Zhōulǐ Lǐ-shì yīn 周禮李氏音
Master Lǐ’s Phonological Commentary on the Zhōulǐ
by 李軌 (撰)
About the work
A single-juàn reconstruction of 李軌 Lǐ Guǐ’s (fl. mid-fourth century) lost Zhōulǐ Lǐ-shì yīn 周禮李氏音 — a phonological commentary on the Zhōulǐ (cf. KR1d0001) parallel in form and method to 徐邈 Xú Miǎo’s KR1d0109 Zhōulǐ Xú-shì yīn. The CHANT reconstruction (CH2e1074) is drawn exclusively from Lù Démíng 陸德明’s Jīngdiǎn shìwén 經典釋文, where Lǐ Guǐ’s fǎn-qiè glosses are cited alongside those of Xú Miǎo and other phonological commentators.
Abstract
The text follows the same Liù-guān organisational structure as KR1d0109 but with substantively different fǎn-qiè readings, often paired with Xú Miǎo’s gloss to mark a preferred-alternate reading distinction. The opening fragment under Tiānguān zhǒngzǎi preserves the yǎo wàn-mín 擾萬民 line with yǎo glossed xún-lún fǎn 尋倫反 — a reading that Lǐ Guǐ shares with Xú Miǎo (Lù Démíng’s citation is to “Xú, Lǐ”, indicating the two glossators are aligned for this character).
Lǐ Guǐ is also the author of the Yáng-zǐ fǎ-yán zhù 揚子法言注 (a commentary on Yáng Xióng’s Fǎyán, also preserved in fragments) and parallel phonological commentaries on the Lǎo-zǐ and the Yìjīng. His phonological work is of significant importance for the reconstruction of Eastern-Jìn period dialect-area pronunciations.
The dating bracket (317–419) reflects the broad Eastern-Jìn period span; Lǐ Guǐ’s exact birth and death years are not preserved. He is documented as a Jì-zhōu cì-shǐ 冀州刺史 in Jìn shū mid-text references but with no full biography.
Translations and research
No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. Lǐ Guǐ’s Fǎyán commentary receives more scholarly attention than his ritual-classics phonology; the phonological-commentary corpus is treated in:
- 王力 Wáng Lì, Zhōngguó yǔyán xué shǐ.
Other points of interest
Lǐ Guǐ’s joint citation by Lù Démíng alongside Xú Miǎo in the Jīngdiǎn shìwén establishes him as one of the Liù-cháo phonological-scholar authorities for the Zhōulǐ; his readings serve as a key cross-check for reconstructing the Eastern-Jìn / Northern Wèi fǎn-qiè tradition.
Links
- Chinese Text Project — Jīngdiǎn shìwén: https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&res=608648