Shizhoupian
The Shizhoupian (Chinese: 史籀篇; pinyin: Shĭzhòupiān) was an early dictionary of Chinese characters written in the Great Seal script. The work was traditionally dated to the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (827–782 BC), but many modern scholars assign it to the State of Qin in the Warring States period. It is now known only through fragments.
The Zhòuwén (Chinese: 籀文) are 220 or so examples of ancient characters from the Shizhoupian quoted in the Han dynasty character dictionary Shuowen Jiezi.[1] The zhòuwén characters have been described as generally symmetrical and balanced, and are on average (although not always) more complex than the later seal characters.[2] They contain many swirls and circles in place of later squared or rectilinear forms.
According to the postface of the Shuowen Jiezi and the "Treatise on Literature" chapter of the Book of Han, the work was written during the reign of the late Western Zhou king Xuan by Shĭ Zhòu (史籀 "Historian Zhou"), and consisted of 15 chapters (篇 piān).[3] Wang Guowei disputed this account in his commentary on the Shizhoupian, arguing that the structure and style do not match the period.[4] Wang also questioned the traditional interpretation of zhòu (籀) as the historian's name, pointing out that in ancient times, according to the Shuowen, it had the same meaning as 讀 dú ("to study and understand the meaning of books; to read"). According to this view, the title of the book was likely taken from the first sentence of the text (as is often done when assigning names to untitled ancient texts like those on bronzes), which presumably contained "the historian studies…".[5][2][6] Tang Lan identified Shĭ Zhoù (Historian Zhòu) with Shĭ Liú (史留 Historian Liú), a name is written with a similar character in the Book of Han chapter on "Notable Persons Past and Present" covering the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.[2] Confirmation of the historical existence of a Historian Liú from the correct period has been found on an ancient dĭng tripodal cauldron in the collection of the Shanghai Museum.[7]
References
Sources
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (English translation of Wénzìxué Gàiyào 文字學概要, Shangwu, 1988.)
- 漢語大字典. Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn, 1992. 湖北辭書出版社和四川辭書出版社 Húbĕi Cishu Chūbǎnshè and Sìchuān Cishu Chūbǎnshè; Taiwanese reprint (traditional characters) from 建宏出版社 Jiànhóng Publ. in Taipei. ISBN 957-813-478-9.
