Wǔjīng wénzì 五經文字
The Graphs of the Five Classics by 張參 (Zhāng Shēn, 撰)
About the work
A three-juàn orthographic dictionary by the Táng Guózǐjiàn sīyè Zhāng Shēn 張參, presented Dàlì 11 / 6 / 7 (June 776). 3,235 head graphs in 160 bù, with each entry distinguishing standard from variant forms in the script of the Five Classics — a counterpart to the Gānlù zìshū KR1j0023 but specifically aimed at the canonical text. First inscribed on the wall of the National Academy lecture hall in clay-and-wood; re-cut on stone in 837 as part of the Kāichéng shíjīng 開成石經.
Tiyao
Wǔjīng wénzì in 3 juàn. Composed by Zhāng Shēn of the Táng. Shēn’s native place is unknown. The author’s preface is dated Dàlì 11 (776) sixth month seventh day; he signs himself Sīyè — i.e., he was active in Dàizōng’s reign. The Tángshū Rúxué zhuàn xù says: “Wénzōng fixed the [text of the] Classics and engraved it on stone — Zhāng Shēn and others corrected text-errors.” — Examining the HòuHànshū: in Xīpíng 4 (175), in the third month, [the throne] commanded the various rú to correct the graphs of the Five Classics and engrave them on stone outside the gate of the Imperial Academy. Zhāng Shēn’s title of his book takes its name from this. — 3,235 graphs in 160 radical-classes. — Liú Yǔxī’s Guóxué xīnxiū wǔjīng bìjì says: “In the Dàlì era the famous rú Zhāng Shēn, as Guózǐ sīyè, first reviewed and fixed the graphs of the Five Classics and inscribed them on the east and west walls of the lecture hall. Sixty-some years later, Jìjiǔ Hào and Bóshì Gōngsù renewed the wall-text by splitting hardwood plank and lining it against the wall in the form of a tablet — high and broad, the back fastened with hidden bolts, so the eye sees a unitary surface.” That is, the Wǔjīng wénzì was first written on the 屋壁 wall, later transferred to wood, and finally re-cut on stone in the Kāichéng era. — Zhū Yízūn’s postface says: “the Wǔjīng wénzì alone has no woodblock edition — a real gap.” But examining the Cèfǔ yuánguī: in Zhōu Xiǎndé 3 (956), the Shàngshū zuǒchéng jiān pàn Guózǐjiàn shì Tián Mǐn 田敏 presented a printed-copy of the Wǔjīng wénzì, memorializing: “Your servants, since Chángxìng 3 (932), have been collating-and-engraving the Nine Classics”; so it had a print at the very inception of woodblock-printing — only that copy was lost. The current Mǎ Yuēlù print’s postface says: “[I] purchased an old Sòng rubbing of the stone Classics, which contained this; [I] copied it and had it cut at the family school.” Yet checking against the actual stone, even Mǎ’s nominally “mó Sòng” copy has emended what was still legible; further, in juàn 3 the xìng 幸 bù misses yì 睪 (gloss 19 graphs); zhōu 盩 (with full gloss, 8 graphs). We have here followed the stone for full restoration, that the original may not be lost. Respectfully edited and presented in the ninth month of Qiánlóng 46 (1781).
Abstract
The Wǔjīng wénzì is the canonical Táng-period orthographic dictionary for the Classics, prepared by Zhāng Shēn at the National Academy and dated by his own preface to 776. Its 3,235 head graphs in 160 bù parallel — but are not identical to — the Shuōwén radical scheme; the Yùpiān KR1j0022’s reorganization is one influence. The work was first written on the east and west walls of the National Academy lùntáng hall, transferred to wood by jìjiǔ Hào (Hào Yānjí?) and bóshì Gōngsù (Lǐ Gōngsù?), and finally engraved as part of the Kāichéng shíjīng in 837 — making this dictionary effectively a paratext of the canonical Táng Classics text. Tián Mǐn’s HòuZhōu Xiǎndé 3 (956) print is the earliest known woodblock edition (lost); Mǎ Yuēlù’s mid-Qing print is based on a Sòng rubbing. Together with Táng Xuándù’s Jiǔjīng zìyàng KR1j0025, the Wǔjīng wénzì fixes the orthography of the canonical Táng Classics in stone.
Translations and research
- Wáng Guó-wéi 王國維. 1923. “Táng-bǎn Wǔ-jīng wén-zì kǎo” 唐板五經文字考. In Guān-táng jí-lín 觀堂集林.
- Endymion Wilkinson. 2022. Chinese History: A New Manual, §6.1, §39.