Research On Tang Dynasty-Epitaph-based Village-Neighborhood Words In The Guanzhong Area

In China’s five thousand years’history, there have been a variety of Annals of Geography and works on toponymy emerging. They are only summary records of the administrative divisions of the previous dynasties. Toponymy dictionary entries mainly include names of important mountains and administrative divisions of each dynasty. However, namies of towns and village with big quantities and strong stability lack sufficient documentary records. Therefore, the basic information seems inevitably inadequate to ascertain the origin and development of them today. Rural words contain some historical traces of the rural settlements of that period, which can be used to explore the development and changes of the area and its natural or cultural environment. As excavated materials, epitaphs with records of the burial grounds of people at that time are of reliability. Epitaphs of Tang Dynasty have complete composition and big quantities, which provide our study on rural words with convenience.Guanzhong has always been known as’800li Qinchuan (covering a large area of land at that time and being prosperous)". There has been Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han and other ten dynasties establishing capitals in this area, which lasted over a thousand years, with rich historical and cultural accumulation. Therefore, we choose the rural words of the unearthed epigraphs appeared in the burial grounds in Guanzhong area of Tang Dynasty (including names of towns, li and villages and their original names) as the objects of study. Firstly, we check and verify these rural words, and trace the reasons for naming them. On this basis, through analyzing examples, we investigate these rural words from the aspects of language, history and culture.The article is divided into three parts, a total of five chapters: The first part as the first chapter, Introduction:Introducing the past and present situation of research topics, research materials, subjects, ideas and research methods. Presenting a brief description of the administrative division system of the Tang Dynasty involved in this article.The second part consists of the second, third and fourth chapters:because of the maldistribution of the unearthed epitaphs in Guanzhong area and the abundance of materials of Chang’an County and Wannian County, Jingzhao Fu of Tang Dynasty, the second chapter of the article checks and verifies Chang’an County, Jingzhao Fu; the third chapter study on the rural words of Wannian County; and the rural words of the rest places are discussed in the fourth chapter.The third part as the fifth chapter (divided into four sections):rural words contain a wealth of historical and cultural information. Firstly, the fifth chapter analyzes the circumstances of the words of the same name in different places and of different names in the same place, reasons for naming, structure and the meaning of words. And then investigate the burial grounds in Guanzhong area of Tang Dynasty.