Shī běnyīn 詩本音
The Native Phonology of the Shī by 顧炎武 (Gù Yánwǔ, 1613–1682), the second of his Yīnxué wǔshū
About the work
Gù Yánwǔ’s systematic working-through of the Shījīng in the light of Chén Dì’s 陳第 Máo Shī gǔyīn kǎo KR1j0072 doctrine that the Shī has no xiéyùn but only its own native (běn) phonology. 10 juàn. Each Shī poem is given in full, with a reading-gloss under each line: where the rhyme-character’s reading agrees with the Guǎngyùn, the gloss is “Guǎngyùn mǒu bù” (in Guǎngyùn class X); where it differs, the gloss is “gǔyīn mǒu” (Old reading X). The book is therefore both a Shī-text edition and a complete reference for Gù’s reconstructed Old phonology of the Shī. The Sìkù tíyào is candid: Gù’s analysis is denser than Chén Dì’s but somewhat less subtle than Jiāng Yǒng’s 江永 later Gǔyùn biāozhǔn KR1j0087 (1759), which corrects many of Gù’s specific assignments — yet the methodological frame remains Gù’s, and Jiāng Yǒng’s book “supports this book; cannot replace this book.” Máo Qílíng’s 毛奇齡 hostile critique (in his Gǔjīn tōngyùn KR1j0084) is dismissed by the Sìkù compilers as factional rivalry rather than substantive argument.
Tiyao
The Shī běnyīn in 10 juàn. Composed by Gù Yánwǔ of the present dynasty — the second of his Yīnxué wǔshū. The book applies Chén Dì’s “Shī has no xiéyùn” doctrine: it cross-references the readings used in the Shī itself, corroborates them with other texts, and shows that the Old phonology was originally read this way — not produced by reading-shift. Hence the title Běnyīn (Native Phonology). Each poem is fully reproduced, with the reading-glosses placed under each line: where the rhyme matches the modern Guǎngyùn, the gloss is “Guǎngyùn mǒu bù”; where it does not, the gloss is “gǔyīn mǒu” (Old reading X). On the whole, denser than Chén Dì but looser than Jiāng Yǒng. Hence Jiāng Yǒng’s Gǔyùn biāozhǔn corrects many specific assignments here. Yet the agreement-rate is 19 of 20 with this book, the disagreements 1 of 20 — Jiāng’s book supports this book; one cannot use Jiāng’s book to abolish this. As to Máo Qílíng’s display of his erudition and itch to compete — engaging in polemic against Yánwǔ — that is the literary man’s habit of mutual disparagement; not a final judgment. Presented Qiánlóng 45 / 6 (1780). General Editors Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì; Chief Collator Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
The Shī běnyīn (1643–1667) is Gù Yánwǔ’s systematic application of Chén Dì’s xiéyùn-rejecting methodology to the Shījīng — a complete Shī edition with Old phonological reading marked at every rhyme-character. Methodologically the second cornerstone of the Yīnxué wǔshū (after the theoretical Yīn lùn KR1j0078); used by Lǐ Guāngdì 李光地 in his classical poetry-reading and effectively foundational to the Qīng Shī exegetical tradition. Modern phonology takes Gù’s specific reconstructions as superseded — primarily by Jiāng Yǒng’s 江永 Gǔyùn biāozhǔn KR1j0087 (1759), which corrects many individual assignments — but the methodological commitment to native Old phonology runs unbroken through the entire Qīng tradition. notBefore = 1643; notAfter = 1667.
Translations and research
- Wáng Lì 王力. 1985. Hàn-yǔ yǔ-yīn shǐ. — Treats Gù’s Shī běn-yīn as the methodological foundation of Qīng Shī phonology.
- Pulleyblank, Edwin G. 1962. The Consonantal System of Old Chinese. — Notes Gù’s role in establishing the Shī-rhyme corpus as the textual basis for Old Chinese reconstruction.
- Karlgren, Bernhard. 1935. Grammata Serica. Stockholm: BMFEA. — Traces the Shī-rhyme reconstruction back to Gù’s Shī běn-yīn.
Other points of interest
The book’s procedure of reproducing each Shī poem in full with line-by-line gloss is a major innovation in classical-text scholarship: it makes the phonological apparatus serve as both reference-tool and reading-text. Subsequent Qīng Shī editions (Wáng Yǐnzhī, Duàn Yùcái, Wáng Niànsūn) adopt this procedure with refinements.