Research On Zheng Zhen's "Shuowenyizi"

Zheng Zhen(??),a lifelong study of the most influential Han-dynasty scholar,Xu Shen(??),the author of China's first etymological dictionary of Chinese characters,the Shoo Wen Jie Zi(short for Shuowen,??????).His Shuo Yi Zi(??????),is the first monograph of one hundred sixty-five characters of Xu Shen's original dictionary that had been omitted by Song editors.This work aims to the eventual restoration of Shuowen's original text.There have been mixed reviews since the advent of the book.We need to give his work an absolute objective description and a pertinent assessment.This dissertation tries to make a comprehensive study of Zheng Zhen's Shuo Wen Yi Zi,untangle his academic ideas and dig hard for its important values and limitations by making full use of existing resources,from which to set a value on this work and strives to reveal the unique features of his academy.And also,by taking Zheng Zhen's work as an important break-through node,this dissertation retrospect the origin,development,and venation of the whole study of lost characters,and finds out what have been handed down and developed in his work.The text is divided into five chapters:Chapter I Introduction:this part shows the selection origin of this dissertation,the definition of Shuo Wen Yi Zi,the previous studies on lost characters and Shuo Wen Yi Zi by others,and the research purpose,significance and methodology.Qing is a period prolific of great scholars and Great advances have been made in Shuowen textual emendation,annotation,style and Chinese radical.Under the academic background at that time,the study of Shuowen's "yi zi"(??)and "xin fu zi"(???)have gradually had an impact.From Li Yang-bing(???)to Xu Brothers(Xu Xuan ??&Xu Kai??),then to Duan&Wang(Duan Yucai ???&Wang Yun ??),these scholars have given different answers about lost characters in Shuo Wen Yi Zi,but no monograph of this field has been published until Zheng Zhen's Shuo Wen Yi Zi.Though the work is not the strictest emendation academic one,it will be of great Chinese Characters interest for academic history and its theoretical basis.Chapter II introduces and observes Zheng Zhen's life-story,academic background and his main scholarly works.Zheng Zhen obtained remarkable achievements in territories such as study of Confucian classics,literature,historical science,etc.Especially in the field of traditional philology,his distinctive styles as a scholar had retain enormous influence to the later generations.The age in which Zheng Zhen lived is an age in which two different schools(Song,Han)to intermingle without losing their separate identities.Different versions of Shuo Wen Jie Zi had been printed and issued,the rise of Shuowen study become an inevitable trend.Also,his academic research career mostly based on his own potential,special study atmosphere,and on pursuing of Xu and Zheng's scholar-ism.His emendation research method and works points out his special opinions in studying Chinese Characters and elucidates his own argumentation.We introduces the style,edition and publishing situation of Shuo Wen Jie Zi.The book has two editions since published in 1858.It has three intentions of Zheng Zhen's writing:first is to locating and making up the deficiencies,second is to specializing characters and classical literature,and the third is to correcting Xu brothers' mistakes and doing some complementary to Duan Yucai's doctrine.Chapter ? observes and studies the primary contents of Zheng Zhen's Shuo Wen Yi Zi.The 1st section states the conclusion that Zheng Zhen make the corrections of one hundred sixty-five characters,including 107 "zheng zhuan"(??),31 "gu wen"(??),20 "huo ti"(??)and 7 "zhou wen"(??).The 2nd section discusses Zheng Zhen's emendation method of lost characters in Shuo Wen Jie Zi.By comparing different editions of Shuowen,following general rules of Xu Shen,and discovering quotations from classical and unearthed literature,etc.The 3rd section restates Zheng Zhen put the work as carving copy of Shuowen,using the various versions of Shuowen and Xizhuan(????????),and correction some scholars' mistakes.In the collation,Zheng Zhen studied the Shuowen collation of Duan Yucai,Qian Daxin(???)and Qian Dian(??),surmised the style of Shuowen and the style of other books cited Shuowen.The 4th section discussed Zheng's opinion of "liu shu"(??)is follow the views of Zheng Qiao(??)and Dai Tong(??),and transcend little.It's has closed relationship between the view of "Zhuan zhu"(??)which is one of "liu shu" and the view of words derivative on Zheng Zhen.Chapter IV is textual research on the Shuo Wen Yi Zi item by item.This chapter takes prefix words order of Shuo Wen Yi Zi,study those prefix words one by one according to the definition of the "yi zi" under the verbatim comments,on the basis of using many Shuowen variant characters,the method of collection "yi zi" and the Shuowen's style.Chapter V summarizes the achievements and shortcomings of Shou Wen Yi Zi.Collecting "yi zi" is not a simple emendation that which the majority are looking for the ideal of Shuowen.The study and emendate of Shuowen is always a research hot spots,although the original Shouwen is not been seen,and the collection of "yi zi" can't restore the original Shuowen.We evaluated the Shou Wen Yi Zi,and compared with same works,analysis it's achievements and shortcomings.In general,Shuo Wen Yi Zi is a book of high level and has the academic value of "Shuowen xue".