The Tianzhi edition of Shinsen Jikyō (新撰字鏡) contains a large number of Entries with Implicit Citations from Qie Yun (切韻), which is an important document for the recovery of Qie Yun (切韻). The traditional method of compiling lost texts based on the clue of author Shōjū (昌住)’s “Extensive Excerpts” was able to compile a certain number of quotations. However, it did not fully consider the complexity of compiling the original book and the limitations of the author’s knowledge, resulting in some entries closely related to Qie Yun (切韻) being omitted or mistakenly included. This article starts with the compilation method and stylistic features of Shinsen Jikyō (新撰字鏡). By comparing the existing manuscripts of Qie Yun (切韻), it re-compiles and revises many citations from Qie Yun (切韻) that were overlooked by previous scholars, striving to provide some new methods and ideas for the research on the recovery of Qie Yun (切韻) cited in Japanese documents.
The book “Wenzi Mengqiu” (《文字蒙求》) was compiled by Wang Yun, a renowned scholar of the Qing Dynasty, to guide children in learning to recognize characters. It is a textbook for children’s Chinese character recognition with the nature of a dictionary. The main content of this book is to compile and explain the basic Chinese characters in “Shuowen Jiezi” (《説文解字》). This book not only plays a unique role in the enlightenment education of Chinese characters and the study of “Shuowen Jiezi” (《説文解字》), but also still holds significant values for our research on Chinese character teaching and application today. Based on a systematic review of the Chinese characters compilation styles of “Wenzi Mengqiu” (《文字蒙求》), this article conducts a relatively comprehensive and in-depth study on issues such as the number and types of characters compiled in this book, the coverage rate of the compiled characters in ordinary classical Chinese reading materials, and the similarities and differences between the compiled characters and the frequently used characters in modern Chinese.
The revised “Chinese Comprehensive Dictionary” (Second Edition) still contains citation errors, primarily in the form of omissions, additions, transpositions, and misquotations in the cited texts, as well as errors in the sources of citations (including both the main text and the “List of Cited Works”). These errors range from individual category oversights to comprehensive mistakes, creating “serious flaws” in the citations that significantly affect the compilation quality of the “Chinese Comprehensive Dictionary”. In the past, citation errors have been generically attributed to the “negligence” of the compilers, a view that lacks specificity. This paper points out 21 examples of citation errors in the “Small” and “Mouth” radicals of the “Grand Dictionary” and uses them as a basis for a targeted exploration of the causes of citation errors in the “Grand Dictionary”. Corresponding revision suggestions are proposed.
This paper systematically surveys 43 groups of algebra terminology translations in the late Qing Dynasty mathematical translation Dai Shu Shu. These translations primarily employed free translation, with some terms exhibiting multiple translation variants. In terms of origin, the largest number of terms were adopted from earlier translated works. A diachronic analysis reveals that purely free-translated terms and disyllabic calqued had high retention rates, while polysyllabic calqued were less likely to be preserved. The characteristics of these translated terms are as follows: during the selection process, efforts were made to avoid semantic ambiguity, emphasizing internal systematicity and coordination with terminology from other mathematical disciplines, followed a localization strategy, and disyllabic translated terms possess stability.
‘Ideographic’ originally referred to the expression of meaning or the transmission of thoughts and intentions. Its association with the issue of Chinese characters has undergone a complex process of discursive evolution. Western academia has sometimes used Chinese characters as a representative of ideographic writing systems to support the three-stage theory of world writing development, sometimes to support the construction of modern linguistic theories, and sometimes to support discourses on Chinese character education. After the Western concept of ‘ideographic writing’ entered China, the academic community, based on the structure and function of Chinese character symbols, developed a sub-conceptual system centered on ‘ideographic nature,’ refined the scope of discourse to adapt to different discursive contexts, and perfected the terminology system to create a distinctive conceptual framework; clarifying discursive positions, and redefining interpretive subjectivity. This process has localised the concept of ‘ideographic,’ forming a distinctive Chinese perspective on ideographic characters and research methodologies. The experience of the generation, variation, and reconstruction of the ‘ideographic’ concept provides important references for the construction of a Chinese-specific theoretical discourse in the field of writing systems.
Zixue Daquan (《字學大全》) is a rhyme book and character book compiled and published by Wang Sanpin (王三聘) in the Ming Dynasty from 43 to 45 years of Jiajing. It contains a large number of difficult glyphs that are not collected in today’s large dictionaries or whose source is unknown. This paper selects 15 difficult glyphs for textual research, including clarifies the correct characters as well as find out the trajectory and the reasons of the standardized form of Chinese character into the vulgar characters, in order to enrich the modern Chinese character font library. At the same time, it provides a reference for the study of difficult characters and the revision and improvement of today’s large-scale dictionaries.
Guang-Yun and Ji-Yun are the two rhyme books that are mainly cited in the Hanyu Da Zidian for phonetic notations and interpretations. However, due to some errors in the quotations, errors such as phonetic errors, misquotations and other errors are derived. A series of omissions such as improper matching of phonetic items and sound and meaning. Building on a systematic analysis of mispronounced characters in the Hanyu Da Zidian, this paper takes the nine Chinese characters “欏” “琤” “捰” “掄” “朦” “适” “闓” “仡” “眄” as an example, when citing Guang-Yun and Ji-Yun in the second edition of the Hanyu Da Zidian, the phonetic notations and examine existing problems in the matching of sound and meaning and provide revision suggestions.