Shuowen Jiezi
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 The cover of a modern reprint of a Northern Song-Dynasty "veritable" edition (真本) of the Shuowen Jiezi |
In analyzing the structure of characters and defining the words represented by them, Xu Shen strove to disambiguate the meaning of the pre-Han Classics, so as to render their usage by government unquestioned and bring about order, and in the process also deeply imbued his organization and analyses with his philosophy on characters and the universe. According to Boltz (1993:430), Xu's compilation of the Shuowen "cannot be held to have arisen from a purely linguistic or lexicographical drive." His motives were more pragmatic and political. During the Han era, the prevalent theory of language was Confucianist Rectification of Names, the belief that using the correct names for things was essential for proper government. The postface (xù 敘) to the Shuowen Jiezi (tr. Thern 1966:17) explains: "Now the written language is the foundation of classical learning, the source of kingly government." Compare how the postface describes the legendary invention of writing for governmental rather than for communicative purposes:
- See also: Wikipedia, Wikisource
- Related: Xu Shen
| Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Science/shuowenjiezi.html - Web |
| Chinese Etymology Chinese Etymology www.internationalscientific.org - Web |
| Shuowen online text version with Duàn Yùcái "說文解字注... Shuowen online text version with Duàn Yùcái "說文解字注", "釋名 Shiming", "爾雅 Erya", "方言 Fangyan", "廣韻 Guangyun" définitions and glosses www.shuowenjiezi.com - Web |
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