Zìtōng 字通
Penetrating Characters by 李從周 (Lǐ Cóngzhōu, 撰)
About the work
A two-juàn paleographic dictionary by Lǐ Cóngzhōu 李從周 (hào Jiānwú 肩吾, of Péngshān 彭山), with prefaces by Wèi Liǎowēng 魏了翁 (Jiādìng 13 / 1220) and a postface by Yú Shēn 虞兟 (Bǎoyòu jiǎyín / 1254). The book uses the Shuōwén analysis of clerical-script (lìshū) elements (piānpáng) to clarify Sòng-period vulgar-form corruptions. 89 sections, 601 graphs. The seal form is given large; the clerical form in interlinear gloss. Concluding appendix: 82 graphs of zhěngzhèng súshū (correcting vulgar forms).
Tiyao
Zìtōng in 1 juàn; composed by Lǐ Cóngzhōu of the Sòng. Cóngzhōu’s life-data is unknown; per Wèi Liǎowēng’s preface of Jiādìng 13 (1220), he was a man of Péngshān 彭山, zì Jiānwú 肩吾; the postface by Yú Shēn of Bǎoyòu jiǎyín (1254), who got his copy from Wèi Liǎowēng, also gives nothing about his official career. The book uses the Shuōwén as ground for clarifying the radical-elements (piānpáng) of clerical-script. Dividing into 89 sections, 601 graphs in all. The sectional scheme departs from the Shuōwén sequence; uses small-seal as head-graph in display, with clerical as interlinear gloss. The arrangement is not entirely consistent with itself: e.g. shuǐ 水 and huǒ 火 are placed in the upper-two-strokes class, but in the lower-three-strokes class are huǒ and shuǐ (both again) — 123 such cases. Some entries are scattered without principle. Likewise, gàn 干 is placed in the upper-two-strokes class on the seal-form alone, ignoring the clerical — i.e., he violates his own example. Huí 回 is in the middle-rì class; chén 臣 and jù 巨 are in the KR0935-class; dōng 東 is in the lǐ-class — even though clerical practice would put them elsewhere — likewise inconsistent. — The main thrust is to clarify the yuánliú of clerical-script, not to push zhuàn into lì. As Yán Yuánsūn 顏元孫 said: “shed extremes, find balance.” Sòng manuscripts have transmitted it for many centuries; preserving it is good. The closing supplement of 82 zhěngzhèng súshū — yōng 壅 must be 邕, zhīcǎo 芝草 must be 之草, yī-shang 衣裳 must be 衣常, tiānjiǎn 添減 must be 沾減, guījǔ 規矩 must be 規巨, xīnlǚ 心膂 must be 心吕, dēngzhǔ 鐙炷 must be 鐙主, tǎntì 袒裼 must be 但裼, fùhé 負荷 must be 負何, jīnshuì 巾帨 must be 巾帥, jiélì 竭力 must be 渴力, zhǒuyè 肘腋 must be 肘亦 — though some have ancient warrant, today they cannot be enforced. The opening title-essay says “Fùgǔbiān and Zìtōng not yet [included] — outline as below” — this suggests not-Lǐ Cóngzhōu’s voice. Furthermore, under hū 虍 xū 虛 entry: “now separately written 墟 — incorrect”; but under another entry: “xū 虛 written 墟 — incorrect — one item” is listed as something the Zìtōng did not cover. If the same author, would he contradict himself? Possibly later interpolation. Respectfully edited and presented in the tenth month of Qiánlóng 46 (1781).
Abstract
The Zìtōng is a Southern-Sòng paleographic dictionary that aims to clarify the yuánliú (origins and development) of clerical-script radical-elements without pushing the Shuōwén’s seal-script orientation back onto modern writing — a project squarely in the catholic Yán Yuánsūn / Zhāng Yǒu 張有 tradition. Its 89-section structure with 601 graphs is more thematically organized than radical-organized. Wèi Liǎowēng’s preface places the work at Jiādìng 13 (1220), here used as both notBefore and notAfter. The closing supplement of 82 zhěngzhèng súshū (corrections to vulgar usage) is a small but interesting Sòng-period orthographic protest catalogue, though as the Sìkù compilers note, several of its corrections (e.g., yīcháng 衣常 for 衣裳, guījǔ 規巨 for 規矩) have gǔ warrant but no current usability. Suspected later interpolations are flagged in the tíyào.
Translations and research
- Liú Yèqiū 劉葉秋. 1983. Zhōngguó zì-diǎn shǐ-lüè. Beijing: Zhonghua.
- Endymion Wilkinson. 2022. Chinese History: A New Manual, §6.1.