A Study On Herb Names In Lei Pian Cao Bu

With total 1,231 words,Lei Pian Cao Bu(???·???)gives descriptions mostly to herbaceous plants.The thesis analyses all the words based on their motivations in terms of connotations and cultural meanings by four parts:introduction,classification of the words,motivations and substances,and the cultural background of words.The first chapter gives an introduction and study review to the target book.The second chapter classifies the herbs based on their motivations,including herb names,parts of herbs,appearance of herbs,processing names,processed herbs,specific references and ligneous names for herbs.And herb names consisting of seven classes count the largest share such as vegetables,medical herbs and wild weeds with medical herbs at the core.The next chapter analyses the connection between names and their motivations.It is noted that the motivations(shapes,streaks,colors,functions,odors,etc.)connect with entities whether by one-to-many way or many-to-one way.And the editor of the dictionary employed several methods to retrospect motivations,including a comparison among paronym,dialects and related languages,and biology.The last chapter illustrates the cultural background of the words.The target book is a summary of what Chinese people know about herbs before Song Dynasty(960BC---1279BC),including herb planting,medicalization and cooking.And it witnesses the transform from wild picking to specializing,which allows a broader employment in both medicine and food.A study on Lei Pian Cao Bu(???·???)helps readers to know the cultural side of herbs,which is of great significance at lexicological,cultural and pharmacological levels.