Kokeum Seklim, compiled by the Joseon scholar Lee Eui-bong in 1789, is regarded as the most representative comprehensive multilingual dictionary of the Joseon Dynasty. Originally preserved as a manuscript in royal archives and limited in circulation, the work gained significant academic attention in Korea after its facsimile edition was published in 1977. This paper focuses on the Byeolguk Bang-eon section of Kokeum Seklim, conducting a preliminary collation and analysis of its entries to explore its editorial structure, error patterns, and textual corrections. Based on the research findings of this study, the types of textual corruptions identified in Byeolguk Bang-eon (Dialects of Other States) can be classified into the following five categories: (1) errors related to character forms and orthography; (2) issues arising from the categorization and arrangement of entries by word count; (3) interpolations resulting from graphic similarities between characters; (4) the misattribution of text from other sources as Yang Xiong’s original Fangyan excerpts; and (5) the redundant duplication of the same lexical terms. This paper also highlights the value of Byeolguk Bang-eon in terms of textual criticism and version collation. From the perspective of Korean scholarship, this work reflects the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese academic traditions in Korea. From the perspective of Chinese scholarship, Kokeum Seklim serves as an invaluable reference that provides crucial clues and insights for linguistic and philological research.

This study investigates the linguistic characteristics and rhetorical functions of three pivotal Chinese character keywords-‘任那’, ‘連絡’, and ‘東京’-employed in the representation of Busan within the Chōsen Ryokō Annai-ki (Guide to Travel in Korea), published by the Railway Bureau of the Government-General of Korea in 1934. By integrating morphological analysis, syntactic structure, and semantic expansion with a semiotic framework (iconicity, indexicality, and symbolism), this research elucidates the sophisticated mechanisms of “Sinographic rhetoric” used to naturalize colonial rule. The analysis reveals how these keywords strategically restructured the perception of colonial space. First, ‘任那’ transformed a historical proper noun into a common noun phrase to frame Busan as a space inherently subordinate to Japan since antiquity. By dismissing the Silla and Goryeo dynasties as mere transitional phases and linking Joseon-era Japanese settlements directly to the origins of the modern port, the discourse erased Korean historical agency and presented Japanese presence as a historical inevitability. Second, ‘連絡’ underwent a multi-layered semantic expansion-transitioning from a technical communication term to a signifier of transportation, military coordination, and administrative control. The subtle morphological distinction between ‘連’ (physical connection) and ‘聯’ (human association) allowed the imperial system to distinguish technical infrastructure from social control while simultaneously integrating them under a singular phonetic identity, disguising coercion as “natural convenience.” Finally, the ‘東京’ metaphor elevated Busan to a status equivalent to the imperial capital, effectively marginalizing Seoul (Gyeongseong) as a provincial relic. By stripping Seoul of its political substance and transplanting economic vitality to Busan, the text hollowed out the symbolic authority of the Joseon dynasty. These three keywords operated in tandem to legitimize the 1929 imperial policy of transforming Korea into a logistical base. While ‘任那’ provided historical legitimacy and ‘連絡’ naturalized spatial integration, ‘東京’ rationalized a new imperial hierarchy. Together, they reconstructed Busan as a strategic nexus that was historically legitimate, spatially seamless, and hierarchically inevitable. The study suggests that, at least within this text, colonialism in the Sinographic sphere may have operated through a linguistic mechanism distinct from colonial situations where an alien script marked the distance between ruler and ruled. Rather than constructing difference through linguistic alterity, the imperial authority here exploited a shared morphological heritage, monopolizing the semantic definitions of characters that Korean readers could already recognize. Whether this mechanism is specific to the Sinographic sphere requires further comparative verification. While Koreans could read the characters, the Japanese authorities monopolized their semantic definitions. This “homogenization” rather than “othering” made the colonial discourse particularly insidious, as the sharing of the script hindered the development of a distinct language of resistance. By conceptualizing Sinographic rhetoric through a synthesis of morphological and discourse analysis, this study argues that recognizing the sinographic medium as a site of imperial semantic control represents a necessary step toward understanding the particular durability of colonial epistemologies within the Sinographic sphere.

This paper systematically reviews the academic achievements, core theories and methodologies of Françoise Bottéro, a French sinologist, in the field of oracle bone inscription studies. In contrast to her widely recognized research on Shuowen Jiezi, Bottéro’s work on oracle bone inscriptions has received relatively insufficient attention. This paper analyzes her research from multiple perspectives, including her research stance, typological construction, studies of graphic variants, and views on the origin of Chinese characters. Bottéro insisted on a linguistically oriented approach, opposing the simplistic classification of oracle bone inscriptions as “pictographic writing” and emphasizing their essential nature as a symbolic system for recording language. Her use of terminology reflects a sophisticated understanding of the multi-dimensionality of writing. Her typological system of oracle bone characters divides graphs into five categories: pictographs, phonetic markers, abstract graphs, compound graphs, and graphic variants, which transcends the traditional Liushu framework. Through an in-depth analysis of “compound graphs”, she reveals the unique coding logic by which oracle bone inscriptions coin verbs and abstract concepts through symbolic combination. Her systematic research on graphic variants in oracle bone inscriptions represents a prominent contribution. She summarizes nine types of synchronic graphic variation and argues that the existence of such variants reflects the lack of standardization in the oracle bone script system. Meanwhile, the increasing use of phonetic components indicates the trend toward phonosemantic compound formation, a key evolutionary direction that would later dominate the development of Chinese characters. In addition, this paper evaluates her reinterpretation of the function and textual nature of oracle bone inscriptions, in which she regards them as complete, readable texts recording spoken language. Nevertheless, this paper also points out the limitations of her research, particularly her discourse on the origin of Chinese characters. Her skepticism toward the Neolithic origin of Chinese characters and her inclination toward the “Western origin theory of Chinese characters” bear the mark of Eurocentrism, failing to fully consider archaeological evidence and the complexity of the independent evolution of civilizations. In summary, this paper holds that Bottéro’s research has provided an important linguistic analytical framework for oracle bone studies. At the same time, it advocates that future research should adopt a critical perspective while absorbing her theoretical achievements, so as to promote an in-depth dialogue between Chinese and Western scholarship on an equal footing.

As the first Sino-Japanese character dictionary, XinZhuanZiJing extensively consulted Chinese classical lexicographical works in its compilation. In addition to Xuanying's Yinyi, the original Yupian, and the Qieyun, it also drew upon texts such as the Erya and the Ganlu Zishu. The work likewise contains a wealth of materials on gujinzi , some inherited from classical Chinese dictionaries, and many others adapted according to usage conventions in Japanese society. According to statistics, the XinZhuanZiJing records a total of 667 sets of gujinzi, of which 325 sets correspond to those in Chinese classical dictionaries, while 342 sets differ. To a certain extent, this distribution reflects both the inheritance and the development of Chinese characters in Japanese lexicography, and contributes to broadening the scope and connotation of gujinzi studies.

Chinese characters, once a central writing system in premodern Vietnam, have undergone a profound transformation in the modern era. This article examines how a script that lost its institutional functions continued to operate as a meaningful cultural symbol. Drawing on semiotics and cultural memory theory, it develops a three-stage analytical framework—de-functionalization, re-encoding, and cross-civilizational reproduction—to explain this process. The study argues that the decline of Chinese characters in administration and education did not result in cultural disappearance. Instead, their functions shifted from practical governance tools to symbolic carriers of historical memory and cultural identity. Through scholarly preservation, artistic reinterpretation, and regional cultural interaction, Chinese characters were re-embedded in new social contexts and assigned renewed meanings. This process demonstrates that civilizational continuity does not necessarily depend on institutional persistence; it may instead be sustained through the reinterpretation of shared symbols. By foregrounding symbolic transformation rather than structural continuity, the article offers a dynamic perspective on the Sinosphere and contributes to broader discussions of cross-cultural interaction and cultural resilience in East Asia.