Acoustics Five Books

Author: Gu Yanwu (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publication Date: Not available
Features: A work on the ancient pronunciation of Chinese. Written by Gu Yanwu. It was completed around 1643 and is divided into five parts: On Phonology, The Original Pronunciation of Poetry, The Pronunciation of the I Ching, The Correction of the Tang Rhyme, and the Table of Ancient Phonology.
"On Phonology" is divided into three volumes and consists of 15 chapters, discussing major issues in ancient phonology and systematically outlining the author's fundamental views on the subject, serving as the general framework of "The Five Books of Phonology." The most important chapters include:
① "The Pronunciation of Ancient People Was Slow, Not Requiring Changing Characters,"
② "Ancient Poetry Did Not Use Yeyin,"
③ "The Four Tones of Ancient People Were Continuous,"
④ "The Interpretations of the Two Tones by the Scholars Before Were Not Fully Accurate."
"The Original Pronunciation of Poetry" meticulously examines the ancient pronunciation of rhyming words in the Book of Songs, indicating the ancient rhyme categories for characters that differed in pronunciation between ancient and modern times. It also counts the frequency of these characters in the Book of Songs and other classics as rhyming words, as well as the words they rhyme with. Gu Yanwu considered this book to be the most important among the "Five Books of Phonology."
"The Pronunciation of the I Ching" investigates the ancient pronunciation of rhyming words in the I Ching, using methods similar to those in "The Original Pronunciation of Poetry." Unlike the comprehensive examination of the I Ching, it selects sentences believed to use rhyme and identifies the ancient rhyme categories of the rhyming words.
"The Correction of the Tang Rhyme" aims to correct the so-called errors in the Tang Rhyme. Gu Yanwu had a conservative approach to ancient phonology, believing that whenever the Tang Rhyme contradicted ancient pronunciation, it was the Tang Rhyme that was wrong. In reality, it extracts many evidences that should have been included in "The Original Pronunciation of Poetry" and organizes them into a separate book, which can be seen as a detailed annotation of "The Original Pronunciation of Poetry."
"The Table of Ancient Phonology" is Gu Yanwu's summary of his research on ancient phonology. It revises the order of the Tang Rhyme and divides ancient phonology into ten categories, listing them in a tabular form.
"The Five Books of Phonology" completely refuted the theory of yeyin from both theoretical and practical perspectives, laying the foundation for the study of ancient phonology and opening up a new field in the research of phonology.