Buddhist Text Pronunciation and Chinese Vocabulary Research

Author: Liang Xiaohong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: A classic Confucian text whose authors reached their peak during the Tang Dynasty. For example, the Five Classics Rectification by Kong Yingda in the early Tang, as well as the later additions by Song Dynasty scholars, formed the Thirteen Classics with Annotations, a comprehensive work in classical studies and etymology. In the historical category, there are works such as Sima Zhen’s Annotations to the Records of the Grand Historians, Zhang Shoujie’s Rectification of the Records of the Grand Historians, Yan Shigu’s Annotations to the Book of Han, Li Xian’s Annotations to the Later Han Dynasty, Yang Xiong’s Annotations to Xunzi, Wang Bing’s Annotations to the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, and Li Shan’s Annotations to the Anthology of Refined Literature, all of which have been passed down to this day as irrefutable masterpieces.
For specialized etymological works, the first to mention is Lu Deming’s Annotations on Classical Texts. This book compiles the pronunciations and meanings of various scholars from the Han Dynasty onwards, clarifying pronunciations and interpretations. It not only preserves a vast amount of textual, etymological, and phonetic data but also laid the foundation for the study of Buddhist scripture pronunciations in the Tang Dynasty. It deserves great attention. Monks such as Xuan Ying, Huian, Huilin, and Xilin, who were both eminent Buddhist scholars and experts in Indian phonology, extensively studied Confucian classics and delved deeply into textual etymology. Therefore, whether it is Xuan Ying’s Pronunciations and Meanings of Various Scriptures, Huilin’s Pronunciations of All Scriptures, or Xilin’s Continuation of the Pronunciations of All Scriptures, they all extensively cite textual and phonetic works, provide annotations and interpretations, and draw evidence from a wide range of sources, making them clear and convincing. Thus, Buddhist scripture pronunciations are not only essential for Buddhist followers to read scriptures but also cherished by scholars of textual, phonetic, and etymological studies throughout history.
My friend, Professor Jiang Yuncong, wrote A Comprehensive Interpretation of the Meanings of Dunhuang Transformation Texts, which extensively referenced Xuan Ying’s Pronunciations and Meanings of Various Scriptures, Huian’s Pronunciations of the Newly Translated Great Vehicle Mahayana Flower Adornment Sutra, and Huilin’s Pronunciations of All Scriptures, verifying the Tang era with the Tang era. As a result, it contains many profound insights and has become a renowned work.
In recent years, academia has begun to conduct specialized research on existing Buddhist scripture pronunciations. In 2000, when Xiaohong came to Nanjing, she mentioned to me that she and two young scholars from Shanghai Normal University were jointly researching Buddhist scripture pronunciations and planned to conduct a comprehensive study from the aspects of vocabulary, texts, phonology, and ancient text compilation, ultimately compiling a new Pronunciations and Meanings of Various Scriptures. Upon hearing this, I was greatly delighted.
At the beginning of this year, Xiaohong informed me from overseas via a letter from a friend that her new book, Research on Buddhist Scripture Pronunciations and Chinese Vocabulary, co-authored with Xu Shiying and Chen Wuyun, would soon be published by the Commercial Press in Beijing. I was asked to write a preface, and I felt it was my duty to do so.
Professor Liang Xiaohong had studied under me over twenty years ago and has since devoted herself to the study of Buddhist scriptural language. She did not stop even after crossing the seas, showing great wisdom. The other two authors, Xu Shiying and Chen Wuyun, are both outstanding disciples of my friend, Professor Xu Weihan. Both are diligent in their studies. Xu Shiying has long dedicated himself to researching Huilin’s Pronunciations, gaining many insights; Chen Wuyun specializes in textual etymology, with sharp wit. The three of them have collaborated sincerely, complementing each other’s strengths, and their work will undoubtedly benefit academia.
With great excitement, I eagerly await the early publication of their series of studies, as seeing them firsthand would be a great satisfaction.
At the beginning of March, I completed my Late Drafts in Linguistics and Philology and am about to have it published. It is a joy to share insights with fellow scholars, so without hesitation, I have written this preface. The joy is beyond words.