Song Dynasty Ancient Phonology and the Study of Wu's "Supplement to the Poems"

Author: Zhang Minquan
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: The book A Study of Old Chinese Phonology in the Song Dynasty and Research on Wu You is divided into two parts, spanning over 500,000 words. The first part is titled "A Study of Old Chinese Phonology in the Song Dynasty," and the second part is "A Compilation, Collation, and Annotation of Wu You's Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations." In the first part, the author elucidates the establishment and development of Song Dynasty old Chinese phonology from three perspectives: the historical foundation of Wu You's old Chinese phonology, the historical reasons for the development of old Chinese phonology after the Southern Crossing, and an overview of the basic research on Song Dynasty old Chinese phonology after the Southern Crossing. Subsequently, the author discusses the research of Zheng Xiang and Xiang Anshi on the division and combination of old rhymes in the Book of Songs, explores Cheng Jiong's General Formula of Old Rhymes and its old Chinese phonological thought, introduces the research of Tang Gongfu and Feng Qi on the rhymes of the Book of Changes, and comprehensively elaborates on the formation and development of Song Dynasty old Chinese phonology, which was primarily based on textual evidence.
At the same time, the author analyzes and discusses the writings of Zhu Xi, such as The Collected Interpretations of the Book of Songs and The Collected Annotations of the Chu Ci, including his theory of yeyin (a method of adjusting pronunciations to match ancient rhymes). The author also examines Fang Songqing's Rectifications of the Han Collection and its annotations on old rhymes, Wang Yinglin's Annotations on the Jiju Text and its collation of old rhymes, objectively analyzing and summarizing the formation and development of Song Dynasty old Chinese phonology, which was primarily based on yeyin annotations.
The author also devoted significant effort to comprehensively collecting scattered discussions on yeyin in the collected works and miscellaneous writings of Song Dynasty scholars, such as Gong Yizheng's Notes from Jieyin, Yuan Wen, Wang Liu, and Ye Daqing's theories on old Chinese phonology, as well as the old Chinese phonological views of Wei Liao and Li Congzhou. These are highly valuable materials on Song Dynasty old Chinese 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 pronunciations of ancient texts, and their views on the theory of yeyin. The author objectively evaluates the historical achievements of Song Dynasty old Chinese phonology. The book also focuses on the exploration and research of Wu You's Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations. Although the original text of Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations is no longer extant, the author has collected numerous phonetic annotations from the works of Song Dynasty scholars on the Book of Songs and related collections, thereby gaining insights into the composition, format, the relationship between Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations and The Collected Interpretations of the Book of Songs, the relationship between Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations and The Supplement to Rhymes, the old Chinese phonological research in Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations, and Wu You's phonological system. The author also clarifies the influence, dissemination, and shortcomings of Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations.
Additionally, the author conducts an in-depth investigation into the life and works of Wu You, particularly discussing the issues surrounding his works such as The Supplementary Interpretations of the Book of Documents, The Continuation of the Analects, and The Supplement to Rhymes.