Yì yùn 易韻
Phonology of the Yì by 毛奇齡 (Máo Qílíng, 1623–1716)
About the work
Máo Qílíng’s polemical counterpart to Gù Yánwǔ’s 顧炎武 Yì yīn KR1j0080, in 4 juàn. Like Gù’s, the work works only with the rhymed lines of the Yì, omitting the unrhymed ones; this is methodologically sound and shared with Gù’s book — distinguishing both from Zhāng Xiànyì 張獻翼’s earlier DúYì yùnkǎo (Míng), which had failed to make the rhymed/unrhymed distinction. Within the rhymed corpus, Máo’s specific Old-phonology assignments often differ from Gù’s; the Sìkù tíyào judges that “in the breadth of citation and the precision of analysis, Máo exceeds Gù; in tracing what can be cross-rhymed and leaving unjoined what cannot, Máo falls short of Gù’s care.” The tíyào concludes with the classic philological-history advice: use Gù’s Yì yīn as the principal text and Máo’s Yì yùn as the supplementary cross-reference — they complement each other.
Tiyao
The Yì yùn in 4 juàn. Composed by Máo Qílíng of the present dynasty. The lyrics of the ancients are mostly rhyme-aligned; the Yì yáo and xiàng are also broadly rhymed, but often loosely. So Wú Yù’s 吳棫 Yùn bǔ draws very few examples from the Yì. Until Míng Zhāng Xiànyì made the DúYì yùnkǎo in 7 juàn, but Zhāng did not understand Old phonology — he just took readings as they came, or forced parallels — chaotic and incoherent. Máo’s book and Gù Yánwǔ’s Yì yīn both omit the unrhymed lines and only discuss rhymed lines — therefore both are coherent. The two authors’ rhyme-books overlap and diverge: their Yì-rhyme treatments also vary. On the whole, in citation-breadth and detail Máo exceeds Gù; in joining what can be joined and leaving what cannot be joined alone, Máo falls short of Gù. — E.g., Máo’s treatment of Qián qiúshàngjiǔ yòngjiǔ as a single rhyme-unit is his own conjecture, and he then drags Old phonology to support it — over-strained. Plus the liǎngjiè liǎnghé / mòyùn (boundaries-mergers / blank-rhyme) constructs that he invokes — these all reflect his Gǔjīn tōngyùn doctrine, falling short of Gù’s “occasional dialect-mixed” rule for being more economical and less cumbersome. Yet Gù’s book is too brief; Máo’s is fuller. Both can serve as cross-evidence. Use Gù as principal, Máo as supplementary — make use of strength, set aside weakness — and the two complement each other. Presented Qiánlóng 46 / 9 (1781). General Editors Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì; Chief Collator Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
The Yì yùn is Máo Qílíng’s polemical companion to Gù Yánwǔ’s Yì yīn KR1j0080 — both works applying Old-phonology methodology to the Yì’s rhymed corpus, with mutually-different specific assignments. The Sìkù tíyào’s recommended pairing — use Gù as principal, Máo as supplementary — is the conventional Qīng-period reception. Date bracket follows Máo Qílíng’s mature career.
Translations and research
- Wáng Lì 王力. 1985. Hàn-yǔ yǔ-yīn shǐ. — Treats Máo’s Yì yùn alongside Gù’s Yì yīn.
- Yú Mǐn 余敏. 2008. Qīng-dài yīn-yùn-xué shǐ.
Other points of interest
The Sìkù tíyào’s balanced judgment — Máo more thorough in detail, Gù more careful in restraint — is a useful corrective to the over-simple narrative that Máo’s quarrel with Gù was entirely vain. On Yì-phonology specifically, both works contribute.