Research On The History Of Ancient Phonology In Shaanx

Shaanxi has a long history,culture and a rich literature collection,which includes many phonological documents that have not yet received sufficient attention.This paper focuses on the administrative divisions of present-day Shaanxi Province and chronologically organizes the ancient phonological literature.This cannot only provide new materials and perspectives for the study of phonological history,but also facilitate the preservation and transmission of regional literature.Roughly speaking,the development of phonology in ancient Shaanxi can be divided into four stages: embryonic stage,prosperous stage,barren stage and revival stage,with the first three in one chapter each and the fourth stage in two chapters.The embryonic period is from the Eastern Han to the The southern and Northern Dynasties.In the Eastern Han Dynasty,Du Lin,Ma Rong,Jia Kui and other Confucian classics in the central Shaanxi plain attempted to explain the word phonetics,which provided the impetus for the birth of antiphonology.Their teaching of apprenticeship cultivated reserve talents for the development of phonetics,while the surviving exegetical materials became the clues for future generations to explore ancient sounds.During the Wei,Jin and North-South dynasties,Chang’an became a major town of sutras translation.A great number of monks gathered together,many of whom were versed in both Buddhism and phonetics.They brought Sanskrit phonetics to the South while spreading Buddhist doctrine.The Southern literati discovered the four tones in their interaction with the scholars,which in turn contributed to the birth of the rhyming book.Shaanxi was not directly involved in the process of phonology during this period,but it laid the foundation for the emergence of phonology.The Sui and Tang dynasties were the heyday of the development of ancient phonology in Shaanxi.Benefiting from Chang’an’s position as the national political and economic center,Shaanxi during the Sui and Tang dynasties gathered the best literati in the country.During this period,the event of Chang’an on rhyme,which is a symbol of phonology,took place in Shaanxi.In keeping with the political situation of the great unification,rhyming books of a summary nature came into being at this time.Under the auspices of the imperial court,a group of literati also began to organize the exegetical materials of classics and history and to conduct the orthography movement.Marking the phonetics of words was an important element in exegesis and orthography.Most of the work mentioned above was completed in Shaanxi.The development of Buddhism reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty,and the prevalence of scripture translation in Chang’an was unprecedented.At that time,it was in Chang’an that Tantric Buddhism emerged,stressing phonetic scrutiny and analyzing the syllables of Chinese characters in greater detail,which led to the discovery of vowels and the birth of the rhyme charts.The rhyming books,such as Yun Ying(韵英),Yun Hai Jing Yuan(韵海镜源),character books,such as Kai Yuan Wen Zi Yin Yi(开元文字音义),Wu Jing Wen Zi(五经文字),exegetical and phonetic notes,such as Jing Dian Shi Wen(经典释文),Han Shu Zhu(汉书注),the sound and meaning of Buddhist scriptures,such as Xuan Ying Yin Yi(玄应音义),Fa Hua Yin Xun(法华音训),and phonetic documentation born in Shaanxi during the Sui and Tang dynasties were important documents for future generations to study the phonology at that time.Even more valuable is that Tang scholars had already presented their views on several theoretical problems and had made meaningful explorations in the study of ancient sounds.The Song and Yuan Dynasties can be considered the barren era of ancient phonology in Shaanxi.During this period,Chang’an lost its central position in the country.Shaanxi became a battleground between Song,Liao,Jin,and Yuan State,and was repeatedly devastated by the war.Culture was in a depression.In terms of phonetics,only one scholar from Shaanxi worth mentioning during the four centuries of the Song and Yuan dynasties,that is,Liu Jian in the central Shaanxi plain.His book Jing Shi Zheng Yin Qie Yun Zhi Nan(经史正音切韵指南)was a conservative and innovative work based on the Wu Yin Ji Yun(五音集韵).They were an important source of information on etymology and modern phonetics.The other book,Ji Yun(集韵),published by Tian Shiqing,the military governor of Jinzhou,had been handed down to the present day and was one of the three printed edition of Song Dynasty.Compared with the other two editions,the Jinzhou book was more complete and had fewer errors from the two volumes of the falling-rising tone,which was of great value in both literature and phonology.During the Ming and Qing dynasties,the study of phonology in Shaanxi recovered and was revived.The academic research in Shaanxi lacked vitality and dynamism,and phonology in general was dull and conservative,due to the strict governmental suppression.The study of phonetics in Shaanxi during the Ming dynasty centered on poetry rhyme and official rhyme,such as Xiu Ranzi’s Shi Yun Shi Yi(诗韵释义)which was a modification Pingshuiyun(平水韵).Liang Yingqi’s Shi Yun Shi Lue(诗韵释略)slightly revised Pan En’s Shi Yun Ji Lue(诗韵辑略)and placed the rhyme of ancient poems under the framework of the Pingshuiyun(平水韵).Zhang Shipei’s Liu Shu Fu(六书赋)and Liu Shu Fu Yin Yi(六书赋音义)adapted the official rhyme book Hong Wu Zheng Yun(洪武正韵)by the ordering method of character structures.There were also Wang Sanpian’s Zi Xue Da Quan(字学大全)and Zhou Yu’s Zi Kao Qi Meng(字考启蒙).The former was a combined publication of the Wu Yin Ji Yun(五音集韵)word books,rhyme books,and rhyme charts,and the latter was a mess of phonetic components and of little value.It is important to mention that the first systematic recording of Chinese phonetics in Latin alphabet,Xi Ru Er Mu Zi(西儒耳目资),was initially published in Shaanxi,and Wang Zheng,a Jingyang scholar,made an important contribution to the writing and publication of this book.During the Qing dynasty,Shaanxi phonologists were deeply influenced by Gu Yanwu.Li Yindu’s Gu Jin Yun Kao(古今韵考)Han Shi Yin Zhu(汉诗音注),Liu Shaoban’s Xue Yun Ji Yao(学韵纪要),and Li Maolin’s Yun Pu Yue Guan(韵谱约观)were all based on Gu Yanwu’s teachings.Liu Dingmei transformed Jing Shi Zheng Yin Qie Yun Zhi Nan(经史正音切韵指南)into Yun Xue Ru Men(韵学入门).Cheng Yitian,based on the study of Dai Zhen,Jiang Yong and others,wrote the book Mao Shi Yin Yun Kao(毛诗音韵考).Moreover,Zhang Zhongru’s Yun Xue Fa Yuan(韵学发原)and Zi Xue Hu Ming Neng Shu(字学呼名能书)had a close relationship with Yun Fa Zhi Tu(韵法直图).During the Ming and Qing dynasties,there were many rhyming works in Shaanxi,but they were mainly inherited and not much was created.Some scholars from other provinces,such as Bi Yuan,Hong Liangji,Qian Dian,Wang Jiadu,Yang Mingyang,and Shen Zhaolin,wrote on phonetics during their stay in Shaanxi,which was part of Shaanxi’s academy.The works on phonology published in Shaanxi were also listed.At this stage,many phonological and rhymeological documents,which were found in historical books and prescriptions and had long been lost,were now listed in the text for reference.