The Study On Radicals Ba In Shuowenjiezi

It is a great creation that Xushen initiated the theory of radicals in Shuowenjiezi. However, his theory and the classification of radicals are not the truths which are reasoned and unassailable. The radicals of Ba(八) in Shuowenjiezi is only a typical example which need to be discussed. We have examined all the ancient Chinese characters in radicals of Ba(八) in Shuowenjiezi over and over through inspecting all the ancient Chinese character's forms in the Oracle Bone Inscriptions, in the Inscriptions on Ancient Bronze Objects, in the characters of Warring States, etc. Finally, we have found that there are some mistakes in the radicals of Ba(八) in Shuowenjiezi. Specifically speaking, some characters ,such as fen(分),er(尒),zeng(曾),shang(尚),sui( ),zhan(詹)and so on, in the radicals of Ba(八) in Shuowenjiezi could be classified into the radicals of Ba(八) as the relation between their original meanings and character Ba's(八) are very tightly; but the others, such as jie(介),bie( ),gong(公),bi(必),yu(余),could not be classified into the radicals of Ba(八), because their original meanings are not the same as Ba(八),and even some characters'original meanings are completely different from Ba's(八) meaning. Meanwhile, we also approach the reason why Xushen made such a small mistake in the radicals Ba(八) from different angles.