Li is a book that develops Duan Yucai's "general principles" theory, focusing on the system of Shuo Wen and the laws of textual studies. The entire work consists of twenty volumes, divided into over forty categories to explore the system of Shuo Wen and the laws of textual studies. The book is rich in profound insights, and here is an example to illustrate:
Characters that do not require radicals but already convey their meaning are those whose radicals were added later. When radicals are added and the meaning changes, it is called a "separated character." There are two types of separated characters: one where the original meaning is overshadowed by a borrowed meaning, and radicals are added to distinguish it (e.g., the character ran); the other where the original character has multiple meanings, but after adding radicals, only one meaning is retained (e.g., the character tu cannot fully encompass the meaning of "duke or marquis"). When radicals are added but the meaning remains unchanged, it is called an "over-added character." There are three types of over-added characters: one where the ancient meaning is obscure and radicals are added to express it (e.g., the character ge); one where, after adding radicals, the ancient form is no longer used (e.g., the modern form fu replaces the ancient fu); and one where, after adding radicals, the ancient form is still not used, and the commonly used form is actually the ancient one (e.g., the modern yin replaces the ancient kun).
This insightful discussion is well-known. From this passage, we can glimpse the academic value of Shuo Wen Shi Li in ancient textual studies. This time, we have printed a facsimile of the edition published in the thirtieth year of the Daoguang reign (1850) and attached Wang Yun's later corrected version, Shuo Wen Shi Li Bu Zheng, to the end of each volume. An index is appended at the end for the convenience of readers.