At the end of each volume or each case of Jiaxing Tripitaka, a large number of phonetic explanation characters are attached. These characters are collectively referred to as the Suihan Yinshi. They use “Yinshi” and “Yinqie” and so on as their documentary identifiers, and are scattered at the end of each volume or at the end of the entire Buddhist scripture. The layout generally follows the pattern of Xuan Ying’s Yinyi: First, the character to be annotated is extracted, and then its pronunciation is noted and its meaning is explained. The catalog of characters and their annotations in the Suihan Yinshi of Jiaxing Tripitaka are rather complex, and the methods of phonetic notation are diverse. Overall, the Suihan Yinshi of Jiaxing Tripitaka are characterized by complex annotation materials, diverse base texts, and rich phonetic notation levels.
Pronunciation and Meaning in the Complete Buddhist Canon (Yiqiejing Yinyi) by Master Huilin is a lexical and pronunciation work by Master Huilin adapted and edited from the works of Master Xuanying, Master Huiyuan, and Master Yungong. The work covers lexical entries, pronunciations, cross references, annotations, and character forms. Apart from being an important book for understanding and interpreting Buddhist canons, it provides rich resources and information for the research of Buddhist canon versions, languages, lexicons, and lost works. This research investigates the form and structure variations of some characters in the same or different lexical entries based on the Tripitaka Koreana annotated by Master Huilin, to sort out the form variations in Chinese characters, thereby tracing the sources, diachronicity, and circulation of form variations of the lexical entries in Pronunciation and Meaning in the Complete Buddhist Canon from the perspective of character development.