Xiqin Bayin Annotations

Author: Li Rulong, Wang Shengkui (Annotations)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Features: The Qilin Bayin is the earliest, most widely circulated, and most influential popular rhyme book in Min dialect. Among southern dialects, the use of phonological principles to compile rhyme books for practical spoken language, thereby completely recording the phonetic systems of past dialects and interpreting dialectal vocabulary to comprehensively preserve dialectal historical materials, should be primarily attributed to Min dialect. It is evident that The Qilin Bayin is not only an important document for studying Min dialect but also an ancient classic of great significance for the study of the history of phonology and the history of dialectology. To help readers understand and apply this classic, the following provides necessary explanations on several issues.
1. The Qilin Bayin's editions, compilation date, and authors: The earliest version of The Qilin Bayin currently available is the woodblock edition of The Qilin Bayin He Ding published by Lixuehaotang during the Qianlong era. The most widely circulated version is the first edition of The Republic of China Applicable Improved Qilin Bayin He Ding, published in 1921, which has been reprinted multiple times. This edition serves as the basis for the current collation. The stone-printed edition corrects some errors of the woodblock edition and adds a small number of commonly used characters but has no other significant improvements.