Jingdian Shiwen
Chinese exegetical dictionary (c. 583)
| Jingdian Shiwen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Jingdian Shiwen scrolls in the Chinese Dictionary Museum, Jincheng, Shanxi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 經典釋文 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 经典释文 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Explaining words used in the classics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 경전석문 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 經典釋文 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 経典釈文 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | けいてんしゃくもん | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Jingdian Shiwen, often simply referred to as the Shiwen by Chinese philologists, was a Chinese dictionary compiled by the Tang dynasty scholar Lu Deming c. 583. Based on the works of 230 scholars whose work spanned the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods, the work provides exegetical commentary on the evolution of words present in the Confucian Thirteen Classics and the Daoist Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi.[1] Namely, it tacks the gradual shifts in both the meaning and pronunciation of classical words. to It also cites numerous ancient works that no longer exist; citations which for some constitute the only documentary evidence of their previous existence.
The dictionary's pronunciations are given by fanqie annotations, and have proved invaluable for historical linguists studying the Middle Chinese stage of the language's history. Sinologist Bernhard Karlgren considered the Jingdian Shiwen and the Qieyun, a rime dictionary assembled in 601, as the two primary sources for the reconstruction of Middle Chinese. Many studies in Chinese historical linguistics use data from the Jingdian Shiwen .
References
- ^ Mair, Victor H. (1998), "Tzu-shu 字書 or tzu-tien 字典 (dictionaries)," in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (Volume 2), ed. by William H. Nienhauser, Jr., SMC Publishing, p. 168 (165-172).
Further reading
- Kishima Fumio, "Changes of the Jingdian Shiwen 經典釋文 – As seen in the Patterns of Usage of the Shiwen copies of the Shundian 舜典", The Toho Gakuho: Journal of Oriental Studies 73, 2001. (in Japanese)
- Lee Tat-leung 杜其容, "A Study of Pronunciations Different from the Usual in Mao Shih Yin I, A Part of Lu Teh Ming's Ching Tien Shih Wen 毛詩釋文異乎常讀之音切研究", United College Journal (聯合書院學報) 4:1–56, 1965. (in Chinese)
- Wang Kuan-to, "A Critical Analysis of the Pronunciation and the Meaning of the Word 樂 in the Jingdian Shiwen (A Summary)", The Journal of the Institute of Chinese Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong 8.
External links
- Jingdian Shiwen, Internet archive
- Various editions of the Jingdian Shiwen – Chinese Text Project
- 経典釈文 (断簡), c. 749-756 Japanese Jingdian shiwen fragment, Kōfukuji Temple (興福寺)
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