Jiǔjīng zìyàng 九經字樣
Standard Forms for the Nine Classics by 唐玄度 (Táng Xuándù, 撰)
About the work
A one-juàn supplementary orthographic dictionary covering 421 graphs not addressed (or differently treated) in Zhāng Shēn’s 張參 Wǔjīng wénzì KR1j0024. Compiled by Táng Xuándù 唐玄度, Hànlínyuàn dàizhào in the Kāichéng era of Wénzōng. Commissioned by imperial decree in Tàihé 7 (833) for the orthographic standardization of the Kāichéng shíjīng; co-engraved with the stone Classics in 837. Internally arranged in 76 bù on the Wǔjīng wénzì model.
Tiyao
Jiǔjīng zìyàng in 1 juàn. Composed by Táng Xuándù of the Táng. Xuándù’s native place is unknown; from this book we know he was a Hànlínyuàn dàizhào in the Kāichéng era. The Táng huìyào records: in Tàihé 7 (833) second month, by imperial command Táng Xuándù was set to verify the graphic forms for the stone Classics; in the twelfth month, by imperial command, the stone Nine Classics were established at the two sides of the lecture hall of the National Academy — Xuándù’s zìyàng was completed at this time. 421 graphs, in 76 bù on the model of the Wǔjīng wénzì. The opening dié of Kāichéng 2 (837) eighth month says: “Per the order of Tàihé 7 (833) twelfth month to verify the Nine Classics graph-forms, the present extensive verification mostly takes Sīyè Zhāng Shēn’s Wǔjīng wénzì as standard. In the various Classics there are separate doubts and gaps, where the ancient and current forms differ and the clerical-script transformations have not been uniform — if we relied entirely on the Shuōwén, the archaic forms would startle the public; if we relied on the modern script, copyists’ errors would creep in. We have therefore consulted with the editorial team and weighed [each case] on the merits, taking the middle way, and compiled and added a Jiǔjīng zìyàng in one juàn; we request that it be appended to the end of the Wǔjīng zìyàng” — i.e., the two books were paired in operation, and at that time the present text was inscribed on stone after the Nine Classics. In Míng Jiājìng yǐmǎo (1555) an earthquake damaged both books and the stone Classics together. Recently Mǎ Yuēlù 馬曰璐 obtained a Sòng rubbing and printed it — still substantively complete. The transmission has had its share of corruption and editorial conjecture, even with Mǎ Yuēlù; we have here re-collated against the surviving stone fragments, with editorial ànyǔ added to each. — The Wǔjīng wénzì’s pronunciation glosses are mostly drawn from Lù Démíng’s Jīngdiǎn shìwén, whether “X-X fǎn” or “audio X”; Táng Xuándù in his time avoided the term fǎn — when there was no homophone-graph he could give, he wrote “X píng, X shàng” (the X’s tone-class shifted), thus indexing the reading by tone-rotation. This is one of the formal differences between the two books. Respectfully edited and presented in the ninth month of Qiánlóng 46 (1781).
Abstract
The Jiǔjīng zìyàng is the orthographic supplement to the Wǔjīng wénzì, prepared explicitly for the engraving of the Kāichéng shíjīng (837). The text was originally inscribed on stone after the Nine Classics; the Jiājìng earthquake of 1555 damaged both books and the Classics. The Sìkù compilers used Mǎ Yuēlù’s mid-Qing print of a Sòng rubbing as base, but recollated against the surviving stone fragments. Particularly notable is the explicit avoidance of the term fǎn 反 in Xuándù’s pronunciation glosses, which the Sìkù tíyào (in fact, the very same passage cited in the KR1j0008 Guǎngyǎ tíyào) flags as the moment when fǎn 反 began to be replaced by qiè 切 in Táng phonological notation. Together the Wǔjīng wénzì and Jiǔjīng zìyàng fix the orthography of the canonical Táng Classics — and through their inscription on the Kāichéng shíjīng, transmit it without major emendation through the entire imperial period. Dating bracket notBefore 833 (imperial commission) to notAfter 837 (Kāichéng 2, year of stone-engraving).
Translations and research
- Wáng Guó-wéi 王國維. 1923. “Táng-bǎn Wǔ-jīng wén-zì kǎo.” In Guān-táng jí-lín.
- Endymion Wilkinson. 2022. Chinese History: A New Manual, §6.1.