Collection of Explanations on Virtual Characters in Ancient Books (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Pei Xuehai
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-11-01
Features: The Collected Explanations of Virtual Characters in Ancient Books includes over 290 common virtual characters from the pre-Qin and Han periods (homonymous characters with different forms are combined into one entry). This book compiles the research findings on virtual characters from works such as Liu Qi's Discrimination of Auxiliary Characters, Wang Yinzhi's Explanations of Virtual Characters in Classics, Yu Yue's Examples of Doubts in Ancient Books, Yang Shudao's Dictionary of Words, Advanced Chinese Grammar, Zhang Binglin's New, and Sun Jingshi's Supplementary Explanations of Virtual Characters in Classics, with a focus on Explanations of Virtual Characters in Classics. All borrowed materials are clearly annotated. The arrangement follows the order of the thirty-six phonetic initials, similar to Explanations of Virtual Characters in Classics. Under each entry, different usages are listed, followed by illustrative examples. Most examples are drawn from books from the Zhou, Qin, and Han periods, with occasional references to later works for supplementary evidence. The purpose of this book is to correct and supplement the aforementioned works by Liu, Wang, Yu, and Yang. It contains many valuable insights. However, its analysis of virtual characters is overly detailed, with excessive interchanges, and its arrangement by thirty-six phonetic initials is not very convenient for general readers. The book does not include characters not considered virtual, those not found in Zhou, Qin, and Han texts, or those already thoroughly explained by predecessors, so the number of entries is relatively small and should be used in conjunction with works like Dictionary of Words.
The arrangement of The Collected Explanations of Virtual Characters in Ancient Books is the same as that of Explanations of Virtual Characters in Classics, using the thirty-six phonetic initials compiled by the monk Shouwen of the late Tang Dynasty as the order of entries.
Volume I, II, III, and IV are for pharyngeal sounds, such as: (yǔ), (yǔ), (yǐ), (yǐ), (yú), (fāng), (yīn), (yǔn), (ān), (yān), (wéi), (yǐ), (yě), (hé), (xī), (hú), (hé), (hū), etc.;
Volume V is for dental sounds, such as: (gù), (gù), (gū), (gè), (gǎn), (guǒ), (kě), (kǒng), etc.;
Volume VI is for dental-retroflex sounds, such as: (dé), (dū), (dāng), (děng), (dǐng), (dān), (dú), (tú), (dài), (tè), (dàn), (nǎi), (nà), (zhī), (liáng), (lái), (lüè), etc.;
Volumes VII, VIII, and IX are for dental sounds, such as: (ér), (rǔ), (nǚ), (rú), (ruò), (rán), (ěr), (réng), (zé), (jiāng), (zī), (zāi), (zuò), (sī), (sī), (zhī), (zhě), (zhū), (suǒ), (shì), (shú), etc.;
Volume X is for labial sounds, such as: (bǐ), (bì), (bì), (bìng), (bié), (pǔ), (pǒ), (pō), (bù), (fēi), (fú), (wú), (wú), (wù), (wēi), (wǎng), etc.
In terms of writing style, for each virtual character, the primary meaning is discussed first, followed by extended meanings and borrowed meanings. All references to previous scholars' explanations are annotated in the notes. Taking the character “” as an example: Under the entry for “,” the primary meaning is explained first: “, .” Then, the earliest source of this explanation is annotated in small print: “See Zheng’s annotation on Tang Gong in the Book of Rites,” followed by examples. Next, borrowed characters related to the meaning of “” are listed using the format “×” and appended to the relevant meanings. For instance, after introducing the source and examples for “, ,” it is followed by: “‘’.” In the Zuo Zhuan (Chapter 2 of the Spring and Autumn Annals [corrected from 2nd year to 3rd year by the author]): “ officials, , , .” This means that when “” represents the meaning of “,” the borrowed character is “.” For example, the “” in this sentence from the Zuo Zhuan means “.”