A Study On Folk Characters In Dunhuang Manuscripts Collected In Gansu

Dunhuang Manuscripts Collected in Gansu edited by the famous Dunhuang scholar Duan Wenjie(段文傑)includes a large number of ancient texts from the Northern Dynasties. The character use in these texts is representative of the special characteristics of that critical period in the evolution of Chinese characters. This paper uses digital technology to conduct a systematic, in-depth investigation, compilation, and arrangement of the folk characters found in Dunhuang Manuscripts Collected in Gansu and also uses the technology to analyze their attributes and to make a character table. Building on this foundation, this paper engages in detailed textual research and interpretation of typical folk characters from Dunhuang Manuscripts Collected in Gansu that many earlier scholars either did not examine or examined without accurate and complete interpretation. It also offers additions and corrections to the findings of earlier research on Dunhuang folk characters and to large-scale dictionaries. In this way, this paper helps to reveal the general picture of character use at that time and also helps in the understanding of the emergence and evolution of modern folk characters. Further, it helps in the accurate research on and explanations of the texts in Dunhuang Manuscripts Collected in Gansu. This paper also contributes richer and more credible comprehensive linguistic material than previously available for more advanced theoretical research and for the redaction of large-scale dictionaries.