Chinese Linguistics Library (Volume 3): Study on Song Dynasty Ancient Phonology and Wu Yu's "Supplement to the Sound of Poetry"

Author: Zhang Minquan
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The book A Study of Ancient Phonology in the Song Dynasty and Research on Wu Yu is divided into two parts, spanning over 500,000 words. The first part is titled A Study of Ancient Phonology in the Song Dynasty, and the second part is A Compilation, Collation, and Annotation of Wu Yu’s Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations. In the first part, the author elucidates the establishment and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology from three aspects: the historical foundation of Wu Yu’s ancient phonology, the historical reasons for the development of ancient phonology after the Southern Crossing, and the general overview of Song Dynasty ancient phonology research after the Southern Crossing. Subsequently, the author discusses the research of Zheng Xiang and Xiang Anshi on the division and combination of ancient rhymes in the Book of Songs, explores Cheng Jiong’s General Patterns of Ancient Rhymes and his ancient phonological ideas, introduces the research of Tang Gongfu, Feng Qi, and others on the rhymes of the Book of Changes, and comprehensively elaborates on the formation and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology, which was primarily based on textual evidence.
At the same time, the author analyzes and discusses the writings of Zhu Xi, including The Commentary on the Book of Songs and Collected Annotations on the Chu Ci, as well as his theory of yeyin (a method of adjusting pronunciations to fit classical texts). The author also examines Fang Songqing’s Rectifications of the Han Collection and his annotations on ancient rhymes, Wang Yinglin’s Annotations on the Jiju Text and his collation of ancient rhymes, and objectively summarizes the formation and development of Song Dynasty ancient phonology, which was primarily based on yeyin annotations. The author also devoted significant effort to comprehensively collecting scattered discussions on ancient pronunciations 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 ancient phonology, as well as the ancient phonological views of Wei Liaoong and Li Congzhou. These are highly valuable materials on Song Dynasty ancient 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 perception of the yeyin theory, objectively and dialectically evaluating the historical achievements of Song Dynasty ancient phonology. The book also focuses on the exploration and research of Wu Yu’s Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations. Although the original text of Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations is no longer extant today, the author has collected numerous phonetic annotations related to Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations from the works of Song Dynasty scholars on the Book of Songs and other relevant texts. Through these materials, the author provides insights into the composition, format, the nature and relationship between Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations and The Commentary on the Book of Songs, the nature and relationship between Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations and The Supplement to Rhymes, the ancient phonological research in Poetry Supplemental Pronunciations, and Wu Yu’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 Yu, particularly discussing the issues surrounding his works such as The Supplementary Commentary on the Book of Documents, The Continuation of the Analects, and The Supplement to Rhymes.