‘率’ has only one shape in Yin-Shang scripts. However, from the early to middle Western Zhou Dynasty, there appear several other variants with components of ‘止’, ‘彳’, ‘’, ‘’, ‘行’, ‘’, respectively: ‘’, ‘’, ‘’. In the Chu bamboo slips, ‘’ with the component of ‘’ is common, and there also exists ‘’ with that of ‘行’. Based on these observations, this article demonstrates that, in bronze inscriptions and Chu bamboo slips, ‘’ and its provincial variants all together express the meaning of military leadership, which is supported by consistent data from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States Period. From the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the four dots in ‘率’ begin to be omitted or interchanged with ‘行’ and ‘止’. However, ‘’, ‘’ and other variants are all active verbs denoting ‘to lead’ and ‘to command’ in a war. Looking at ‘率’ found in Chu bamboo slips makes it clear that its main shape is ‘’ which is also used as an active verb denoting ‘to lead’. From its shape and meaning, it is seen to be equivalent to ‘’ in Jinwen and Shuowen. All the abovementioned character shapes containing ‘止’ are, in fact, variants of ‘’. However, the characters of ‘’ and ‘’, which only contain ‘行’ and lack ‘止’, have a different meaning in Jinwen and Chu bamboo slips from those containing the radical of ‘止’ such as ‘’ and ‘’. The former is passive verbs denoting ‘to be led’ and ‘to follow’. This group of variants is equivalent to ‘率’ in the pre-Qin period, which seems to be a consistent rule in the pre-Qin script.

This paper discusses and analyzes the new meaning of the word ‘Geng’ (梗) which has appeared in recent years, and concludes that there are two new meanings of the word ‘Geng’ (梗) in recent years: one, ‘laugh point’, and the other ‘the plot’. The latter developed from the former which had come from the misappropriation of the word ‘Gen’ (哏). So this view is held by the ‘Geng’ (梗) and ‘Gen’ (哏) as the font under the guise of relations, glyph is ‘Geng’ (梗) under the guise of for the ‘Gen’ (哏) because use frequency is higher, after ‘Geng’ (梗) also gradually obtained the meaning of ‘Gen’ (哏), and then the first meaning as the change of use requirements, the semantic also expanded, developed what ‘Gen’ (哏) does not have second meaning. Then this paper analyzes the current situation of the use of the two new meanings of ‘Geng’ (梗), and concludes that, according to them, the corpus of new words of ‘X梗’ can be divided mainly into A and B types. In addition to the semantics, the two categories also have obvious differences in the number of syllables, word formation, productivity and other aspects. Moreover, the emergence of some ‘梗 X’ structures, namely C type, also shows the strong vitality of the new meaning of ‘Geng’ (梗).

The research conducted on honorific and modest words is based on Chinese ancient books, records and handed-down documents. However, there is no consensus on research results due to various research materials used by scholars. This research employs Loulan Documents excavated during Wei-Jin period as research objects, and investigates the usage of honorific words and expressions and the phraseology of modest expressions. A quantity analysis based on thorough studies of most of the modest and honorific expressions in those documents was conducted. And, as a significant consequence, it is discovered that there is a slight usage difference between the honorific expressions in excavated documents during Wei-Jin period and in handed-down documents, which can be explained in three aspects. First of all, the second personal pronouns ‘er’ and ’ru’ are not unseemly words, and ‘er’, ‘ru’ and ‘jun’ are most widely used. Secondly, although part of the frequently used honorific expressions in later ages are used to express modest and respect in Wei-Jin period, they are not grammaticalized and cannot be considered as actual honorific expressions. Thirdly, during Wei-Jin period, not only there are honorific words and expressions, there are also fixed formats of expressing modesty.

The modern Chinese copula, 是 shì, had not yet appeared in the oracle bone period. It began to emerge in Zuozhuan (左傳 ), and appeared only when expressing the judgment of complex topics. Based on the observation as such, this paper looks into the demonstrative of 是 shì, and examines its evolution before it becomes a copula. The task takes three steps: first, usages of 是 shì are investigated throughout various time periods; second, characteristics of sentences containing 是 shì are explained according to how it is used; and last, a comparison is made of sentences containing 是 shì in excavated Chu manuscripts in order to determine their properties. What can be, in fact, explained through the analysis of Chu bamboo literature in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) are the characteristics of the transitional sentence before the development of 是 shì into the copula. First, in the bamboo slips “Sande” from the fifth volumes of “Chu bamboo slips collected in Shanghai Museum”, the object prepositional phrase appears, indicating the transitional phase in which the 是 shì phrase in the first stage advances toward the second one. “Sande” is the literature of the late Warring States Period, and has a V writing section in which the object has been transposed and no '也' has appeared at the same time. Second, apart from the situation in which the first stage is used as a subject, the situation in which the explanation part leads to NP/N fixation can be considered through the object transposition leading to the NP/N fixation of the topic part. Last, given that “邾公華鍾 (哉(載)公眉壽 ，邾邦是保 : Tsp, NP是 V)” is an article of the Spring and Autumn Period, it is estimated that 是 shì had been initially regarded as the object, and the phrase “TNP, NP＋是＋VP/V” was gradually used as a fixture through the process of the analogy and re-analysis. However, it is critical that this view be examined more closely, and therefore, further research is also needed.

The paper intends to clarify several notions of the word, ‘Chounu’ (醜 奴). It is indeed a transliteration word which originated from Xianbei (鮮卑 ) language and was translated into the wolf. In history, the language contact of Chinese and minority languages has created a large amount of transliteration words. There are a lot of variants in Chinese classical literature: for example, ‘Chinu’ (叱奴 ), ‘Tunu’ (吐奴 ), ‘Chilu’ (叱盧 ), ‘China’ (赤那 ), and ‘Zhuonuo’ (綽諾 ). This paper considers that the white wolf (白狼 ) in Guoyu (《國語 》) glossed by Weizhao (韋昭 ) is inaccurate, and the correct interpretation is that the wolf is the totem of Quanrong (犬戎 ) tribe referring to the people of the Quanrong (犬戎 ) tribe. It reveals the value and significance of the study on words consisting of Chinese characters from the perspective of the language contact.

The study into ancient artifacts originated from the age of King Zhen (真) in the Song Dynasty. The research by Liu Chang and Ouyang Xiu in the age of King Ren (仁) opened the fashion for epigraphy collection and appreciation to ancient artifacts. The academic notes in the Song Dynasty mainly discussed the context of three levels. Firstly, the collection of ancient artifacts. For example, Nenggai Zhaiwanlu of Wu Zeng and Yanxia Fangyan of Ye Mengde all described the collection of ancient artifacts in the Qin and Han dynasties. Secondly, historical research on epigraphy. For example, Mozhuang Manlu of Zhang Bangji and Rongzhai Suibi of Hong Mai all used the epigraphy and stone inscriptions to verify the history of ancient artifacts. Thirdly, the textual research on epigraphy such as Guangchuan Shuba of Dong You, Dongguan Yu lu of Huang Bosi. They all recorded the comments on the advantages and disadvantages of inscription or epigraphy while it also contained the comments on the characteristics of Chinese calligraphy art. The stone inscriptions stored in the academic notes of the Song Dynasty then become an important reference to studies on the Epigraphy of Song Dynasty, which not only provides an important proof for the construction of calligraphy or epigraphic history in the Song Dynasty but also expands the academic horizon for the research on epigraphy in the later generations that holds academic and historical significance.

The origin of the ‘rainbow’ in oracle bone inscriptions has been debated in the academic circles, but no final conclusion has yet been found. According to what the ‘rainbow’ in the oracle bone inscriptions looks like, scholars roughly divide it into two categories: the ‘snake’ and ‘dragon’. Reviewing previous argumentations on this issue and resting on comprehensive analysis of various views, this paper traces the academic origin of the ‘rainbow’ in the oracle bone inscriptions, and, at the same time, takes the ‘rainbow’ as the ‘dragon with two heads’, one of the description views on it. Furthermore, it, by means of combining with some arguments over the present archaeological results and discussing again relevant points of them, puts forward an argument that the ‘rainbow’ in the oracle bone inscriptions was taken from the image of the ‘dragon’. On the basis of this argument and relevant theories of philology, archaeology and cultural anthropology, it reinterprets the cultural connotation of ‘auspicious and ominous symbols’ and ‘gender metaphor’, both of which are unique to the special natural phenomenon of the ‘rainbow’ in Chinese culture. Analyzing the cultural meanings such as pouring rain, giving birth to an emperor or a sage, fornication and reproduction, etc. also helps to explain the cultural interconnectedness between the ‘rainbow’ and ‘dragon’ or, more specifically, dragon worship-related cultural prototypes of China.

The successive discoveries of unearthed documents have brought an opportunity for the interpretation of related handed down documents. This thesis mainly combines the documents, and suggests that (1) the ‘shi (世)’ of “shi xuan er lao (世選爾勞: calculate your credit for generations)” in Shangshu be read as ‘she’ (揲) since it is interpreted as counting; (2) the ‘zhi (植)’ of “zhi bi bing gui (植璧秉珪: put the jades on the altars and hold an elongated pointed-tablet of jade in hand)” as ‘dai’ (戴); (3) “yu bu gan bi yu tian jiang wei (予不敢閉于天降威: I dare not block the power of heaven.)” as a sentence; (4) “gao nai ting (高乃聽: expand your knowledge)” as a possible mistake of “shu nai de ( (淑)乃德: beautify your character)”; (5) “jun yi yue shi wo” be sentenced probably as “jun. yi! yue shi wo (君。已 (嘻)！曰時我: Jun! sigh! God be kind to us.)” since ‘shi (時)’ means ‘to be kind’; (6) the ‘zai wei (在位)’ of “xiao zi tong mei zai wei dan wu wo ze (小子同未在位誕無我責: I am an ignorant young man, but no one among the officials in office will blame me.)” belong to the preceding sentence, which ought to be translated as “I am ignorant but in the big position” ; and (7) ‘da yin (達殷)’ of “yong ke da yin ji da ming (用克達殷集大命: To defeat the Yin dynasty and achieve national destiny.)” bear the meaning of Yin.

Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology publishes 359 new epitaph rubbings of the Epitaphs Recently Acquired by Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, which offers the real and reliable unearthed literatures for us to research into the new ancient epitaphs recently excavated in Shanxi Province. However, it is not easy to interpret some variant forms in the epitaph rubbings. By studying on eight variant forms in the epitaph rubbings, giving examples in characters and illustrations of literature, inquiring character meanings, clearing physical meanings, and summarizing the evolution laws of characters, this paper provides support documents and reference experiences for the research on difficult characters and the history of Chinese characters.

Based on the “double evidence method”, this paper first demonstrates the relationship between Guicang (歸藏) of the Wangjiatai Qin Bamboo Slips and the classic version of Guicang (歸藏). What is more, this paper classifies and supplements the missing names according to the handed down documents; it also proves that the place named ‘Tang (唐)’ in the hexagram of “Xiao Chen made a divination on escaping to Tang (小臣卜逃唐)” in Guicang of the Qin bamboo slips is related to the place named ‘Tangqiu (湯丘)’ of “Shangtang in Tangqiu (湯處於湯丘)” in Tsinghua Bamboo Manuscripts. The special relationship between ‘Zhonghui (仲虺)’ and ‘Yiyin (伊尹)’ plus his evaluation of Xiaochen’s escape is also reinterpreted.

Even though Summary of Chinese Historical Lexicology by Jiang Shao Yu is the most important theoretical achievement both of Chinese lexicology in general and of the contemporary one, there are some points to be discussed in a more detailed manner. Of them is that of the absolute synonym such as ‘zhou’ (舟) and ‘chuan’ (船). Considering it worth discussing, this paper holds that ‘chuan’ (船) began in the early and middle stage of Warring States Period, not in the late one of it. For, the use cases of ‘chuan’ (船) in the literature of the middle and late stage of Warring States Period increased, and the frequency ratio of ‘zhou’ (舟) and ‘chuan’ (船) changed in those stages. They are general synonyms rather than absolute synonyms because the former means not merely the boat but also the big boat as in ‘long zhou’ (龍 舟), ‘da zhou’ (大舟) and ‘ju zhou’ (巨舟). Instead of ‘zhou’ (舟) itself referring to the big boat, the meaning of ‘zhou’ (舟) is still the boat, and ‘zhou’ (舟) and ‘chuan’ (船) constitute synonyms in the meaning of the boat, which indicates that the meaning of size comes from its modifying elements.

The construction of national common language is an important issue in that of modern nation. From ‘Guanhua’ in the late Qing dynasty to ‘Guoyu’ in the republic of China, and then to ‘Putonghua’ in the late Anti-Japanese War and after the founding of new China, these names not only have a close connection but also reflect the different functional differences. Now, the construction of national common language in ethnic areas and the unification of cross-strait languages have become new national strategies. Adopting again ‘Guoyu’ names and assigning new meanings from the perspective of national identity can help to strengthen national identity, promote national unity and cross-strait reunification, and regulate language use.

‘Tong’, a term commonly used in ancient Chinese dictionaries, is also widely used in Korean Chinese dictionaries. Through the study of the term in Jeonwun Okpyeon, this paper finds that the term is mainly used to define the characters with the same or close relationship in pronounciation. This is similar to the term in ancient Chinese annotations and dictionaries. However, the term in Jeonwun Okpyeon can also be used to define the situation in which Chinese characters’ shapes and meanings are interlinked. It is, in fact, desirable that the characteristic as such be paid special attention to in the study into ancient dictionary styles of both China and Korea. Based on the exhaustive investigation and analysis of “Tong” in Jeonwun Okpyeon, the paper obtains various types of ‘Tong’, which provides support for the determination of its connotation as well.

As a result of the National Social Science Foundation Project hosted by Professor Zhao Hong for several decades, the Dictionary of the Non-Classical Word in Turpan Manuscripts was published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House in December 2019 after long expectations. As for the form of a dictionary, it draws out the non-classical word in Turpan Manuscripts, and collects extensive materials. Furthermore, the practice of writing is fine and appropriate, and the collected glyphs are also full and rich. So, it shows us the whole appearance of using the non-classical word among the people in Turpan. It is a classic of this international study——Turpan Studies. This paper briefly introduces the dictionary’s practice, features, value and some shortcomings so that scholars can understand the dictionary better.

In the early stage of foreign element words entering the Chinese system, the translator of Huaxue Jianyuan has established the translation principle of element names. It mainly uses monosyllable and phonetic Chinese characters. It determines 48 transliteration elements either by referring to the transliteration of element names in Jinshi Shibie or by self-formulation. 47 out of 48 characters are ligatures, 21 of which are newly-formed, and 26 are borrowed from unfamiliar inherent Chinese characters. It presents the characteristics of high proportion of new characters, strong systematicness and applicability. There are 48 transliterated element names with recorded characters used by translators, 34 of which are still in use today. The transliteration principles established by translators and the selection or creation methods of transliterated element name characters have a great influence on the subsequent element name characters.

This article conducts a textual research on the character of ‘畑’ in Grand Chinese Dictionary. Through reviewing Buddhist scriptures and secular literature, the article points out that ‘畑’ is a Japanese character signifying the ‘upland field’. The word of ‘田畑’ found in the scriptures is a Japanese one with two meanings: one, the ‘paddy field and upland field’, and the other, the ‘field’. In Japanese, the former is expressed by ‘田’ and ‘畑’, yet, in Chinese, by adding modifiers before ‘田’. Therefore, when entering into Chinese, ‘畑’ comes to have the same meaning and usage as ‘田’. For this reason, the article considers it possible for ‘畑’ to be a variant of ‘田’ in the Chinese literature. Moreover, ‘畑’ can be thought of not only as a formal variant of the folk character of ‘烟’ but also as a mistaken character of ‘油’ in the scriptures.

All of the languages in the cultural and linguistic Sinosphere display the phenomenon of borrowing Han characters and Han radicals to form their own scripts. The Nom Viet is no exception. When studying the structure of Nom Viet, scholars often use Han characters as the basis to analyze the structure of the Nom characters and divide them into different categories. This approach is applicable to the vast majority of Nom characters. However, in practice, when studying the processes of creating and using characters through many Nom texts, it is found that some Nom characters are formed on the basis of pre-existing Nom characters. This category of Nom characters, for a long time, has not won the attention of scholars. Surveying over 50 different Nom works, this article has collected 25 Nom characters with a multi-layered structure, which we call the derivative Nom category. By analyzing the components that directly make up these Nom characters and relying upon new research results on Chinese grammatology, the article will analyze and specify the internal structure of these Nom characters. The article has classified and presented the model of these Nom scripts. In addition, the separation of elements directly forming the characters has shown the process of acculturation of Chinese characters in Vietnam. It can be seen that the number of Nom derivatives is not large. However, their presence has more or less provided new materials for studying the structure of the Nom characters. Hopefully, the analysis in this article will contribute to shedding light on the current theoretical issues regarding the structure of the Nom Viet.

Based on statistics of 7,629,399 characters from South Korea’s three largest newspapers in simplified Chinese corpus from the year of 2017 to 2019, we, with the help of a webzip of Chinese research helper and word segmentation software, found that the total number of font shapes was 5582 and that of None Universal Standardized Chinese Characters was 997, the latter of which contained traditional ones, variant and old glyphs, characters of dialects, wrong uses, names of people, places and objects, terminology and swearing, characters with overseas origin, and so on. A systematic and comprehensive survey of None Universal Standardized Chinese Characters helps to solve the problems of information switching and language communication between home and abroad. The comparative study can explore the feasibility, method and scope of cooperation between home and abroad in characters, which has a strong reference value not just for the standardization of Korean educational characters including machine-used Chinese characters and those for examination but for making language policy.

As part of research on the Chinese subjective decrement markers, this study is aimed at analyzing the combinatorial aspect and semantic characteristic of them through a synchronic and diachronic research especially into ‘不怎么’ and ‘不那么’, both of which are of profound significance for expressions denoting the subjective decrement. By means of doing so, the work seeks to understand the background, and further to clarify the grammaticalization process whereby they are used as markers showing the subjective decrement. “Quantity is an important category with which humans perceive, understand and make expressions of the world”, and “the quantitative category of the linguistic world is divided into objective quantity and subjective one”. The subjective quantity is defined as that which comes to have subjectivity due to the speaker's subjective evaluation of the objective quantity, and is usually divided into large and small one. Research related to the subjective quantity has attracted the attention of many scholars and there have been remarkable achievements made with regard to it even in Chinese language studies. However, there has been a limitation, on the other hand, that most of the studies have focused only on the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of expressions denoting the large subjective quantity and small one. What needs to be paid attention to, in this respect, is that the Chinese language also has expressions for the subjective decrement such as ‘不怎么’ and ‘不那么’ in addition to those for the large and small subjective quantity. For all that, few researchers have observed and analyzed them from the perspective of the subjective quantity. For such a reason, this study considers ‘不怎么’ and ‘不那么’ to be the subjective decrement markers most of all, analyzing the combinatorial aspect and semantic characteristic of and the difference between them through a synchronic research. Then, another analysis of their degrees of lexicalization is conducted through a diachronic research into their semantic expansions and frequency increases based on the examination of their periodic examples. The work, in the last analysis, deduces their grammaticalization processes along with the background analysis of how meanings of the subjective decrement have come to be generated in them despite the fact that they have not in other interrogatives or demonstratives.