@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Asian Studies, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Fowler, Vernon Keith"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-10-11T17:10:09Z"@en, "1989"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Doctor of Philosophy - PhD"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """The present thesis is a study of the design of the script of the Shang dynasty oracle bones of China. These are the earliest known examples of the Chinese script, and may be dated roughly to 1200-1051 B.C. The creators of the Shang script basically had two approaches to the representation of words: one was to represent the word indirectly, via the concept (i.e. draw the concept or refer to it graphically in some way), and the other was to represent the word directly (i.e. its phonetic shape-this was only possible after the first approach had been used, thus providing a source of graphs that could be used for their sound). In one type of graph, the so-called xingsheng or xi6sheng. both approaches are combined. In this thesis, I am primarily concerned with the type of graph in which either the whole graph or some part of it is designed with reference to the concept. In order to set reasonable bounds on the topic, I limit myself to an examination of graphs containing human figure elements. There are three basic human figure elements in the Shang script: [See thesis for symbols], and a small number of variations. The question I address in this thesis is: What determines their distribution? At first glance they appear simply to indicate different postures: a standing figure seen from the side, a standing figure seen from the front, and a kneeling figure seen from the side. One can readily understand why there should be a standing figure and a kneeling figure, but why should there be two standing figures seen from different angles? Taking as my corpus all the graphs in Shima Kunio's Inkyo bokuji sorui containing the above mentioned human figure elements (approximately 850 graphs, or about one seventh of the total number of bone graphs distinguished to date), I systematically investigated all of them, in order to determine the relationship between the human figure elements in them and the concepts that they represent. I then sorted out about 200 of those graphs for which I felt I had been able to arrive at a correct analysis. Finally, I compared the factors determining the usage of the human figure elements in each graph to see if any consistency could be detected. I then categorized these uses, and sorted the graphs into these various categories. The body of the thesis is structured according to these various categories. The conclusions of the thesis are: 1. The element [See thesis for symbol], although as an independent graph is the modern character da , did not signify 'big,' but was chiefly used instead of [See thesis for symbol] when the concept was felt to be most easily or most naturally depicted from the front, i.e. where the involvement of both arms and/or both legs was felt to be particularly important to expressing the concept. 2. The [See thesis for symbol] element was used in graphs to do with (a) kneeling; (b) actions typically performed in a kneeling position; (c) concepts in which kneeling could be used as a sign of inferiority, yielding, submission, subjection, etc. 3 [See thesis for symbols], the commonest form of the human figure, could be used in any graph denoting any concept that was felt to have anything to do with human beings, and restrictions on its usage were determined by whether the other two elements were felt to be more appropriate."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/29103?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "A N ANALYSIS OF T H E USES OF THE VARIOUS FORMS OF T H E H U M A N FIGURE IN T H E SHANG SCRIPT By VERNON KEITH FOWLER B.A., The Univeristy of Leeds, 1979 M.A. , The University of British Columbia, 1984 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF T H E REQUIREMENTS FOR T H E DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE F A C U L T Y OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard T H E UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1989 © Vernon Keith Fowler, 1989 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of A s i a n S t u d i e s The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 DE-6(3/81> ABSTRACT A N ANALYSIS OF T H E USES OF THE VARIOUS FORMS OF T H E H U M A N FIGURE IN T H E SHANG SCRIPT VERNON KEITH FOWLER The present thesis is a study of the design of the script of the Shang dynasty oracle bones of China. These are the earliest known examples of the Chinese script, and may be dated roughly to 1200-1051 B.C. The creators of the Shang script basically had two approaches to the representation of words: one was to represent the word indirectly, via the concept (i.e. draw the concept or refer to it graphically in some way), and the other was to represent the word directly (i.e. its phonetic shape-this was only possible after the first approach had been used, thus providing a source of graphs that could be used for their sound). In one type of graph, the so-called xingsheng or xi6sheng. both approaches are combined. In this thesis, I am primarily concerned with the type of graph in which either the whole graph or some part of it is designed with reference to the concept. In order to set reasonable bounds on the topic, I limit myself to an examination of graphs containing human figure elements. There are three basic human figure elements in the Shang script: thesis is: What determines their distribution? At first glance they appear simply to indicate different postures: a standing figure seen from the side, a standing figure seen from the front, and a kneeling figure seen from the side. One can readily understand why there should be a standing figure and a kneeling figure, but why should there be two standing figures seen from different angles? ,and \\ and a small number of variations. The question I address in this ii Taking as my corpus all the graphs in Shima Kunio's Inkyo bokuji sorui containing the above mentioned human figure elements (approximately 850 graphs, or about one seventh of the total number of bone graphs distinguished to date), I systematically investigated all of them, in order to determine the relationship between the human figure elements in them and the concepts that they represent. I then sorted out about 200 of those graphs for which I felt I had been able to arrive at a correct analysis. Finally, I compared the factors determining the usage of the human figure elements in each graph to see if any consistency could be detected. I then categorized these uses, and sorted the graphs into these various categories. The body of the thesis is structured according to these various categories. The conclusions of the thesis are: 1. The element ^ , although as an independent graph is the modern character d | , did not signify 'big,' but was chiefly used instead of 0 when the concept was felt to be most easily or most naturally depicted from the front, i.e. where the involvement of both arms and/or both legs was felt to be particularly important to expressing the concept. 2. The ^ element was used in graphs to do with (a) kneeling; (b) actions typically performed in a kneeling position; (c) concepts in which kneeling could be used as a sign of inferiority, yielding, submission, subjection, etc. 3 ^ , the commonest form of the human figure, could be used in any graph denoting any concept that was felt to have anything to do with human beings, and restrictions on its usage were determined by whether the other two elements were felt to be more appropriate. iii T A B L E OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i i ABBREVIATIONS vi ACKNOWLDEGEMENT .: v i i i EPIGRAPH ix INTRODUCTION 1 A. Aims of the thesis 1 1. My approach to the Chinese script 1 2. Evolution of the hypothesis .! 7 B. Technical matters 15 1. List of elements ....15 2. Corpus ...17 3. Research method 19 4. Approach to phonological problems 24 Finals 25 Initials 25 Chapter 1.1. \\ / A. 28 i.a. Type of human 35 i. b. Specific human 55 ii. Human actions 71 iii. Body part 107 iv. Miscellaneous 114 v. Phonetic 119 2. \\ \\ % 124 3. \\ = * - ^ -.131 4. \\\\ I M 150 5. j I f 168 6. ) I 11 (?) 172 7. / %Z : 1 7 8 8. \\ / b. 191 i. Female 194 iv ii. Spoon 202 iii. Phonetic (?) 207 Summary of Chapter I 209 n . i . A ' * . • 2 1 1 i. Standing 215 ii. . .Bilateral/frontal 223 iii. Miscellaneous 249 2. $ I f 262 Summary of Chapter JJ 266 III. 1. J , / f 267 i. Real life 276 ii. Symbolic 299 iii. Phonetic (?) ....324 331 i. Signific 337 ii. Phonetic (?) 354 3. i 357 4. $l-k 361 5 £ / & ( ? ) •••• 367 Summary of Chapter HI 385 CONCLUSIONS 386 List of bone inscriptions cited or referred to 388 Bronze finding list 391 Index of graphs 397 List of works cited 403 v ABBREVIATIONS E M C Glosses GSR H Y JGWB JWJ KBTS NJWB OBI OC OJWB SW SWDZ Early Middle Chinese (the language of the Qieyun, 601 A.D.). Karlgren, Bernhard, 1964. Glosses on the Book of Odes. Reprinted from B M F E A 14 (1942), 16 (1944) and 18 (1946). 1970. Glosses on the Book of Documents. Reprinted from B M F E A 20 (1948) and 21 (1949). Goteborg: Elanders. Karlgren, Bernhard, 1957. Grammata Serica Recensa. Reprinted 1972 from B M F E A 29 Goteborg: Elanders. Harvard-Yenching concordance series. Jiagu wenbian if ^ ^ *tffa , 1965. Compiled by the Zhongguo Kexueyuan KaoguYanjiusuo ^ (rev. and enl. from the original edition of Sun Haibo >[£ , 1934). Peking: Xinhua Shudian. Reprinted 1978 Hong Kong: Zhongguo Shuju. L i Xiaoding % , 1965. Jiagu wenzi jishi ? «§• % | f . Nankang (Taiwan): Academia Sinica. Shirakawa Shizuka fa h\\ $ , 1962-1984. Kimbun tsushaku ^ JC (56 instalments). Kobe: Hakutsuru Bijutsukan & \\ fyj ^ . ua Rong Geng y%. fii , comp., Zhang Zhenlin i& 3% and Ma Guoquan j § , rev. and enl., 1985. Jinwenbian 1$d. Peking: Zhongh Shuju. Oracle bone inscriptions. Old Chinese (time of the Shijing). Rong Geng ^ jj | , 1959. Jinwenbian ^ JL $*9. Peking: Kexue Chubanshe. ShimaKunio y 1967. Inkyo bokuji sorui \\S% h -$ M f l . Rev. and enl. 1971 Tokyo: Kyiiko Sho'in. (This abbreviation is separated by a period from a following page and row number.) Xu Shen ^ , 100. Shuowen jiezi % . Reprint 1963 Peking: Zhonghua Shuju. Duan Yucai r% i , 1815. Shuowen jiezi zhu%ij Reprinted 1979 Taipei: Yiwen Yinshuguan; 1981 Shanghai: Guji Chubanshe. v i SWGL Ding Fubao T ^ | 4% , comp., 1930. Shuowen jiezi gulin H £ ^ 1^ Shanghai: Gulin Jingshe | & M- 3fif % . Reprint 1960: Taipei: Commercial Press. Tongjian Gu Jiegang 4 l * f f f l ' J , chief ed., 1966. Shangshu tongjian f * l ^ j j L ^ t . Reprint 1966 Taibei: Chinese Materials and Research Aids Service Center. Published collections of oracle bone inscriptions are cited according to the abbreviations in Keightley 1978:229-231 (Bibliography A), except that I have transcribed them into pinyin. In addition, Zongtii- Chen Mengjia 1956, and Yingguo = L i Xueqin 1985. Translations of the Shijing are all taken from Karlgren 1950a. Note on tones in pinyin transcriptions: 1st tone is unmarked, 2nd tone is marked by an acute accent, 3rd tone by a circumflex, and 4th tone by a grave accent. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, my greatest debt of gratitude goes to Professor Takashima, who has guided my studies in Chinese palaeography since I embarked on them seven years ago. During this time he has also helped in supporting me by arranging various projects, and was also responsible for my successful application for a Monbusho scholarship, by getting Professor Ito Michiharu to agree to taking me on as his student. As for the present thesis, Professor Takashima not only suggested the topic, but also made numerous comments and suggestions on the successive drafts in the midst of a very busy teaching and research schedule. The other person to whom I am most indebted for guiding the thesis is Professor Pulleyblank, who was always ready to discuss matters of Chinese historical phonology with me, and helped me to put the phonetic symbols into the text. I am also grateful to him for taking over the role of acting supervisor while Professor Takashima was in Japan. For my main financial support, I am indebted to the Asian Studies Department at U B C , who provided me with Teaching Assistantships each year that I was here. I would also like to say a special thankyou to the Interlibrary Loan staff for their herculean labours in getting hold of rare oracle bone collections. viii ...to require a young scholar to be original is as inhumane as requiring him to be a humorist, or a poet. A.R. Burn (Introduction to Selincourt's translation of Herodotus' Histories) ix 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N A . A I M S O F T H E THESIS 1. M y Approach to the Chinese Script The Chinese script may be approached in a number of different ways, depending on one's purposes. Anthropologists might approach it as a cultural phenomenon, the distinctive hallmark of a unique civilization; calligraphers might approach it as an object of beauty; while a linguist would simply consider it as the conventional representation of the Chinese language, no different from any other conventional representation of any other language. There is a popular feeling amongst Chinese people (who are naturally very proud of their unique script), and also amongst foreign students of Chinese, that the Chinese script, due to its pictographic origins, is somehow more 'meaningful' than an alphabet, as if there were some mysterious interaction between the written characters and the spoken words, 1 and one sometimes hears people say that the simplified characters !Cf. Creel's (1937:159) remark that \"We [who use an alphabet] have specialized on the representation of sounds; the Chinese have specialized on making their writing so suggestive to the eye that it immediately calls up ideas and vivid pictures, without any interposition of sounds.\" DeFrancis (1984:141) criticizes this attitude. Cf. also Chiang Yee (1938:1): \"...in their written form Chinese characters not only serve the purpose of conveying thought but also express in a peculiar visual way the beauty of the thought.\" Admittedly one might expect this sort of remark from someone who is writing about calligraphy, but he also maintains (ibid:35) that \"In the present-day style of writing, though the original image has in many cases been lost, there is still a vivid enough image to move the reader's feeling and stir associations with other characters. ...A character, being evolved from a picture, displays its meaning clearly through its appearance, even if it has no sound.\" These words by a Chinese writer express a feeling that is common both among Chinese people and Westerners who learn Chinese. 2 brought in by the present government are less meaningful than the old characters. However, anything in spoken Chinese that is intelligible to the ear of a literate Mandarin speaker, is also intelligible to his eye when written down1, and in a scientific approach one has to acknowledge that a page of Chinese written in the traditional script contributes no more to the meaning than the same text written in pinyin (though it does of course, as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, disambiguate homophones). In the normal course of reading, the Chinese reader is not constantly distracted from the total meaning of the sentences by mental images of what the characters orignally depicted, and even the student of etymology seldom pauses to think on such things. Since even those characters that originally depicted objects and animals have become stylized beyond recognition in the modern script, the uninitiated cannot guess what they represent. It is only after one learns the meaning of a character, that one can begin to imagine some resemblance to the object or animal it originally depicted. I do not think I need to labour this point, which has been amply commented on for many years, and no linguist would maintain that the Chinese script, in its present form, is anything other than a conventional representation of the Chinese language. Several years of familiarity with the Shang script have led me to the conclusion that that stage of the Chinese script bore exactly the same conventional relationship to the spoken language as the present stage of the script does, the differences being purely in form, not in nature. One should not allow oneself to be misled by the highly pictographic quality of the Shang script into proposing more complex relationships. The reason why I include this reminder here, is in order to avoid confusion over what I am trying to do in this thesis.2 In this thesis, I am not dealing with the relationship between the written sign and the spoken word, but between the written sign and the concept that the word refers to. I address the 1 Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me that the intelligibility of the spoken and written languages may differ since, in any written language, there are always some elements left out, e.g. intonation. Intonation can disambiguate spoken sentences that might be ambiguous in the written form. 2 I am actually indebted to Professor Pulleyblank here, who suggested that I make this clarification, and whose discussion of my first draft helped me to sort my ideas out. 3 question: how did the creators of the Shang script set about designing graphs to represent words? Naturally, then, it is vital to distinguish between character function and character design. It will make things clearer if I first give a diagram of the relationship between graph, word and concept (a triad which is comparable to the traditional Chinese xing f$ , -jz- |J.N ym # andyi fx, .respectively). CONCEPT design / \\.function 1/ design \\ G R A P H < — W O R D function The creators of the Shang script basically had two approaches to the representation of words: one was to represent the word indirectly, via the concept (i.e. draw the concept or refer to it graphically in some way), and the other was to represent the word directly (i.e. its phonetic shape-this was only possible after the first approach had been used, thus providing a source of graphs that could be used for their sound). In one type of graph, the so-called xingsheng \" / or xtesheng **© % , both approaches are combined. In this thesis, I am primarily concerned with the type of graph in which either the whole graph or some part of it is designed with reference to the concept. The relationships that the above diagram summarizes may be spelt out, and related to the SW analysis of character types, as follows (using the symbol > to mean 'is represented by'):1 Design SW Character Type CONCEPT > GRAPH xiangxfng | c ^ • huiyi ^ ^ , 1 t should perhaps point out here that the SW classification is a later analysis, not something that we know was in the minds of the original creators of the script. I am grateful to Professor Pulleyblank for reminding me to clarify this point. 4 WORD > GRAPH CONCEPT, WORD G R A P H xn ingsheng f£ . zhuanzhu %% -k Function GRAPH > WORD > CONCEPT It might also be helpful here to explain the six SW character types: 1. Xiangxing: pictographs. This method of representing words is only feasible if they refer to physical things having a definite shape. 2. Huiyi: the combining of concrete elements to suggest another concept, usually an abstract one. This was particularly used for verbs where, for example, the depiction of a person along with the object involved in the action suggests the action itself. By the time of the seal script, many elements that had been connected in the Shang script became separated, so the category of huiyi can only be clearly defined for the later script. In the Shang script, the borderline between huiyi and xiangxing is very hazy. For example, is ji / ^ e a man pushing a plough along (xiangxfngL or a combination of 'man' + 'plough' (huiyi)? Does the evolution of the bone graph ^ , showing a person with the foot depicted in detail, into the modern character cji jt^ , in which the person and the foot are separated, involve a change of category from xiangxing to huiyi? As far as the bone script is concerned, I do not think it is meaningful to attempt to make a distinction between these two categories. 5 3. Zhishi: the iconic representation of abstract concepts. Very few words could be so represented. Examples are shang / _k- 'on top,' a short line on top of a long upward-facing curved line, and x]| / ~ F 'beneath,' a short line underneath a longer downward-facing curved line. From the point of view of the relationship between graph, concept and word, there is no need to make a distinction between the above three types. 4. Jiajie: rebus. This is particularly common in the early stage of the script. In order to write down a word denoting a concept (usually, but not necessarily, abstract), a graph denoting some concrete object, the word for which was pronounced the same as or similarly to the target word, was used. A common example in the bone script would be the use of H , a stylized form of ding *tan? 'cauldron' for the verb zhen j | *tra n 'to test through divination.' As the script lost its pictorial quality, any type of character came to be used as a phonetic loan, whether it was originally a simple pictograph or not, so the term 'rebus' then ceases to be accurate, and one simply has to call them phonetic loans. 5. Xingsheng: phonetic compounds. This is the method that became the most popular for creating new characters, not only for words denoting abstract concepts but also for words denoting concrete concepts. It consists in the combination of an element suggesting the general area of meaning with another element the same or similar in pronunciation to the target word. Thus for example there are many women's names in the oracle bones which consist of the woman element nii , plus another element indicating the pronunciation, such as jiang ^ I J | - , which has yang - j - 'sheep' on top as phonetic. In the Zhou period, many characters that were originally used as phonetic loans came to be 6 disambiguated by the addition of signifies (e.g. yl had i i jj 'strength' signific added when used for shi ^ 'force'-see GSR 330a). 6. Zhuanzhu. In his postface to SW, Xu Shen gave as examples of this type of character kao \"^ 5~ and lao. . There has been much ink spilt on what exactly Xu Shen meant by this category (a thorough summary of past scholarship may be found in Serruys 1957). In the body of his work, Xu Shen analyses lao_ as huiyi (the bone graph is simply a pictograph of an old man-see 1.7.33) and kao as consisting of laa signific plus kao \"5\" phonetic (which, as far as the seal form is concerned, is a correct analysis, but see 1.7.33 for a discussion of earlier forms). If the term zhuanzhu is intended to describe the relationship of kao ~AT to lao , then, purely from the point of view of graph structure (that is to say, ignoring any etymological relationship there might be between the words represented by these characters), this is no different from xfngsheng. By making explicit the relationship between graph, word and concept, it is thus possible to clarify the nature of the traditional SW categorization of Chinese characters. In my thesis, I have tried to be very strict about the use of these three terms. In general, I use the word 'graph' to refer to bone and bronze graphs, and the word 'character' to refer to modern characters. Since the early graphs are less standardized than the modern characters, I also find it useful to use the terms 'grapheme' and 'allograph,' modelled on the analogy of 'phoneme' and 'allophone,' when discussing the issue of graphic variants, an issue which is quite a problem as it is often hard to decide whether similar graphs are independent graphs or allographs of the same grapheme. Whenever conducting any line of research, it is of course essential to have hypotheses and then set out to test them, modifying or discarding them as the evidence dictates. However, it is easy to pay lip-service to this oft-quoted ideal, and there is always 7 the danger of becoming too attached to a hypothesis and consequently failing to recognize counter-evidence, or dismissing it as invalid without giving it full consideration. As Pulleyblank (1985:304) has remarked: \"In the long run, however, it is a losing game. If one does not actively seek for the counterevidence to one's own theories, one can be sure that others will.\" I think it would be useful therefore to say something about the stages my hypothesis went through before reaching the final form as presented in this thesis. 2. Evolution of the Hypothesis The idea of graphic analysis (as understood in the present thesis) was developed and presented by Professor Takashima in his seminars on Chinese palaeography in an informal way, and he suggested to me that I might attempt to put this theory on a firmer foundation, either upholding, modifying or disproving it. The idea was, basically, that the oracle bone graphs could be profitably analysed in greater detail than had hitherto been done, and that the graphic elements separated out from a graph by this analysis could be related to different aspects of the concept that the graph represented. The important thing was to strike a balance between under-analysis and over-analysis: if one under-analyses the graphs, then one is missing out on an advance in knowledge, whereas if one over-analyses them, then one is leaving the realm of scholarship and entering the realm of imagination. For example, Professor Takashima suggested that the graph m a ^ / ^ could be broken down into the three components )^ , ^ ^ , and \\ , and that one could then set about determining, by comparison with other graphs in which these elements occur, whether they had any constant, inherent significance. Since these elements do in fact recur as components in other graphs, it is an interesting and worthwhile pursuit to study them and see how the hypothesis fares. On the other hand, if one were to break the 8 graphs down into the very simplest strokes, such as — or I , this would probably be going too far. Since no one had yet attempted such a thing in writing, there was no previous scholarship for me to appeal to, so this was indeed quite a challenge. On the other hand, I found it refreshing and exciting to have something new to do, where I felt I had the chance to make a significant contribution to the study of Chinese characters. To examine all the elements that occur in the Shang script would be a major undertaking. For the purposes of the present thesis, I examine the various human figure elements that occur. The reason for this choice is partly to give a unified topic to the thesis, but also because they are among the commonest elements in the script, and thus offer a rich testing ground for applying the present theory of graphic analysis. Writing is a human institution, and tends mainly to concern human affairs, so it is not surprising that a pictographic script should exhibit a large number of human figure elements. The use of the human figure in such a script thus offers a particularly rewarding field for enquiry. There are three basic human figure elements in the Shang script, \\ , /fc , and h , and a small number of variations. If there were only one human figure element, say \\ , then one would simply conclude that it indicated anything to do with humans, just as there is only one tree element % which indicates anything to do with trees or wood, the questions I asked myself then were: 1) What determines their distribution? 2) Can their distribution tell us anything about how the creators of the Shang script approached the problem of how to create written symbols for spoken words? At a first glance, they appear simply to indicate different postures: a standing figure seen from the side, a standing figure seen from the front, and a kneeling figure seen from the side. One can readily understand why there should be a standing figure and a kneeling figure, but why should there be two standing figures seen from different angles? My original hypothesis had been to look for a symbolic significance, and I hypothesized that \\ symbolized action (a person going somewhere), f\\ symbolized 9 stasis (a person standing still), while the kneeling figure ^ symbolized such things as yielding, inferiority or submission. However, after completing the first stage of my research (that is, establishing, as far as possible, a correct analysis for all the graphs in the corpus), I was forced to modify this hypothesis considerably. In the first place, the j element clearly had several other uses (e.g. in graphs denoting types of people, people's names, and for indicating parts of the human body). In the second place, it soon became apparent to me that the use of the ^ element was in most cases determined, not by whether the focus of the concept was on absence of motion, but rather it was used instead of \"} when it was felt that the concept in question was more easily or more naturally represented from the front. This is especially the case when both sides of the body are involved, as in yi ^ / 7f\\\\ ( ) 'armpit,1 of which there is one on either side of the body (see U.l.ii.175). As for the kneeling element, this occurs in many graphs denoting actions that the Shang would have performed normally in a kneeling position, such as eating, so it could hardly be said to have any ulterior significance in such graphs. Thus I modified my original thesis title \"The Significance of the Various Forms of the Human Figure in the Shang Script\" to the present one, in order to encompass all uses, whether symbolic or not. However, there remained certain minimal or near-minimal contrasts that led me to maintain my first hypothesis in a modified form. As already mentioned, ^ seems to be largely used in graphs denoting concepts where the involvement of both sides of the body is felt to be important to their expression, and so it was desired to show both arms or both legs. Thus, for graphs denoting concepts to do with standing, it was felt desirable to show both legs. Three graphs that illustrate this in particular are: H ^ I ^~ 'to stand' (II.l.i.172), y i \\ I It 'to stand still' (II.l.i.167), and j i ^ / H 'a stand (for bells)' (II.l.i.165). In ^ , a line is drawn beneath the feet to represent the ground; in ^ , the person is leaning on a stick, thus further suggesting the idea of standing still (the head and torso are also depicted in more detail, but this does not seem to be relevant to the 10 concept); while in , the feet are depicted in detail, which I think is probably intended to emphasize further the idea of standing firmly (the tiger-top element is phonetic). Note also the graph bing 'side by side, together' (II.l.i.216), which consists of two H i standing side by side. It is insightful to compare these four graphs with graphs that are similar but contain \\ instead of ^ . WithH , one may compare trng. \\ I JL (I.l.ii.4), which shows a person standing on top of a mound of earth (cf. til k /J- ), and is perhaps the primary form of ting in the sense of 'straight, upright' (GSR 835h) or ting 'stick out, crop up (as of something growing)' (GSR 835i); with jji ^ , one may compare crt ^ I t o stand on tiptoe' (I.l.ii.14), which shows a person with the foot emphasized; with yj ^ | , one may compare lio. fj / \"j^ 'old' (1.7.33), which shows an old person with long hair leaning on a stick (the long hair here is also relevant to the depiction of the concept); and with bing All. , one may compare both cong 'to follow' (1.4.81), which shows one person following another, and bing / 'to combine' (1.4.84), which shows two people with lines across the legs joining them. Turning now to J7 , we see that apart from its use in graphs denoting concepts where kneeling was the usual position, it is also used in graphs denoting concepts of inferiority, yielding, submission, subjection, etc. Some insights into this usage can be gained by comparing such graphs with similar graphs containing ^ . For example, fji $ I Ik 'subdue' (GSR 934a) (III.l.ii.335), which shows a hand at a kneeling person's back, and 3d ^ / t>3 (now written ^ f p ) 'to repress' (GSR 915a) (JJI. l.ii.341) may both be compared with yi ^ / ^JL , the basic significance of which is perhaps 'to force (someone to do something)'1 (I.l.ii.100) and jf ^ / s>L. 'come to, reach' (GSR 681a)(I.l.ii.72), which shows a hand reaching a person. Zhuan which I think is the primary form of xun -f- 'yield' (GSR 433a) (III.l.ii.340), shows iGSR 851a gives meanings such as 'to serve, servant, to toil, to work.' However, the graph does not show a person working, but a person being beaten. For further arguments, see my analysis of this graph in the body of the thesis. 11 one person kneeling behind another, and may be compared with c6ng 'to follow' (1.4.81). Apart from these contrasts, there are also some examples of graphemes which have allographs differing in the choice of human figure element. It is also interesting to examine these, and ask oneself how it was that more than one of the human figure elements was felt to be appropriate to the expression of the concept in question. The clearest cut case is that of the bone graph for jian 7L , which is written both f and ^ with comparable frequency (S. 107.1x58 and S. 107.3x76 respectively). The first form depicts a person with the eye emphasized, thus showing that the eye is the focus of the concept. Since kneeling cannot be described as a position usually or most typically associated with the simple act of seeing, the variant with \\ requires some explanation, to provide which I turn to graphic analysis. My suggestion is that it is intended to represent the concept of seeing in the sense of 'visiting' or 'having an audience.' In many of the inscriptions, jian f / L J is used in this sense, e.g. O H | t 1 I f (Cuibian 1292) Dingwei-day cracking, tested: Order L i to visit the Fang.1 First month. ° f y D y 2 * * j f >1 7 y T\\ x (Yibian 187) T t V : £ * l * * ri. . if. Dingsi-day cracking: He (?) will perhaps visit the Fang, and not meet with wji- weapons. ^In the Cuibian commentary (by Guo Moruo), jian fang is treated as the name of a tribe 'the Jian tribe.' However, comparison with other inscriptions (e.g. the next one I cite, in which jian is preceded by the adverb gi ^ ), suggests that it is not the name of a tribe, but a verb. 12 As you can see from these two inscriptions, both the standing and kneeling variants occur in this usage, but I think that the kneeling form was designed with this meaning in mind. It might be objected that the Fang, being an alien tribe, would probably have been regarded as inferior by the Shang, so that it would be strange to interpret the kneeling figure element here as implying the Shang showing respect to the Fang. One can perhaps get over this problem by appealing to the conventional nature of the script, which I began this thesis by discussing, i.e the form of the graph for jian in these particular sentences has no bearing on their interpretation, but is just a conventional sign for the word jian. The kneeling form simply captures the notion that 'visiting' or 'having an audience' are actions characterized in general by respect on the part of the visitor towards the person visited. Another example is the graph for zhf 4^ (both independently and as an element in other graphs), which is written both f| and 3, (see III.3.2439). The standing form simply shows a person wearing manacles, while the kneeling form emphasizes the subjection of the person thus bound. There is no observable difference in usage between these two forms. Given the caveat that the bone inscriptions are often hard to interpret, I would say that they both occur as both a verb 'to shackle, capture' and a noun 'shackled person, captive.' 5.38.3), so there seems little doubt that it really is a variant of -J-fl- . Whereas 4+V seems {Yicun 577, Jinzhang 679, Qianbian seems to show a person lying in a coffin or grave (though the precise graphic interpretation is problematic). 13 In the case of the bone graph for xi $^ 'captive,' JWJ 10.3245 gives variants U *g with all three human figure elements: \\ , ft , % (see III.5.823, 3020, 3021, 3024 and n.l.iii.3016) The form with \\ simply indicates 'type of human,' while the form with ^ emphasizes the subjection of such people (also suggesting that the arms are tied behind the back), and this is perfecdy understandable. What is not so clear is why there should be a variant with y\\\" (which in fact is the only form in bronzes-see O/NJWB 1362/1694-and is the form that the modern character comes from). There does not seem to be any reason why it should be necessary to depict both sides of the body for this concept. Perhaps it has the same significance as in fu. 'adult male ' i.e. indicating an adult. In general, however, graphs were standardized with a particular human figure element. I shall now examine a couple of cases of graphs, which are either definitely different graphemes, or whose identification as allographs is questionable. 1. The graph ^ (III.l.i.283) may be definitely identified as gul ^ . L i Xiaoding (JWJ 9.2903) also includes the graphs f (which JGWB 1112 also includes) and ^ (which JGWB 1244 has separately as the non-character ). However, when we examine the contexts, we see some definite differences emerge: ^ This is the commonest graph (occurring in at least twenty inscriptions), and appears to refer to a person or group of persons. The occurrence after ling 'to order' (Xucun 2.846) suggests a living person, while the expression ? ^ (e.g. Qianbian 4.18.3, where it is preceded by y_& 'temple ?') perhaps means 'dreams caused by the many spirits'—it is hard to be sure. There is one example of ^ 7fj 'the Gui tribe' (not in S, but cited by Shima 1958:417 from Dong Zuobin 1945:8.6b-it is actually Yibian 403). Dong Zuobin assigns this inscription to Period TV, on the basis of graph shapes. 14 If ^ is the primary form of gui 'to kneel,' as I suggest it is, used as a rebus for gui 'spirit,' then naturally the human figure in this graph would have to be Imeeling. (Although the E M C value of gui $/£> g w i a ' suggests that it was either in OC ge_ 'ffi- * - a l or ztu > L *-aj rhyme, the little rhyming evidence there is suggests that it was in wei * - s l rhyme. For my examination of the evidence, see i n . l . i i . 283 . ) ^ (I.l.i.a.292) Of the six inscriptions at S.46.1, two similarly worded inscriptions contain the expression ^ ~% . l They are both Period I inscriptions. I suggest that the graph be analysed as consisting of gui phonetic and \\ signific indicating 'type of human.' By Period IV it had come to be written with the graph gui ^ / ^L, , and in soft texts we find mention of the Gui Fang $ L (e.g. Yijing H Y 38/63/3). The graph ^ thus merged with it. Compare how si ^ / and si / collapsed as variants of the same character (I.l.i.a.61). ^ This graph occurs as the name of a person in four related inscriptions on Yibian 865, where it is divined whether or not he will catch Qiang. In a fifth inscription (Qianbian 6.19.8), it is the only legible graph on a fragment. The inscriptions are too few to base firm conclusions on, but they suggest the following: i. In Period I, gui ^ 'spirit' was written , while the name of the Gui Fang was written ^ . ii. By Period IV, the name of the Gui Fang had also come to be written ^ . lYibian 6684 and Jiabian 3343. Shima 1958:417 cites a third example from Guoxue jikan (=Shen Jianshi 1935:insert before p.394), but he omits some of the graphs, and this is in fact Jiabian 3343, so there are still only two examples. 15 iii. There are no grounds for identifying the graph ft as a variant of gu£ %^ . It may be analysed as gui 'basket' on top of $i& . It could be a variant of yi ^ / f| but it is impossible to say for sure. 2. Another set of three graphs that differ only in the human figure element is /j? (identity problematic1), Man ^ / ^ and yi | j / {£j . Since we find the expression TO 'the chief city Shang' in the bones, there can be no doubt that % and ^ are different graphemes. ^ seems to refer to a living person, so it could be a person's name (see S. 10.4). Note however that in many inscriptions yi could also be interpreted as a person's name (e.g. S.43.3 d , $j j ! £ and S.43.4 0J B. TECHNICAL MATTERS 1. List of Elements There are three main forms of the human figure in the Shang script, and each may in turn be divided into a number if sub-forms. The number of sub-forms may vary according to the fineness of the distinctions one makes, but the general number is between 10 and 20. The smallness of this number when compared with the number of variations on the human figure in the Egyptian hieroglyphic script gives us an indication of its higher ^ut perhaps a hewen of dingren \"7\" >C 'soldiers and men,' as Professor Takashima has suggested. 16 degree of stylization compared with the latter. The Egyptian script makes many distinctions that one simply does not find in the Shang script. The following list gives the main forms and their sub-forms as I have determined them, in the order in which I deal with them in the body of the thesis, together with a simple description of what they depict. Their uses are discussed in the introduction to each section in the thesis. L I f Standing, profile 2 \\ Body 3 i | = * — ^ - Recumbent figure 4 \\ \\ More than one person 5 j Sitting (rare) 6 Upside down figure 7 ^ Figure with hair emphasized 8 \\ Spoon, use as rebus for 'female' II. 1 ^ Standing, frontal 2 ty Upside down III. 1 Kneeling, profile 2 ^ Kneeling with hands extended upwards 3 ^ ~ ^ Kneeling (or standing) with both arms shown 4 ^ ~ Kneeling (or standing) with hands crossed in front 5 % ~ p-' Kneeling (or standing) with hands crossed behind1 lrThe reason for classifying these last three elements as basically kneeling is that their standing variants are rare. ' 17 I thus have fifteen different elements. 'f is the commonest element and has the greatest variety of sub-forms; ^ occurs in the smallest number of graphs, and has the least number of sub-forms; while ^ is less common than ^ but commoner than j\\ , and has a middling number of sub-forms. Thus the variety of sub-forms may be seen to be related to the frequency with which the element is used in the composition of other graphs. 2. Corpus My corpus of graphs containing human figure elements is taken from Shima's rear index (S.592). Here he lists 424 graphs under the \\ element, 196 under the A element, and 230 under the $ element. In addition I include the graph nU $ I ~& as being based upon \\ . This makes a total of 851 graphs (approximately one seventh of the total number of bone graphs that have been distinguished to date). The actual number of distinct graphemes is actually slightly lower than this, for the following reasons: 1. Some graphs are clearly allographs of the same grapheme (= 'character'). In the body of his work, Shima sometimes combines these allographs, and sometimes he does not. His approach may be termed 'cautious' rather than 'inconsistent,' since which graphs are allographs of the same grapheme, and which are distinct graphemes, is not something that one can make a priori decisions about: it requires research. Shima only combines graphs together as allographs of the same grapheme when their status as such is very obvious. In his front index (S.(9)-(12)), he only lists one of the allographs that he has so combined, so a more accurate grapheme count can be obtained by counting here. 18 2. A few graphs contain more than one human figure element, and are listed under each element, e.g. jfa /* ^ (S. 117.4) contains both \\ and A . Note also that the graph \\ \\ \\ (S.323.4) is accidentally listed twice in the index (S.591.4 and 7). Shima also has a few graphs that are listed twice in the body of the work (sometimes with different example inscriptions, but sometimes exactly the same). 3. Some of the graphs listed under rin actually contain the graphically similar element M . Shima's stylized transcriptions obscure the difference, but JGWB's more accurate transcriptions usually make the difference quite clear. However, in order to be certain whether a graph contains hi t or rin , it has to be researched into, and this is perhaps why Shima chose to lump them together rather than make a priori decisions, though I assume he was aware of the difference, since he distinguishes the two as independent graphs in the body of his work. 4. Some of the graphs contain a variety of other Bin-like elements. For instance, some of them contain dao i I'll 'knife,' e.g. (S.133.1), %) (S. 188.3). This seems a f t little careless. There are also some other, unidentifiable squiggles, e.g. in f) (S. 186.2). The above reductions in the total of 851 are partially compensated for by the addition of 13 graphs (plus one from JGWB 4982) containing the element ^ ~ j*\" , depicting a person with the hands tied behind the back, which Shima does not distinguish from nu ^ / ~j>C , but lists together under the latter in his index (S.592.3-7). Some of these graphs are also probably allographs of the same grapheme, so there are actually less than 13 graphemes to be added. One may also add a few graphs which have not been found independently in the inscriptions, but only as components in other graphs. For example, ni * ^ / ft. occurs 19 in If % I Ht (I.l.ii.1280) and f* ^ (S.324.1), and although it has not been found independently one may still do some useful research on it. There is no point in trying to work out an exact number, since it is impossible to lay down the law about which graphs are allographs of the same grapheme and which are not. One can often make suggestions but, due to the lack of evidence, one cannot be dogmatic. In addition, the section of unidentified graphs in JGWB lists many graphs containing human figure elements that are not in S, but which are so rare, and whose contexts are so fragmentary or obscure, that they will perhaps never be deciphered, and are thus of no use to the present thesis. Even in S there are many such graphs, but until one has examined them one does not know whether they will come in useful or not. Accordingly, I have examined all of the graphs in the above described corpus, and then sifted out a representative selection for demonstrating the claims of the present thesis. 3. Research Method 1. A number was assigned to all the different graphs listed in Shima's front index, in the order there listed, from \\ = 1 to ^ = 3340. Thus each of the graph headings in S was given its own unique number. This enabled me to refer rapidly and unambiguously to any of the graphs in the concordance as I was doing my research. Dictionaries like JGWB and O/NJWB already provide their own numbering, and it would have been useful if Shima had done something like this himself. In the thesis, cross-references among graphs are given by Chapter, Part and Section, followed by this number. Graphs not included in the thesis are referred to by their location in published sources, such as S, JGWB and JWJ. 20 2. Research was conducted systematically on all the graphs contained in the above described corpus. This involved: i. Identifying the graph in JGWB. JGWB serves as a standard list of oracle bone graphs and their variants, which are transcribed with a high degree of faithfulness. Shima's graphs tend to be standardized in his own handwriting, so they cannot serve as an accurate point of departure for analysis. By identifying the graph in JGWB, one can be sure that we know precisely which graph we are dealing with, and one can also see what all the variants are. ii. Identifying the graph in JWJ. JWJ is the chief source for the identifications and analyses of oracle bone graphs up to 1965. Most of the identifiable graphs are identified therein. As the work of identification proceeded, the remaining graphs became harder and harder to identify, so there has been little in the way of new identifications since then. I have in any case tried to limit myself to the more easily identifiable graphs. iii. Consulting the SW analysis and definition along with the Duan Yucai commentary. Discussion of the SW analysis and definition is appended where necessary. It has become something of a tradition amongst Chinese palaeographers to begin their discussions of oracle bone graphs with the appropriate quotation from SW. My reason for following this tradition is that SW, being the earliest etymological dictionary of Chinese characters (completed by Xu Shen in 100 A.D.), serves as a useful starting point for analysis. The seal forms given in SW also represent the earliest standardization of the Chinese script, so it is useful to show how the bone and bronze forms developed into these seal forms. Just as E M C serves as a solid starting point for working one's way back to 21 OC, so the seal script serves as a solid starting point for working one's way back to bone and bronze graphs. The kaishu form of the script obscures many points of continuity that are still observable in the seal forms. I find that the SW analyses, whether etymologically correct or not, always provide very stimulating food for thought: it is easier to arrive at a better understanding through the process of discussing another person's interpretation, even where it proves to be erroneous, than to come up with an original understanding entirely from scratch. The SW definitions are also useful, since the meanings of words often shift their focus or even change completely over time, so these definitions, being closer in time to the Shang period (though still quite distant), help to guide us towards the meanings that the graphs were originally created to represent. In analysing an oracle bone graph, it is of course essential to know what the word that it represents meant at the time that the graph was created.1 A word of warning due here is that many of the SW definitions are tailored in order to use a word that sounds similar to the word being defined (the so-called shengxun % «\"1 'paranomastic gloss'), or else in order to make sense of Xu Shen's etymological analysis. Such definitions often give some peripheral or extended meaning of the character in question, and not its basic meaning.2 Unfortunately the SW text is often ambiguous and hard to understand, and the short definitions, rather like the oracle bone inscriptions, provide very little context to aid one's understanding. In translating SW, therefore, I have referred constantly to the commentary by the Qing dynasty scholar Duan Yucai, which often helps to clarify the meaning, and I have summarized his comments in those cases where I feel they are important to understanding the SW text, in order to show how I arrived at my translation. These ^ne must here bear in mind, as Professor Takashima has reminded me, that we do not know when the script was created. It is quite possible that the meanings of some words may have changed between the time of the creation of the script and the earliest example we have of it, which is the oracle bones. 2Sometimes, however, the opposite is the case. Professor Takashima has pointed out to me the example of bJL Y , which SW (3b.l9b) defines as ^ f<'] f t^ , where b_i \\ powk < *pakw 'make parwk < *prakw 'cut, flay, peel' (GSR 1228) are morphologically related. 22 summaries are introduced between the SW quotations and their translations by the letters 'SWDZ.' I have also noted other comments of his where they provide useful additional information. I have also tried to make the translations internally consistent to SW, by checking the SW definitions of problematic characters occurring in the definitions (though SW is not necessarily always internally consistent). iv. Discussion of the graph, covering: a. Analysis of the graph, including discussion of the JWJ identification, with reference to subsequent scholarship where necessary. Page references are generally not given for scholarship included in JWJ under the graph which is under discussion, but only given if the material involved is in JWJ under a different graph. b. Notes on the usage of the graph in OBI, with inscriptions quoted in support where necessary. The reason for this is to show whether it is used in its original meaning, and if so, to help clarify what that original meaning was. This is important, because many graphs occur only as proper nouns (place and personal names), or in very obscure contexts, or even with no context at all, in which case my comments on the original meaning should be seen as correspondingly more tentative. By 'original meaning,' I do not mean the original meaning of the word that the graph represents, but rather what it meant at the time that the graph was created to represent it. This is the only relevant meaning for graphic analysis. Once again here it is important to bear in mind that we do not know when the Chinese script was created, so the oracle bone usage does not necessarily give us the meanings of words when the graphs for them were created. 3. The graphs were then grouped according to their common human figure element. 23 4. Graphs whose contexts are too fragmentary or ambiguous to be of any use were then removed. Graphs which I felt unable to give a satisfactory analysis for were also removed. 5. The factors cktermining the usage of the human figure elements in each graph were then compared to see if any consistency could be detected. A discussion of these factors was then pre-pended as an introduction to each Part of the thesis, and the discussion of what determines the use of the human figure element under each graph modified accordingly if necessary. In cases where an element was found to play more than one role, the Part was further divided into Sections illustrating each role. The thesis thus consists of three main Chapters which are divided into Parts for each of the human figure element variants, some of which are further divided into Sections illustrating the different roles of a multi-roled element. Since the use of ^ is determined 'negatively' (i.e. when ^ or ^ were not felt to be more appropriate), there is not much one can say about the factors determining its usage. However, since the body of graphs containing this element is particularly large, it makes it easier to cope with if it is subdivided in some way. I have therefore decided to use it in order to show the general semantic fields of graphs containing human figure elements, such as types of humans, personal names, human actions, and body parts. I find that, when trying to work out the meaning of such graphs in context, they provide helpful guidelines. These semantic fields are also generally applicable to ^ and ^ (e.g. ^ is used in ^ , which denotes a body part-see II.l.ii.2423), though the usage in graphs denoting persons' names is largely limited to ^| (this point is problematic, since it seems that any graph can be used as a proper noun, i.e. person or place name). 6. A general introduction and the conclusions were then written. 24 One of the problems in attempting a thesis of this sort, is that there is still room for disagreement over the identification of many bone graphs. In order to establish the principles of graphic analysis, it is necessary to examine a substantial number of graphs. One could write whole articles exploring all the ins and outs of why a particular graph should be identified with a particular character, but this sort of detailed discussion would only serve to clutter up the thesis and reduce the number of graphs that could be covered. In order to keep the thesis down to a reasonable size, I have tried to select only those graphs whose identification is fairly problem-free, and I have endeavoured to make my analyses as brief as possible. However, I have also included a few unidentified graphs, in order to illustrate how graphic analysis may be used heuristically. 4. Approach to Phonological Problems In order to analyse early Chinese graphs, it is essential to know which elements play a phonetic role or could play a phonetic role, and in order to understand early inscriptions, it is essential to know what words a graph could phonetically stand for. Some idea of how the graphs were pronounced at the time is indispensible, and the more accurate the idea the better. To some extent one can work with the Shijing rhyme categories, as Chinese scholars have done in the past and often still continue to, and some general idea of the initials as inferred from the E M C xiesheng contacts. However, vital information may be obscured by this 'formulaic' approach, and a more accurate reconstruction may open up possibilities that one would never have thought of while thinking in terms of rhyme categories and general classes of initials. The problem of reconstruction may be conveniendy dealt with in two parts: the finals, and the initials. 25 Finals For reconstructing finals (including certain features which affect the final historically), I use the system presented in Pulleyblank 1977-78. Having said this, it should be pointed out that there is disagreement over which Shijing rhymes certain characters should be assigned to. This is particularly true for characters that do not occur as rhyme words in the Shijing, but there is also disagreement over characters which do occur as rhyme words in the Shijing, due to the use of hedge-rhymes (heyun » 'ait ), and the fact that the wei and zhi rhymes were already merging at that time. Many characters only occur once or twice in rhyming position, thus failing to provide a really firm foundation for rhyme assignment, and the variety of rhyming schemes used in the Shijing also leads to disagreement over whether certain characters are intended to rhyme or not. Characters which do not occur as rhymes in the Shijing are usually assigned to the same rhyme as other characters in the same xiesheng series that do occur as rhyme words, if there are such. Otherwise one has to appeal to other early rhyming evidence (e.g. the Chuci), or the use of loan graphs in early texts. Their E M C rhymes can also be used as a clue in determining what their OC rhyme was likely to have been. Initials Professor Pulleyblank (1984:xvii) has said that \"it is impossible at present, in my opinion, to make a complete reconstruction for Old Chinese without some radically new kind of evidence.\" This is particularly true in the case of the initials, due to the lack of contemporary systematic evidence. While the finals can be established on the basis of the 27 2. That the retroflex vowels that Pulleyblank reconstructs for E M C go back to OC clusters with r (Pulleyblank 1984:xvi). These correspond to Karlgren's clusters with 1, but Karlgren only reconstructed such clusters when there was xiesheng evidence for it. 3. That E M C 1- was *r- in OC (Pulleyblank 1977-78:185,1984:26). 4. That the source of the E M C retroflex initials was also clusters with r, e.g. *sr > s, tsr > ts (Pulleyblank 1962:127-130). 5. That velars normally palatalized before -ji- < - i - in E M C , e.g. zhi $ 0 tci (compare with j i ^ 0 kej). He also proposes that it was an * - l - that prevented this where velars remain unpalatalized in grade IV, e.g. j i Iz. kjit (Pulleyblank 1984:176). He also uses the palatalization of velars, followed by fronting, to take E M C z- back to *j- (ibid: 175), and s- back to *x-, as in the cyclical sign xu. r\\, swit, which he reconstructs with intial *x w . 6. The positing of as one of the sources of E M C j - in cases where xiesheng series show velar contacts (Pulleyblank 1962:105, where the symols *fi and y are used). 7. The identification of what he calls *l-type xiesheng series, where in E M C one finds the initials j , 5, ?, t\\ d, but not t, tc, to' (Pulleyblank 1984:170). 26 Shijing rhymes, the xiesheng series do not provide systematic clues for the initials, only very vague and general clues. The earliest stage of the language for which the initials can be reconstructed with a high degree of certainty is that of the Qieyun (601 A.D.). It is for this reason that, when appealing to historical phonology as evidence in my thesis, I usually cite the E M C reconstructions first. The reconstruction I use for E M C is that of Pulleyblank 1984 (for a list of the initials and rhymes, see ibid:232-237). However, Pulleyblank has made many useful proposals for the reconstruction of OC initials. Those that I have appealed to in guiding the reconstructions that I use in the thesis are as follows: 1. The hypothesis that certain E M C initials which are in complementary distribution as regards Type A and Type B finals1 were originally the same in OC, but diverged due to the different effects of these two types of finals. The chief effects were (as taken from Pulleyblank 1977-78:184-5): Type A: *g > * 2 Type B: *t > tp, f > tp', *d > d? 3 *l>d *l>?,j *+ > t' * i > p *w > -yw4 *n > ji JType B syllables refers to those in Qieyun rhymes that fall wholly or partly into grade III in the rhyme tables, and Type A refers to those that do not. Pulleyblank proposes that the difference in OC was a prosodic feature, which he symbolizes by an acute accent for Type A and a grave accent for Type B. For a fuller explanation, see Pulleyblank 1977-78:184-5. 2Pulleyblank does not actually state this development, but it may be inferred from his reference to the complementarity of g- and f- in EMC. 3For this palatalization of dentals, see also Pulleyblank 1962:108. 4For this, see Pulleyblank 1984:165. 28 Chapter I: \\ Part 1: ) In the oracle bone script, ^ is the human figure par excellence. It occurs in about as many graphs (424 in the present corpus) as ^ and ^ combined (196 + 230 = 426). It is unlikely then that such a widely used element should denote anything more specific than 'something to do with (or perceived as primarily to do with) human beings.' When we look at the meanings of the graphs containing this element as signific, we find that they do indeed cover a very broad spectrum of meaning. However, one can classify most of the graphs into a small number of semantic categories, and I think it is useful to do so, as it serves to focus one's thinking when trying to determine the meaning of oracle bone graphs which have not yet been identified, or the identifications for which proposed so far are problematical. That is to say, it can serve as a heuristic device. The categories which I propose are as follows: i. Human: a. Type of human (e.g. child, name of tribe, anthropomorphic entity) b. Specific human (i.e. person's name) 29 ii. Human action (or action conceived of as being typically performed by humans-there is, needless to say, a lot of anthropocentrism here) iii. Body part, chiefly human (again, there is much anthropocentrism here, of which wei is a particularly egregious example-see I.l.iii. 132) I find that these categories serve as useful focal points. Graphs falling outside these categories may be simply classed as \"Miscellaneous,' and there are also a few graphs in which \\ is phonetic. I shall give some examples of 'Miscellaneous' and 'Phonetic' as Sections iv. and v. of the present Part. However, the main focus will be on the first three sections. As far as I can tell, ^ also potentially has the same broad range of usage as \\ , since its usage is mainly conditioned by the desire to depict both legs and/or both arms (I say 'mainly' as there are a few graphs that do not appear to be susceptible to this explanation). Thus we find graphs denoting human actions and human body parts containing the ^ element as signific. However, it is not clear to me why should have been used in graphs denoting types of human such as fu (II. 1.iii. 159) and xi %z (II-l.iii-3016). As for people's names, there are graphs containing the 7 ^ element which are used as people's names, but since any graph could be used as a person or place name (or so it seems, e.g. 2 d $t occurs only as a place name1), when the graph is unidentified (e.g. y 2), it is hard to tell whether it was created specifically for the person's name, or was created to denote some other word and is merely used as a person's name. 1This place name is also written j i 4riH / * ^ (JGWB 493,S.469.1). I think it is reasonable to conclude that both refer to the same place, since both are hunting grounds, and both occur in Period IV inscriptions. 2See S.38.4, JWJ 10.3209. 30 I shall start off then by discussing the graph \\ itself, and then divide the rest of this part into five sections as outlined above. 31 1 ^ . ^ JGWB 986: rin A. S.1.1x697 JWJ 8.2607: rin A SW8a.la: Ji , ^ i - ^ t 4 ^ i . ^ J| . i ^ Si i L ^ . & ... SWDZ8a. la : A «l ft 1 t * f * * t , #L & £ \"F ^ 'Being born upright is prized over being born sideways, and this is why the graph depicts the arm on top and the leg underneath.' Tr: Ren 'man' is the most precious of all the life-forms in the universe. This is the zhduwen2 form. It represent the arms and the legs. Analysis The bone graph depicts in profile a person standing. There are two variants: \\ and \\ . In the former, the head and arm are written as one stroke, while in the latter, the head, torso and legs are written as one stroke, with the arm then added. Both variants survive in bronze script ( , ^ -see O/NJWB 1059/1308), but it is clearly the latter that develops into the SW zhduwen form, and thence presumably into the modern form, though the modern form has, paradoxically, reverted to the composition of the former lrrhis SW definition is evidendy based on a popular saying which I have so far discovered in five different places: Baihutong.Zhufa (see Chen Li 1977:257, Tjan 1949:456 H96), Xiaojing.Shengzhi, Hanshu.Xuan Yuan liu wang zhuan, and in an edict of Wang Mang, also in the Hanshu, translated by Wilbur (1943:453) as \"In the nature of heaven and earth, man is most important.\" Tjan translates the Baihutong occurrence as \"Of [all] creations of Heaven and Earth man is the most valuable.\" And Finally in an edict of Guang Wu, where Wilbur (1943:468) translates \"In the nature of heaven and earth, mankind is most important,\" and T'ung-tsu Ch'ii (1965:191) \"The human is the most important of all beings in the world.\" 2This is supposed to refer to a style of script devised by Shi Zhou ^ , the Grand Historian of King Xuan (827-781 B.C.), though SW (5a.2a) simply defines zim $0 as d i shu If ^ 'to read books.' 32 form, with the head and arm written as a single stroke. I realise that people naturally think of the modern character as depicting a person standing with his legs apart, but the left 'leg' is in fact evolved from the arm. The left-hand radical form A is truer to the original. The chief point to note about this graph is its structural simplicity: two strokes, and a human being is depicted. This shows a very advanced level of stylisation, and is typical of the bone script in general. As the person is depicted in profile, only one arm and one leg appear (cf. four-legged animals are depicted in profile with two legs). This places certain restrictions on the use of this graph as a signific in the composition of other graphs. When a concept is felt to require the depiction of both arms or both legs, then the element d_& f\\ is normally used instead. In such cases, dji j\\ does not signify 'big,' but simply represents a human being in the same way as ren \\ does. The rin \\ element is occasionally depicted with both arms (e.g. z M ^ I 'captive'), but is never depicted with both legs. This fact corroborates my conclusion that, as a graph component, d l ty\\ is often merely a structural variant of rin. \\ . As independent graphs they are of course totally separate, standing for different words and having their own distinct pronunciation. In the body of his work, Shima distinguishes rin \\ I A . from bj. \\ / 'spoon,'1 but he does not distinguish them in his list of bone radicals. He collapses both under the single radical rin \\ . In consequence, a number of the graphs listed under this radical at S.591.1-10 actually contain hi t . and not r in A _ . He also mistakenly includes a few graphs where the element in question is actually dao \\ I 71 \"knife' (e.g. at S.591.5 he lists $1 , even though at S. 194.1 he records its identification as 1& \\2). Graphs containing dao 71 of course fall outside the scope !S.5.2. The reason why only a few inscriptions are listed here is that most of them are at the back of the book in the ancestral section, S.539.2-544.4. 2For this identification, see JWJ 6.2107. 33 of the present thesis, but I have included a section on bi t l due to its rebus use as a human graph. Usage 1. To mean 'person,' probably male by default (otherwise nii ^ / would be used). 2. The proper name of an alien tribe, the Ren fang 3. In the formula yir6n — 'the one person,' used by the Shang king to refer to himself. In soft texts we find the expression yuyirdn — T the one person,' and there are already examples of this in the bones, e.g. Jinzhang 124.1 The classical expression guaren A - 'the solitary person' is conceptually similar. 4. Used as a classifier for people, e.g. Qiang sjm rin ^- A 'three Qiang tribesmen.'2 However, as in Classical Chinese, classifiers are used quite sparsely in OBI. One should also note that they follow the head noun, whereas in modern Chinese classifiers precede the head noun. As for the status of rin in Shang times, one may note that, on the one hand they are often conscripted (deng ren ^ A - ), and on the other hand they are also often sacrificed. There does not seem to be the specialised usage that Waley pointed out in the Analects? in which rin are people who are people, as opposed to min fXy , who are merely people, hoi polloi.4 Keightley (1969:252) says: \"Jin had no technical sense in either the Shang or Western Chou.\" However, one should note, as Professor Takashima 1See Takashima 1984/85:235, n.8. For a study of the expression, see Hu Houxuan 1957 and 1981. 2For a study on quantifiers in OBI, see Takashima 1985. 3Waley 1938:27. 4In modern times, Mao Zedong also had his own definition of who exactly constituted r6nmm &j (See Mao Zedong 1957). 34 has pointed out to me, that the graph for min has not been identified with certainty in OBI. 1 1JWJ 12.3715 identifies the bone graph as min , distinguishing it from xu£ ^ I jt_ (JWJ 4.1131) 'to wink at' (GSR 293). The context is very limited, but he suggests that the phrase mao min ^t1 ^ refers to human sacrifice (i.e. mao standing for M ^'j 'dismember'). Guo Moruo (ap. ibid.) does not find min ^ in OBI, but describes the bronze form ^ (O/NJWB 1593/2022)as an eye with a blade piercing it. He thinks it originally referred to slaves who were blinded in the left eye (he suggests a relationship with mang @ 'blind'), but fails to produce good evidence that min ever referred to slaves 35 Section i.a: Type of Human ^ 36 JGWB 1060: & JWJ 8.2785: £r ^ SW8b.3b: % , 1$ % ML . J>k )L, . %L which bear the same relation to yang 'sheep' and M. ^ / J^_, 'tiger' as the present graph does to si ^ . Qiang and hji ^ are both used as the names of alien tribes, and I think that this is what the substitution of the human element for the animal body is intended to indicate. So we may have here genuine cases of 'abbreviated phonetics,' as opposed to the shengsheng A- it • fa % in SW, many of which are spurious (that is to say, the 'sheep' and 'tiger' elements are abbreviated to ^ and $ ). Usage Unfortunately the context is too fragmentary to tell, but the heuristic use of graphic analysis suggests that it is the name of an alien tribe. ^ $rt? & > which clearly means 'generic term for long-tailed birds,' not 'long-tailed beasts,' so Xu Shen himself is not consistent in his use of the word gjn t^? . *I say 'old form' in quotation marks because the graphs that SW gives under this rubric do not form a particular style belonging to a distinct time and place, but are in fact quite a ragbag, and their pedigrees are unverifiable. For example, SW (2b .6b) gives .^itt as the 'old form' of er , but it seems more likely that the f[t element is an abbreviated form of si 1^ , so really V H . is the old form of Y'JN , not vice versa. In the present case, the antecedents of both ^ and are found in the bones, so they are equally 'old,' as far as one may tell. Clearly then one cannot accept the SW claim that one is older than the other. 39 S. 14.4x804 S.19.2xl8 76a *f . ^ . | * JGWB 514 (all forms): g j a n g . $j S.19.3x7 JWJ 4.1325 (all forms): qiang %j SW 4a.l7a: ct , ^ & . * C ^ > L ^ . >1 A , ^ $ ; # * * . vfe * f P*1 £ , j t ^ ^ M A , : i t $0 -h- i t • SWDZ 4a.35b: [Changes the definition to jjL 'a type of sheep,' but qiang refers to a type of person, not a type of sheep, so Duan is clearly wrong to tamper with the text like this, and Shirakawa (1974:615) says that the sentence does not read if- in any of the SW editions or any books that quote it. If it referred to a type of sheep, then the role of the 'person' element would become incomprehensible.] Tr: Qiang refers to the Western Rong. They are sheep herders. The character consists of rin A. 'person' and y&ng H P - 'sheep;' y£ng if- is also phonetic. The characters denoting the names of the Man and Min tribes in the south have chong ^ 40 'insect' signific, the name of the Di tribe in the north has quan 'dog' signific, the name of the Mo tribe in the east has zM ^ signific [exact identity unknown, but probably originally referring to cat-like animals], and the character denoting the name of the Qiang in the west has yang ^ - 'sheep' signific. These are six types [of barbarian].1 The characters denoting the Bo and the Jiaoyao in the south-west have rgn A person signific. I suppose the nature of the land must have some effect on the character of its inhabitants. Only the character denoting the Y i ^ in the east has d l A 'big' in it. here indicates 'person.' The Y i are by custom benevolent, and 'the benevolent are long-lived,'2 and that is where the country known as the Land of the Immortal Gentlemen lies. Confucius certainly had good reason to say: \"The Way makes no progress. I want to settle among the Nine Wild Tribes of the East. I shall get upon a raft and float out to sea.\"3 : the old form of qiang is like this. Xu Shen notices that certain characters denoting barbarian (i.e. non-Chinese) peoples have insect or animal signifies, and implies that this is because their nature is something less than human. Some others have 'person' signific, so they must be reasonably human, and the Y i have d l \"7\\_ 'great' signific, so they must be really decent chaps. In fact, Confucius said he would not mind living among them. The SW 'old form' seems to be quite unconnected, and is either wrong or corrupt. Analysis Duan Yucai points out in his commentary, Xu Shen has in fact only mentioned four types. He SB. suggests that 'six' should be amended to yi ^rx 'different.' However, if we include the Bo and Jiaoyao mentioned in the next sentence, that makes six, so perhaps there is something wrong with the sentence order here. 2Analects VI.21 (HY 11/6/23). I usually follow Waley's translation, but his rendering of shou here as 'secure' is misleading, so I have given a literal translation. 3 X u shen has here collapsed two sayings from the Analects: HY 8/5/7 and 16/9/14. My translation is a collapse of Waley V.6 and IX.13. 41 The bone graph consists of an abbreviated form of yang 'sheep' on top of rin ^ 'person.' Xu Shen maintains that the 'sheep' element is not only phonetic but also signific, because the Qiang were sheep-herders. However, as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, by this logic one could also argue that the si 3(L kept wild oxen and the hji (see 115 in this Section) kept tigers. The latter seems particularly unlikely. Pulleyblank (1983:421) says, concerning the SW entry, that \"the association with pastoralism is accidental and secondary,\" and explores rather the more likely k relationship between the Qiang and the Jiang zfr clan, through the phonetic connection with yang ^- . The present grapheme has a number of variants with other elements added, the commonest being ~ \\ and . The first is a rope, tied round the Qiang's neck, and the second is probably the primary form of shi 7%. 'stone,' and thus shows a stone tied round the Qiang's neck. The Shang captured many Qiang in military raids, and used them both as slaves and in human sacrifice. Restraining devices of some kind were obviously necessary to prevent them from running away. Various bronze graphs also show the present graph with a rope round the neck: (G7NJWB Fulu 1.56a.2/1.508) ® 5C (G7NJWB Fulu 1.21b. 1/1.171) The modern variant fe> perhaps comes from forms like these, with the ** element coming from the rope. 42 Usage Refers to members of the Qiang tribe, usually in a sacrificial context. (93) * ^ See 1.4.93 (jing ) 115 ^ JGWB 619: M j £ S.27.1xl0 JWJ 5.1589: M (this reference not given in S) SW5a.l8a: A £ . i . j% ...f4 : -± 5t it -ff : ^ t t iro Tr: The tiger is the lord of the mountain beasts. The character consists of hu_ ^ 7 [defined at SW 5a. 17a as huw6n fjP 'tiger stripes'] and ^Lt [= positional variant of rin ]. The legs [in the graph for] 'tiger' imitate those [in the graph for] 'human.' It is a pictograph. There are two old forms: ^ and ffij . Analysis The graph shows a tiger's head on top of a human body, and is to be analysed in the same way as the two previous graphs, si 1E> and qiang . L i Xiaoding joins JGWB in recognizing it as a variant of hii $ / J^j 'tiger,' and comments that 'the 43 under part has already been simplified to r6n A .' However, as L i notes, the bronze forms of hu )ru are all full pictographs (see O/NJWB 631/773), so it is indeed curious that the seal character should preserve only the form with rgn A . underneath. Usage Name of a place and the alien tribe living there. It is significant that only the full pictograph j | is used to refer to the animal (see the huo M f | / JrL 'catch tiger' inscriptions at S.225.2). This supports my hypothesis that the \\ element is substituted for the tiger's body in order to indicate 'type of human.' 292 ^ JGWB1112:gui ^ S.46.1x6 JWJ 9.2903: gut SW: See under III.l.i.283 Analysis JGWB and JWJ both include the present graph as a variant of gu£ 'ghost,' whose usual form is in the kneeling position: ^ . However, whereas Jj is used in the sense of 'devilish' and perhaps even 'ghost' (the inscriptions are hard to interpret), the present graph is used as the name of an alien tribe: Gui fang $ L 7 j (see Introduction for details of usage). On the one hand, one could regard ^ as ^ with ^ substituted for $ to indicate 'type of human,' parallel to the last three cases that I have just examined. On the other hand, I think one could analyse it as signific with gui 44 EB / ^ 'basket' phonetic on top (for the phonetic details, see III.l.i.283). Although S3 appears indistinguishable from the independent graph for tian & 'field,' it is hard to see how tian would be relevant either as signific or phonetic. Note that although the devil's head is homographous with tian in the bone form, in the seal form ^ it is distinct. This could represent an attempt to correct this homography. The identity of this ffl element as gui ^ is supported by the graph y i ^ / H (= d_M if*; 'carry on the head'-see II.l.ii.201), which may be interpreted as a person carrying a basket on the head. Here again, it is difficult to see how tian could be relevant either as signific or phonetic. 1328 J|L JGWB 702: nis ^ S.211.3x65 JWJ 5.1903: M s j [ f G SW 5b.l4b: | < , \\ J f c h. - e> ^ . U L . Kk 1 ,1L ; Jt , & ; & 5- . SWDZ 5b.37a: The character mu does not stand for 'mother,' but for a syllable variously written mu or m i [i.e. the writing with mu is a folk etymologization for a syllable whose meaning was not understood]. Nao * ^ is written in the Shijing [HY 55/223/6] and ^ j _ in Liji.yueji [HY 19/25]. Tr: The nao * ^ is a voracious beast. One source defines it as 'monkey.' It is like a human. The character consists of xj£ ^ 'head' and §i ^- [representing the tail], while zhi and sui represent its hands and feet. 45 Analysis The graph clearly depicts a primate, so the use of the anthropoid element is quite natural. The depiction of the head and tail distinguish the graph from a human representation. However, in the inscriptions it occurs mainly as the name of a remote semi-mythological ancestor. In some inscriptions he is titled Gao Zu 'High Ancestor.'1 Wang Guowei equates him with the Di Ku 'f ? igr of the classics. N £ o is O C you \\*BJ rhyme, while kji ig^ is in the corresponding rusheng rhyme jue ^ , so this is quite encouraging. The E M C initials, n- and k- respectively, seem rather far apart, but note that njio. is phonetic in the glottal stop initial word you ^ , so there is some glottal contact here. The more verisimilitudinous forms are separated by L i as h6u 3jf|^ 'monkey' (JWJ 10.3113), though I fail to see the justification for this. He gives three examples: Tieyi 6.9, Houbian 2.31.9, and Yicun 886. Of these, the first clearly requires an 'animal' interpretation: - * & | (Tieyi 6.9) ...perhaps catch monkey. The last example however clearly refers to the ancestor: Tested: Seek harvest from Nao (with) nine oxen. lE.g. Yicun 645 (= Zhixu 37), Cuibian 1 and 2, Zo/igfu 24.7. 46 2635 5^ JGWB 996: shji fa S.402.3x3 JWJ 8.2649: xi 4 | r SW 8a.7a: J12 ,JZL * h - » . > J L A - . , S . 4 P ' - i t ^ H H . SWDZ 8a. 18a: This character has the same sound and meaning as * i and . They have now all been replaced by the character $H . Tr: Shu I**, means 'stand.' It consists of r6n 'person' signific and d6u j i . phonetic. It is read like shu Analysis There is some dispute as to whether the present graph should be identified as xi or sjni 42 . L i Xiaoding opts for the former. However, the latter has in its favour (1) that the Yupian gives the form I u~ , which consists of exactly the same elements as the bone graph, and (2) the element 3- also occurs as phonetic in sjni %» (which S W (5a. 15a) lists under zhu jz. as if this were the signific, though it is clearly the phonetic, and defines asH X 'to stand'). The basic phonetic is d6u ^ . Luo Zhenyu claims that ^ is a variant of , which he identifies as the primary form of shu ^sf 'tree.' It consists of ddu / j *L phonetic and mu ^ / 'tree' signific. I think he is probably right. The words 'tree' and 'set up, establish' are perhaps etymologically related. Karlgren (GSR 127j) gives shji ^ f f a shangsheng reading for the verbal meaning 'to plant, establish' (this is probably the meaning indicated by the cun 'hand' element1), and a qilsheng reading for the nominal meaning 'tree.' The *As Duan Yucai (SWDZ 6a.21a) says: $'] i ! 4\" 4jL %~ & 'citn means to say that the hand is planting it.' 47 original difference between s M and nui is perhaps that the former referred to a cultivated tree while the latter referred to a naturally growing tree (note that the word mu usually refers to the material 'wood, timber' rather than a standing tree). However, although the Guangyun gives both a shdngsheng and a qusheng reading for shu %t , it ascribes both the nominal meaning 'tree' and the verbal meaning 'to set up' to the qusheng reading. For the shdngsheng reading it gives only the definition fushu , which the Dai Kan-Wa Jiten(5.Ill) glosses as tasuketateru 'to help stand up,' citing examples from Han Yu, Bo Juyi and Song Lian, so this word may not be an ancient expression. However, in the only rhyming occurrence of s M in the Shijing (HY 47/198/5), it is a verb 'to plant,' and rhymes with shu i^ki , which is also a verb here 'to calculate' (cf. as a noun meaning 'number' it is read in the qusheng). Although the Jingdian shiwen does not have a gloss on shu j^lt in this ode ( 3fH . T-5 H ) (Pan Chonggui 1983:1507), it does on sjul i^C , to which it gives the shdngsheng reading (Pan Chonggui 1983:1095) IfsM $ t is in fact a tonally perfect rhyme here, then it would have to be shdngsheng. I think what may have happened was that ghu originally had a shdngsheng reading as a verb, but this reading fell into disuse and the qusheng reading came to be used for both noun and verb. JGWB includes the present graph as a variant of the graphs and S i , which have the signifies 'woman' and 'kneeling person.' The kneeling person usually implies inferiority, so one might expect this to be the primary form of shu 'attendant.' Karlgren (GSR 127g) suggests that represents a servant girl. The word itself is probably derived from the meaning 'to stand' in the sense of 'to wait,' i.e. to stand in attendance. If the present graph may be identified with the word s M X 'attendant,' then the h element could be taken as indicating 'type of human.' In OBI, \\fy and ^ are always used as 'disaster graphs.' L i Xiaoding (JWJ 8.2825) accepts Tang Lan's proposal that stands for jian Ic-gT 'difficulties,' which SW (13b.l5b) gives as the zhduwen form of jian . Semantically this makes good 48 sense, but it is hard to reconcile the phonetic value of zhji with this. So this is still an open question. Usage It refers to a person, but it is hard to know from the limited context whether it means 'servant' or is a person's name: (Xucun 2.450) ...shu will die. JGWB 3352 (unidentified) JWJ 3.773: p i SW 3a. 19b: (I : i i M S . Tr: m A% means 'one who does chores.' It consists of r in 'person' and pji ^ [which SW ibid, defines as diipu , a binome that Xu Xuan explains as 'bothersome, chore-like' (cf. GSR 1211a: 'harassing, tiresome')]; pu is also phonetic. £ j t ( : the old form has chen 'servant' signific. [There is no inscriptional evidence for this form.] iFor this identification, see 1.3.62. 49 Note on Identification Sun Haibo puts the present graph in the unidentified section of JGWB, with the comment 'it used to be identified as pit ,' so evidently he does not accept this identification. However, Ye Yusen, Guo Moruo and L i Xiaoding all accept this identification, which was first made by Luo Zhenyu. Guo Moruo points out that there is a similar graph on the bronze vessel ^ 1^ j&- (which he refers to as % ): (O/NJWB Fulu 2.54b.2/2.713). The place where the gj TjJ / 'basket' comes in the bone form is effaced in this bronze example, but otherwise it consists of the same elements. Other bronze forms show a radical corruption, ^ >Mt$ (O/NJWB 312/397) This example shows the flf 'basket' distorted to a zt 'container,' and the xin T / -f element underneath held up by two hands. The r6n element perhaps replaces the original « f element. It seems likely that %, and are variants of the same basic character. The seal element %• in this character is evidently corrupted from the bronze element Analysis The bone graph basically shows a person holding a al ^ (= j i jL ) 'basket' with dots on top. Luo Zhenyu says that this represents the slave throwing rubbish out, which shows that it refers to a domestic slave used for menial chores. It is interesting to compare this with the Han tomb figurine of a domestic servant carrying a broom and dustpan (Wilbur 1943:facing p. 178). This suggests that cleaning was regarded as the task that most typified domestic servants. In Zhou texts, p i commonly means 'carriage driver,' but it can also refer to domestic servants in general. The Zuozhuan (HY 363/Zhao 7/Fu 1) lists the ten ranks of human society as wang _I_ 'king,' gong I* 'duke,' 50 dafu 7 v 'great officer,' sM dr 'simple officer,' zip. ^ 'lictor,' yji _ s 'underling,' li %%. 'menial,' liao ^ % 'labourer,' pji ^ 'servant,' and l4i 'helper.'1 This puts the pji pretty near the bottom. At any rate, it seems reasonable to conclude that it referred to lowly domestic servants. Note also the following passage from ZhouliXiaguan.Sima xia.lipu: Assistants-valets (li-po): lis sont charges des services (de propretd, tels que) balayage, enlevement de salet6s, arrosage, dans les cinq salles posterieures ou (se retire l'empereur).2 Rather than analyse the top element as van § / %. 'flute; speech,' it seems better to follow Guo Moruo in treating as representing the person's head, and analysing the xjn ^ / % element separately. As Guo notes, this xjn ^ element is also found on top of ai£ 3jr 'concubine' and t6ng ^ 'servant boy.' He regards it as a chisel that was used to tattoo the foreheads of people who had been punished, a practice known as qtng V , and indeed this interpretation does group the characters containing this element as signific together into a category having a recognizable general meaning, i.e. punished persons. Thus pjl 4lt_ must originally have referred to people who were enslaved as a punishment. As for the tail appended to the sacral region, this is very curious. Luo Zhenyu explains it by referring to the SW (8b. la) analysis of wei 'tail,' which depicts a person with a tail. Xu Shen explains that 'the ancients sometimes ornamented themselves with tails, and the barbarians of the south-west also do this.' This suggests that the present graph could represent a person from a tail-wearing tribe that the Shang were wont to capture and enslave. It may be something of a coincidence, but the Tang encyclopaedia translations fromLegge 1861.5.2:616. translation from Biot 1851.2:233. 51 Shisitong ( same text at sections Dian 1002.3, Zhi 3162.2, and Kao 2590.3 of this work) refers to a border tribe in what is present day Yunnan called the Wei Pu 'tailed Pu.' It says that they have tails three or four cun long, and when they want to sit down they first make a hole in the ground to accommodate them, for if they should break they will die. Tremearne (1912:104) reports a similar story from Africa, where the Yergum people said of the Gazum people that they had tails about six inches long, for which they had to make a hole when they sat down. One should also note the story of the descendants of Pan Hu , the pet dog of Gao Xin shi v§) ^ tKj , who wore five-coloured clothing with a tail-like appendage in memory of their ancestor (Houhanshu. Xinan Yi liezhuan). Wei Juxian (1960:43), who mentions the Shisitong and Houhanshu references, concludes that Pu was originally the name of a south-western tribe whom the Shang used as domestic slaves.1 Deniker (1900:95) has remarked that \"The costumes of certain populations have given rise to the fable of men with tails,\"2 but notes that \"Primitive man has never had a caudal appendage since he acquired the biped attitude.\" Usage The single occurrence (Houbian 2.20.10) is before the word M }*• 'make divination cracks,' so it would seem to be the name of a diviner. It is impossible to determine from this single, almost contextless occurrence, what period this diviner would belong to. Professor Takashima, who has made a special study of graph typology (Takashima 1988b), has informed me that this bone could belong to early or late (or Bin group or Chu iti group), and is not necessarily a Dui l l . group or Zi group piece, so it seems that even from the form and style of the graphs it is difficult to assign this piece to a particular period. ^ee also Guo Moruo 1930:284 and Liu Weimin 1975:54. The Pan Hu story is discussed by Liu Chungshee Hsien 1932. Cf. also the Norsu question \"Is the tail of the Communist Party long or short?\" meaning 'is the CCP strong or weak?' (Winnington 1959:62). 2For earlier tales of men with tails, see Monboddo 1774.1:257-267. 52 ^ JGWB 993: ping ^ 3143 r \\S.481.1x4 JWJ 8.2627: ping SW8a.4b: 1$) , & . Jk A- , ffl M . it % tit & . Tr: Peng means 'to help.' It consists of rin 'person' signific and p6ng phonetic. It is read like pii as in p6iwei 'keep someone company.' [This reading suggests an etymological relationship, cf. such pairs as deng Jf &>. Tr: Ling ^ £ means yu£ 'to cross over.' It consists of sjn ^ [a walking radical-see SW 5b. 13b] and l i T N 'type of mushroom.' L i -fc 1 here means 'high' [i.e. sense of la. ^ , defined at SW 14b.lb as gao ping di \\f? 'high level land']. One source defmes ling ^ £ aschi'ff [=l£- ] 'slow.' Analysis The present graph is overlooked in JWJ, but it is extremely similar to the bronze form of ling , e.g. (as part of the character ling fJC): f t * ft l l 1 (O/NJWB 1809/2316) P r o f e s s o r Takashima has suggested to me that I examine the reconstructions o f the pronunciation of ling \"5C andhi , which would be l i r j < * r a r j and l u w k < * r a k w respectively. It would appear from these reconstructions that it is quite possible that the evolution of the top element of the bone graph into hi •3> was a phonetization. By phonetization, I mean that an element which was not originally intended as phonetic is corrupted into an element that has phonetic intent. Due to the post factum way in which they came into being, phonetizations are often less accurate than original phonetics. 58 The modern character ling ^ must have descended from a variant in which the foot was emphasized, such as we find on the , l where it is used as a proper name (the graph occurs three times on this vessel, so I have selected the clearest example): I think that this bronze graph should be analysed as consisting of ling ^ phonetic and 'foot' signific, and is the primary form for the word meaning 'cross over.' It is only the 7 \\ element on top of the modern character that comes form the bone graph ^ . The bone form also has the variant ^ . The solution to this graph, I believe, lies in the diamond shape, which is referred to in Chinese as lingxing ^£ -toy , the shape of the leaf of the water chestnut or caltrop (not to be confused with bfqi % ^ , Eleocharis tuberosa, which is also translated as 'water chestnut'-this type is popularly called mati % | S.107.2x12 JWJ 4.1197: m£i '@ Analysis JGWB and JWJ both include the present graph as a variant of m£i i f 'eyebrow,' for which the usual form is ^ . It seems to me that the present graph actually consists of mei % phonetic and 'person' signific, and may be transcribed * X J . According to S, it occurs in the name Zi Mei £ y f j Prince Mei' (Xucun 1.1069 and Yibian 53941). The phonetic element is joined to the top of the 'person' element in such a way as to suggest that it represents the person's head. Note that the graph ^ , which has the 'woman' element incorporated (which S lists together with the present graph), occurs before the verb mi an i > / T O D 'give birth,' so this has to refer to a woman (Shima mis-transcribes the first example, Yibian 6481, as ^ , but this graph in fact also contains the woman element). This graph may be transcribed \"x^ 3 , though it is probably only coincidence that it has the same components as the character mei , since in the bone graph the 'woman' element was probably added to the phonetic element m6i ;@ in order to indicate 'name of a woman,' whereas in the character mei -y/g , the 'woman' element is used to indicate 'female quality' (GSR 567d gives the meanings love, lovable; flatter, curry favour with'). l r r h e Xucun example, though fragmentary, seems valid, but in the Yibian example the graph is actually meng I (though it still seems to be a prince's name). 62 On the other hand it could be that the lady in the bones was so-called because she was lovable' or 'flattering,' or, as Professor Pulleyblank has suggested to me, it could be that this word was used as a name for women. Note also that Mei occurs as a place name in the Zuozhuan (HY 455/Ding 9/5 Zuo, Legge 1861.5.2:773). There is also a form with a kneeling woman ^ which seems to be the name of a spirit (see S. 108.2). 789 JGWB 4277 (unidentified) S.133.2x4 Not in JWJ SW7a.8b: % , ft % &. ^ .& , ^ f . \\ SWDZ 7a.23a: Shen was the star of Jin ~§~ , not Shang. The Shang's star was chen Tr: Shen is the star of Shang. It consists of jing 00 [representing stars] signific and zhen ^ phonetic. [As Xu Xuan points out, zhgn ^ tcin 9cannot be phonetic in shen ^ §i m, though it may be a phonetization.] Analysis JWJ does not have the present graph, but it differs from the bronze form of can only in that the figure underneath is standing instead of kneeling, and the three 'mouth' elements become three circles: 63 (O/NJWB 905/1120) A graph * * ^ has not been found in OBI. The bronze form is sometimes augmented by san - / JE_ 'three,' as in the second example above, and it is this augmented form that gives rise to the modem character. The three mouth-like or circular elements may represent the three stars of the Shen constellation, as Karlgren speculates (GSR 647a). It seems that the element y in OBI does not always represent 'mouth,' but sometimes simply an object of any kind, as in pin y t) / 'objects' (JGWB 256). In the seal form, shen @ contains the same seal element as xing J3L ( ) 'stars,' but the bronze forms suggest that this is a later development (a folk etymology, if you like). The bone graph may be analysed as consisting of 'person' signific with , the primary form of shen - | r 'the Shen constellation,' on top as phonetic. In all the inscriptions at S. 133.2, it occurs as the name of a person who prepared some turtle plastrons for divination, e.g: c l j § : ^ T\" ^ • ^ • (Xubian 5.25.71) Jiyou-day: Shen ritually prepared2 ten pairs (of shells for divination). (Signed:) JU. 2385 \\ ^ JGWB 990:yi A? S.365.2x95 ^Mistakenly given in S as 5.25.6. 2For this understanding of shi ^ , see Keightley 1978:16-17. 64 JWJ 8.2621 S W 8 a . 2 a : K l \\ , f e i y C T J f # 7 , ? & & ^ 4 . JUL A , ^ ? . SWDZ 8a.5b: Y i Yin ^ should be inserted at the beginning of the definition. Si ^t- is phonetic in the old form. [Although it is also in OC zhi rfe rhyme, the initials are very different.] Tr: Y i 4f : [Yi Yin J$ ^ ] is the wise man A-heng of the Yin dynasty, the one who governed and brought to order the empire. The character consists of rin 'person' and ym to govern, the old form of Y i contains the old form of si ^L..1 Analysis According to various ancient works, Y i Yin f 'Governor Yi ' was a minister of Cheng Tang ^ j%,the first king of the Shang dynasty (referred to in OBI as Shang Jia and also as Tang ). A-heng f'jj seems to have been his personal name, though there are conflicting accounts on this point. In OBI, he is worshipped in the same way as the royal ancestors. He is also referred to in OBI simply as Y i , and his consort is referred to as Y i shuang 4? 'Yi's consort.' For example: T ;fc h : %- ty ffe S • (Houbian 2.38.6) Dingwei-day cracking: It is that Y i that is cursing the rain (i.e. preventing it from falling?). * # S * # & _ „ M i n g 4 2 2 ) ^Note that si ?t- is sometimes used as a loan for a word meaning 'to regulate, be in charge of in bronzes (Shirakawa 1984:364). 65 Perhaps seek rain from Yi's consort. Since SW gives the legendary-historical figure as the primary meaning of this character, it may have been created especially for him. GSR (604a) gives the other meanings of yi ft as 'this' and 'a particle.' It is hard to relate either of these meanings to either the rin or the yjn T component of the character, whereas it is quite easy to relate the SW meaning to these components. Furthermore, neither of the GSR meanings is attested in the bones, so we do not even know if these words existed in the Shang language, and they could well be later loan usages in some other dialect. The 'person' element thus signifies that it is the name of a person, while the yrn ^ element is probably phonetic. Y i ft ?ji is in OC zhi $ a rhyme, while as for y|n jwin', Professor Pulleyblank has informed that, although there does not seem to be any rhyme evidence, the E M C front vowel strongly suggests that it was in OC zhen to weigh>to estimate'), and the balance also serves as phonetic. The balance Jf^ is very rare as an independent graph in OBI (S.453.3 has three examples2). Mostly one finds the augmented form ^ (S.454.2 has 113 examples), in which a hand is added. This is the SW (4b. lb) character cheng , which has the same pronunciation and meaning as cheng \\ \\ , being defined as bing n ^p- 'to lift up together.' Xu Shen analyses it as containing gou Jft- abbreviated. However, is clearly an independent element, and if anything one should say that g6u ^ is $\\ doubled. Furthermore it is hard to reconcile Xu Shen's analysis with the meaning of g6u J}, 'framework,' which seems to have no bearing on the meaning of cheng . Professor Takashima has suggested to me that g6u was originally designed to depict a counterbalance, and that the 'framework' can be considered related to it. 1 See Takashima 1984:32. _ 2The Qianbian 7.1.3 example is actually written .R. and identified in JWJ (4.1403) as zjd & • The context is too fragmentary to see how it is being used. 69 2959 JGWB 1019: Ht (not in SW) 'person's name' S.453.4x20 JWJ 8.2671: ft (notinSW) Analysis The graph consists of 'person' signific, with a phonetic element that consists of one or two M 'growing grain' on top of $\\ / -$•(= cheng 'balance'?) This phonetic element has not been found as an independent graph in OBI, but it could perhaps be the ancestor of the modern character cheng The addition of the 'grain' element perhaps indicates the usual commodity that was weighed. The graph occurs before the verb dl )^ / & 'to take, to bring,' so there is no doubt that it refers to a person. Thus although the graph has not been identified with a modem character, the heuristic application of graphic analysis combined with the contextual corroboration enables us to feel fairly certain that the present graph was created in order to write down a person's name, and that this is not a loan usage. 2961 7 A JGWB 1020: 1* (not in SW) 'person's name' S.454.1x3 A* JWJ 8.2673: I# (notinSW) Analysis 70 The graph consists of 'person' signific, and a phonetic element that consists of djii $ / j | on top of ^ / (= cheng ^& ?). This phonetic element occurs independently, probably as a place name (S.454.1). Although it is quite clear what the components are, it is not clear how they interact. I think perhaps the dju element is phonetic and the cheng -rr element signific, so the meaning would presumably be something to do with balances. It could perhaps be the primary form of zhui ^ 'weight on a balance,' which according to the Guangyun is also written with zhui phonetic. Note that JGWB includes i|[ , i.e.iijf. , as a variant of the present graph. The present graph occurs as the subject of an illness, so there is no doubt that it is a person's name. (No number) $j JGWB 656: ji | p S.568x238 JWJ 5.1749: ji Analysis JGWB and JWJ both include this graph as a variant of ji ^ / fp , but curiously it is always used as the name of a diviner, while j $ is never so used. I would say that the present graph was specially created for the name of the diviner, and is not necessarily a variant of ji $ . As Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, this strengthens the interpretation that the graphic elements attached to ^ probably served as phonetic, and also that \\ and \\ were, on the whole, strictly distinguished. 71 Section ii: Human Actions By far the greatest number of graphs in which the rin ^ element occurs as signific denote actions which are typically performed by human beings. Actions performable by other animals are also interpreted from an anthropocentric perspective. It should be noted that it is not the rin ^ element itself that conveys the sense of action. The rin \\ element simply denotes human participation, and it is the other elements combined with it that serve to convey the action. This must be so, for if the rin ^ element inherently signified 'action,' then one could not explain how it could be used as signific in many graphs that do not denote actions. The rin \\ element thus serves only as a pointer towards the possibility that the graph in question denotes a human action. It does not in itself represent the action. For example, in jf j$ / 'to reach'(no. 72) it is the hand X that signifies the action, while rin ^ just shows the person being reached, and in jian % I $u 'to see' (no.655) it is the eye that is the focus of the action, and the rin ^ element merely suggests that it is a human being that is doing the seeing. ( 72 ^ JGWB 1034: ting £ 4 S.5.3xl0 JWJ 8.2709: ting J_ SW 8a.l7a: 1 , - | r . A- , £ ; i , ^ ^ . ^ 0 | % Jj ^ 4£ £ A> . Rj ... SWDZ 8a.46a: In view of the second meaning, the lower element must be Iii 'earth,' not shi \" i 'official.' Tr: Ting JL 'outstanding' means shan -H\" 'good' It consists of ren 'person' and shi 'official.' Shi i means shi -jf^ 'to serve' [but Xu Xuan explains that 'person' on top of 'official' indicates 'standing upright']. One source says that it depicts something springing up out of the ground. In the Kangxi dictionary, rin is classified under shi d r , while ting £ is classified under tti J L , with a note to the effect that Xu Shen was mistaken in interpreting the lower element as shi \" i r , and in fact the bone graph corroborates the Kangxi's and Duan's opinion. Note that although ting and ren are now almost homographous, they were still very distinct in the seal script.1 Analysis The bone graph shows a person standing upright on top of a mound of earth, and is probably the primary form of ting in the sense of 'stick out, crop up (as something growing), straight' (definitions from GSR 835i). The first meaning given in SW, 'good,' is to be interpreted as 'outstanding,' as L i Xiaoding suggests: ^ ^jj 1 t used to think they were identical in the modern script, but Professor Takashima has pointed out to me that there is a difference, which I had failed to notice, i.e. the relative length of the middle and lower strokes is opposite. I note however that Li Xiaoding writes them both as 4c (for rin, see JWJ 14.4297), so it seems that not everyone observes this distinction. 73 ?| ^ - ^ I f ^ r f ^ r ^ - ^ - ^ ^ ( i t d e P i c t s a P e r s o n ) standing out boldly, and hence by extension it comes to mean good.1 Compare the contemporary Mandarin usage of ting , as in ting Mo. 'outstandingly good.' L i Xiaoding notes that, while h / shows a person standing from the front, ting ^ shows the same thing from the side. However, the difference in the human figure element used is not the only difference. L i ^ shows a person standing on flat ground, whereas ting ^ shows a person standing on top of a mound of earth, and this is probably essential to the idea of 'standing out.' Flat ground would fail to convey this idea. In i i ^ , da ^ is used to emphasize the fact that both feet are planted on the ground. Evidently in ting ^ it was not felt necessary to emphasize this. The emphasis is not on the standing, but on the elevation of the standing. JGWB includes a couple of examples under ting ^ in which the ground is level, and JWJ also includes these forms, which would provide a minimal contrast between the r6n ^ and dj|. >^ elements, but I am not certain if they should be included. Their limited context does not help to resolve the issue. Usage In eight of the ten inscriptions it seems to be the name of a person (object of ling 'order'), so the inscriptions do not help us with the original meaning. In the other two inscriptions (Yizhu 524 and Yibian 5582), as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, it seems to be a verb, though it is hard to say what it means. 14 ^ JGWB 988: ai ^ S.6.3xll 74 JWJ 8.2615: tt] 'the Yellow River' (JWJ 11.3261). He finds only one complete example of the graph ^ (Qianbian 7.1.4, though personally I find this rubbing too dark to read), and one incomplete example, ^ (Cuibian 543), which he reconstructs as A Shima lists neither. L i identifies ^ as yin i& because of its similarity to the seal form ^ (SW 5b. 10b), and says it is the primary form of dan 'to carry on the shoulder.' He explains that it depicts a person carrying something across both shoulders, whereas ^ shows a person carrying something across one shoulder. If he were right, one would expect the meaning 'carry' to crop up in one of the phonetic compounds of yin ^ , as it does in the case of hi , but we do not find this (see GSR 656). This is why he is driven to propose that it is the primary form of a word from another phonetic series, dan . This is fairly reasonable phonetically since the yin phonetic series is in OC gjn rhyme and the zhan )% series is in OC i£n rhyme, and these two rhymes differ only in that the former has a close vowel while the latter has an open vowel (according to Pulleyblank's reconstruction, and in fact also Karlgren's). However, the yin series gives strong evidence of being what Pulleyblank (1984:170) calls an *l-type initial, while the zhan series would appear to be a *t-type, so these two series are not really that close. I think that the graphic similarity between 'i and yin is purely fortuitous, and that the original form of yin 'fcj probably depicted a person lying down with his head on a pillow, i.e. the primary form of zhen 'pillow.' Although an earlier !ln both cases, he says, it is a person's name. In his commentary on Cuibian 543, Guo Moruo, who identifies the graph as h£ (/f »J ), says it is the diviner's name. 78 form of this character has not been found independently, it is perhaps preserved in the bronze forms of yin 'fZ> and shen >/£J : (O/NJWB 62/72) (O/NJWB 1427/1824) If the bone form of y in iZ> existed, I would classify it in Part 3 of this chapter, where ^ represents a person lying down. The present graph shows a person carrying an axe over the shoulder. As L i rightly points out, the axe is the primary form of kg fa] k'aa < *k'al 'axe-handle' and acts as a phonetic hint in h i \"^T -yaa' < *ga l ' . He also points out that in the rare variant ^ (Xucun 1.637, where it is actually the name of a. fang tribe), the person is carrying a ge_ ~\\ kwaa < * k w a l 'spear' phonetic. This does not make quite such an accurate phonetic as the axe, due to the labiovelar rather than plain velar initial. In later times, M ' \"J was reserved as a loan for the WH-word hi , and h i 4**3 'lotus' was borrowed to write the word h i 'carry.' The process of borrowing and re-borrowing is rather complicated. H i ^ *) derives from ^ \\ through the separation of the 'person' and 'axe-handle' elements and the addition of a kou a 'mouth' element, which may have been added as a sign of desemanticization for the WH-word usage but now forms an integral part of kg \"J • Usage It seems to be the name of a place or perhaps of the people living there, no examples of it in its primary meaning 'to carry.' There are 79 72 ^ JGWB 359: \\ \\ , & = ji & , 3598 (unidentified) S.14.1x106 JWJ 3.915: ^ , k =J1 SW3b.9a: £ ^ . & 2- , ^ . 1 : \"t i 1 ; ^ ' ] £ & jHl . ^ : * * £ & : * i & • SWDZ 3b. 18b: Ji & and dli £ ^ gloss each other in SW. The second old form occurs in the character fjn Rj . The last old form consists of chuo >1_ and probably bj . Tr: J i ^ means djti. ^ 'to reach.' It consists of y6u 'hand' and ren 'person.' [Xu Kai adds the interpretative note here: & \"j^ O A - ^L> 'it represents reaching the person in front.'] ^ is an old form of j i -this is how it is written on Qin steles. is another old form of ji * s y e t mother old form of ji TyL . The first two old forms do not look like complete characters. The last old form is obviously a variant of djli , and I am surprised that Duan did not realise this. Analysis The graph shows a hand reaching a person from the rear, thus symbolizing the meaning 'reach.' By extension it also came to mean 'as far as, up until, by the time' etc. Both these usages are evidenced in the bone inscriptions. JWJ and JGWB both include the graph ^ as a variant, but S separates it, listing it after the present graph. Since it occurs only as a person/place name, this identification cannot be verified. Note further that there are no unambiguous examples of ^ as a person/place name. Usage 80 JI ^ is used in two main ways: 1. In expressions like ^ ^ <® \\ \\ 'when it comes to the present fourth month1 it will rain,' where it clearly functions as a time adverb. 2. In military inscriptions, where it may be interpreted as 'catch up with, reach (the enemy),' e.g. (Zongtu 22.4) Jiashen-day cracking, tested: Cha will reach the Xuan tribe. 100 ^ JGWB 407: 4>L (not in SW) 25.4x9 JWJ 3.1027: 4sL (notinSW) SW3b.l3a: & & M § L , M 4 J X : i t £ ^ : the old form of yi 4 h a s rdn 'person' [instead of chi A i Xu Xuan says that chi ^ trMajk is also phonetic in y i ^ _ j w i a j k . However, although they happen to be in the same E M C rhyme, they do not come from the same OC ^Translation of this phrase suggested to me by Professor Takashima. 81 rhyme (du6 ffip *-ak and xi fy% *-ac respectively), and their initials, though hard to reconstruct in the case of yi , are unlikely to have had much in common. Analysis The present identification was made by Yu Yongliang (JWJ 3.1027). Although SW gives /| 5^ as the old form of y i 4!L , L i Xiaoding refuses to recognize its authenticity. He says that y i ^\\sL is a semantic compound consisting of chi ^ , signifying 'march,' and shu. , a weapon, thus its primary meaning is xrngyi ^ ^ 'to go on a military expedition.' He says that the bone graph , on the other hand, An shows a person being beaten, so it cannot have any connection with yi IX- , and its meaning, he claims, must be something like puji 'hit.' However, this is not Art i± Art necessarily so. Another common meaning of yi 'ISL is as in shiyi '\\9^ 'to cause (someone to do something),' and the Yupian defines sM as yi ^ s t (though such a late work should not of course be relied on as one's primary evidence). This could easily be its primary meaning. The bone graph could be interpreted as showing a person being forced to do something, 'beaten into service' one might say. 'Military campaign' could be just a specialization of this meaning, but it could be this specialization that led to the / A replacement of the r£n S**. element by the walking radical chi I . The semantic thread Aft that binds the various uses of yi together is 'obligatory service.' Usage The inscriptions are rather hard to interpret, but I think that in most of them it may stand for y i 'plague,' as Rao Zongyi (1959:520) suggests. This usage helps to An confirm the correctness of the identification as yi 1 . 82 108 ^ JGWB 740: xiu. J\\%~ S.26.3xl8 JWJ 6.2023: xiu SW 6a.23a: Tr: Xiii means 'to rest.' It consists of r£a 'person' leaning against mil 'tree.' : xiu. ^V%- is sometimes written with van f~ 'roof.' Analysis The bone graph also consists of 'person' and 'tree,' so the identification seems not unreasonable, though since it is always used as a place name one cannot get any contextual support for this identification. The character xiu. that SW gives as a variant also has the extended meanings 'shade, shelter, protection.' If the identification of the present graph is correct, then there seems to be no reason not to accept the SW analysis of the seal graph, that it represents a person leaning (resting) against a tree. Usage Place name. 109 * f JGWB 3993 (unidentified) S.26.4xl JWJ 6.2023: xju $ ~ 83 SW6a.21b: & , 3# JflL . kk & , Ik /K . means 'to pluck.' It consists of mil 'tree' and zhao 'hand.' Analysis L i Xiaoding includes the present graph, with reservations, as a variant of the preceding graph, since it is also used as a place name. However, I think it is more likely to be a variant of cai % I ^ (JGWB 737). It shows a person plucking at a tree, and at the same time the % element could also be a phonetic hint. Notice that it is not the same as mu ^ / . It occurs commonly in the graph , which stands for a time word in the inscriptions. Yang Shuda (JWJ 6.1967-9) observes that the ^ element occurs in \\ , a variant of a i *f , \\ 'to attack' (JWJ 12.3777), where it would appear to have the same phonetic function as cji I ~k . H e suggests that represents the word later written zai ij^ 'year.' It seems possible that % is the original pictograph for zai 'to plant' (GSR 943y), which the Ming dynasty work Zhengzitong JE- ? lit defines as 'sapling.' The focus in this graph is actually on the hand, and indeed it is only the hand that is left in the usual form % . The graph as a whole may be transcribed * • Usage Place name. I l l JGWB 3643 (unidentified) S.26.4xl JWJ 3.1083: (not in SW) 84 Analysis The graph shows a person, whose hand is drawn in, with a stick, and there is another hand at the bottom of the stick on the other side. It is not clear which hand is holding the stick and which is resisting the stick, or whether both hands are holding the stick.1 At any rate it seems clear that somebody is trying to beat somebody else with a stick, and some such meaning as 'attack' fits very well into the OBI context: (Shiduo 1.415, ap.S.26.4) Yihai-day tested: Geng (?) should not attack the Fang (tribe). Here again the focus is on the hand, and indeed one of the two contestants in this struggle has only his hand drawn in. However, the rin \\ element still suggests that it is a human activity, and the OBI context corroborates this. 114 Jy JGWB 571 :jf H S.27.1x23 JWJ 4.1549: ji SW4b.21a: IS , £ « ^ . t % fc-J* M , tkH i L It. W * , t f . iprofessor Takashima has pointed out to me that the graphic intent of the present graph, as I interpret it, is much like zheng W / -Jp- 'struggle,' i.e. two hands holding clubs hitting each other. 85 SWDZ 4b.53a: JI 4^ 3 occurs with the meaning 'to plough1 in various classics, with reference to the emperor's ploughing ritual. The commentator Chang Chenzan explains that the emperor had to ji£ I e 'borrow' the people's labour because he could not finish all the ploughing by himself. Tr: JJ 4^ refers to the emperor's ploughing one thousand mou. In ancient times, the people were employed as if borrowed, and so it was called ji [which is phonetically similar to the word for 'borrow,' as one can see from the fact that they both contain xi 1? phonetic]. It consists of lei 'plough' signific and xi & phonetic. Analysis The bone graph shows a person pushing a plough. The r6n \\ element is augmented by two hands and a foot, so it really conveys the idea of a person struggling to push a plough along with his foot pushing it into the ground, and its usage in OBI confirms that it means 'to plough.' This meaning survives in only a few places in soft texts, where the character is written 4^ (i.e. augmented by the grass radical), and it seems to be nominal, referring to the piece of land that was ploughed, rather than to the act of ploughing itself, e.g. (Liji.jiyi,Wt 24/31) \"Thus it was that anciently the son of Heaven had his field of a thousand acres.\" (Legge 1885.IV:222, % 5) The commonest usage of the character in soft texts is as a loan for the word j i£ 'to borrow,' which is now usually written . Xu Shen is at pains to explain this usage, but all he ends up by doing is making a pun. 86 In bronzes, whether as an independent character or as part of another, ji always has 2d ig added as phonetic, e.g. 3 (O/NJWB 569/701) In the modern character, the plough has been stylized and the ploughman has vanished, so all we have left is a phonetic compound, which is how SW perforce analyses it. Usage Always used in its primary meaning 'to plough,' e.g. fcZY . J : £ * # * * . M i . + - A • ^ (Houbian 2.28.6) Gengzi-day cracking, tested: The king will perhaps inspect the ploughing. (He) should go. Twelfth month. Guan jj^ here could perhaps alternatively be understood as guan >|f 'to irrigate,' or as guan . | | ~ 'to pour a libation on,' and ji could be understood as a noun 'ceremonial field.' SW (lb. 19b) reserves the nominal meaning for the character j | | L B , defining it as jiji 7 ^ %Q 'the ceremonial field.' Karlgren (GSR 798b) defines it as 'field ploughed by king whose produce was used for sacrifice.' 293 JGWB 1.116: w£i %^ 'person's name' 87 S.46.1x3 JWJ 9.2909: wii SW9a.l6a: J l , & . M & , ht | A f I ^ £ ^ 3\" | , Tr: Wgi f^L 'fearful' means i 'horrible.'1 It consists of fl & 'devil's head' and hji 'tiger' abbreviated. Devils' heads and tigers' claws are fearful. ^ : the old form is abbreviated. Analysis The graph appears to show a devil wielding a stick, which is indeed fearsome, but the gui *f / element is of course phonetic. This clever way of making the phonetic serve also in a signific capacity is typical of the way in which the creators of this script designed their graphs. Rather than the usual form of gui , which is ^ (see III.l.i.283), what we actually seem to have here is a member of the Gui tribe (see I.l.i.a.292) The original meaning was perhaps 'to threaten' and it is undoubtedly etymologically related to the word wei ^ 'awesomeness.' In soft texts, wei -^ L usually means 'to fear,' but the graph appears rather to show the act of threatening. This prompts me to investigate whether this character could ever have had the meaning 'threaten.' Note that the word w_ei f$k\\ uj, from which wei 'uj h is undoubtedly derived, does not mean 'fear' but 'fearsomeness, awesomeness,' which can perhaps be understood as 'threateningness,' and in bronzes we find the usage of these two characters somewhat confused. For example, in the inscription we to -r ffl find the expression \"fL. 'fear Heaven's awesomeness,' in which the character 1Or perhaps it should be read wi 'to loathe.' Karlgren gives this meaning for w£i J^?^ in his Gloss 1000. 88 wei -jj^ is used for both words (in the Shujing, 'Heaven's awesomeness' is written J$L ). There is also a common bronze expression yyjayj A & {= ) 'demeanour of authority,' which on the bell / is written with (i.e. wei augmented by pjx \"^C ), and a similar phrase meaning 'authoritative and circumspect' is written * & onthe ^ 4> % but onthe . In the Shujing there are a couple of examples of wei being used as a verb where it may be understood as 'to threaten, to cause to fear': ^ | ' l i • (Tongjian 5.293-6) \"If not, one overawes them.\" (Karlgren 1950:11 fll4)) f%&$L,%^%7k& • (Tons/Van 16.818-26) \"Do I overawe you? (No), by this I take care of and (nourish) sustain you all.\" (Karlgren 1950:24 ^26) In these two cases, wei has a direct object (in the second case cliticized due to the interrogative nature of fli _g_ ), so it is definitely a transitive verb. Karlgren translates as 'overawe,' but I think it is simpler, and more appropriate to the context, to understand it as 'threaten.' In the second example, Pan Geng is trying to cajole the Shang people into moving to Yin, and the tone of his whole speech is very threatening. The tone of the above quoted passage would perhaps be better captured in a less literal translation such as \"Surely you don't think I'm threatening you? I'm doing this for your own good!\" Pan Geng is trying to say \"I am not threatening you, I am persuading you\" (though he is of course threatening them). In spite of the Dai Kan-Wa Jiten's claim (7.1088 and 3.700) that both wM ^ and wei /lie can have the meaning odosu 'to threaten,' I have not been able to find an unambiguous example of wjsi -t?<_ in this usage. The most probable example given there 89 is perhaps the one from Liezi.Huangdi: ^ ^ . This could be understood as he neither threatens nor gets angry,1 but the interpretation 'fears' is not precluded. I think the context supports the meaning 'threaten,' as the passage is talking about how the sage does not manipulate or coerce people and yet they still do his bidding, and 'threatening' seems to be more appropriate to coercion than fear does. However, the ambiguity is still there. Graham, for example, translates \"He inspires no awe, he is never angry\" (1960:35), whereas Wilhelm translates \"Sie wissen nichts von Scheu und Zorn\" (1911:2). Apart from the uncertainty of the interpretation, the date and authenticity of the Liezi are also a problem, so it is not a good source for determining ancient usages. My conclusion is that the graph was originally devised to portray the concept denoted by the word a^i 'to threaten' (verb) or 'threateningness' (noun), but was also used for the qusheng derivative wj^ i 'to fear.' Later, the character -p<_ came to be used only for was borrowed for the word wei 'to threaten, threateningness.'1 Usage Unfortunately it occurs only as a person's name. J G W B 1071: xian 7CJ S.75.1x234 J W J 8.2809: xian 7 b According to SW (12b.3a) the primary meaning of wei is gu. 'husband's mother.' It consists of ni 'woman' signific and xu r% phonetic. Duan Yucai (12b.7b) suggests, in all seriousness, that the meaning 'awesomeness' is derived from the meaning 'mother-in-law.' 90 SW8b.4b: , ^ j£ jfej . kk )L , kk 2- .Y\\ ... Tr: Xian yC, means 'to advance.' It consists of )l> [= positional variant of rin K 'person'] and zhi 'to go.' Analysis Somewhat unusually, the SW analysis happens to be correct, though not terribly insightful. Xu Xuan tries to explain the relationship between the two elements by saying 'to go above people, this is to advance,' but this smacks of sophistry. Furthermore the bone graph sometimes simply has zhi tr / i t 'foot' on top. I think the basic idea may be something like 'to precede, to go on ahead,' and this is conveyed by 'foot' on top of 'person.' The foot is welded on top of the person as if it were his head, and this is probably a conscious piece of graph design. JGWB and JWJ also include ^ as a variant. This graph has sheng %. as the top element. L i Xiaoding claims that sheng I and zhi )£ I are often confused in OBI, but it seems odd that the same graph could be written with either sheng %. or zhi ^— • I believe Shima is correct in separating % , along with 7 , since it is used mostiy as a person/place name. ^ occurs quite clearly in the meaning 'first' or 'advance,' but never occurs in this meaning. ^ occurs in the inscription Bingbian 1.18, where Zhang Bingquan transcribes it as l|o. ^ in his kaoshi. Significantly, on the same plastron (inscription 1.17), we find xian . It occurs as the object of hub ) 'to capture,' and would appear to be the name of an alien tribe. The same plastron talks about attacking the Bu ^ , presumably also an alien tribe, and Professor Takashima has drawn my attention to the following Zuozhuan passage (HY 340/Zhao 1/3 Zuo), which Zhang Bingquan quotes (kaoshi p. 15): 91 Shang [had] its Seen and P'ei [i.e. tribes that caused them trouble].1 Bingbian 1.18, on the other hand, I would translate thus: Bingyin-day cracking, Zheng: Call on old Marquis Zhuan of Long to kill Pei. U s a g e In the meaning 'first' or 'advance,' but also the name of an alien tribe in Bingbian 1.17. 655 ^ . f S.107.1x58 661 \"J JGWB 1072 (all forms): jijn fj S.107.3x76 JWJ 8.2811: T , X =ji£n JWJ 8.2685: f (Jinghua 10.9) = gin [S. 107.2 lists as Jinghua 9.9] SW8b.5a: | , ^ ^ . /A >»L , Al g . & . . . Tr: Jian >^ 'to see' means shi 'to look.' It consists of [= positional variant of rin 'person'] and mn S 'eye.' iTranslation fromLegge 1861.5.2:577. 92 SW 8a. 15b: SWDZ 8a.42b: 9 t means @ {^i 'angry eyes confronting each other.' Hen . means ^ 14\" 'disobedient.' Tr: Gen 'perverse' means hen ^ f c 'disobedient.' [This is a punning definition.] The graph consists of bi t 'to line up' and nn± @ 'eye.' 'Lining up the eyes' is intended to portray the idea that the eyes are on the same level, the one neither higher nor lower than the other [i.e. in mutual opposition]. The Yijing says: \"Keeping his hips still.\"1 Notice how gen f but it is part of a person's name, so the context provides no support for this identification. O/NJWB does not have gen f^ L as an independent graph, but it may be found as an element in the bronze graph for xian ap. O/NJWB 1814/2321). Tang explains that the original meaning of gen was fangu 'to look behind.' However, this meaning is not attested. It occurs to me that the emphasis in the graph ^ is on the enlarged glaring pupil, which could convey a meaning like bin 'hate' or hgn 'fierce.' Cf. Duan Yucai's comment quoted above about 'angry eyes confronting each other.' Although he could not see the bone graph, his intuition may be right. On the other hand, perhaps it is simply the primary form of yan gg, 'eye,' as suggested to me by Professor Pulleyblank. The present graph is a very rare example of the standing and kneeling elements being interchangeable in the same grapheme. 'Looking' is an action that can be performed in a standing or a kneeling posture, but I think that the use of the kneeling figure in ^ was perhaps inspired by the usage 'see, visit (a superior),' which is attested in OBI: a v- , i & i : 4 * * . I 3- . - H ^However, as Professor Pulleyblank has suggested to me, if the words were close enough that gM could be phonetic in yM , it would still make sense to say that gen was originally the graph for van §8. and was a phonetic loan for the word & . 2JGWB misquotes the number as 2014. T \" f c ( 7 > £ : £ f c j E . ( 7 ) * L . S does not list this inscription under or under yi f | . 4Given in O/NJWB Fulu 2.30a.6/2.385 as an unidentified graph. 94 (Bingbian 124.15) Jiwei-day cracking, Que tested: Fou will perhaps come to see the king. First month. Other inscriptions suggest that Fou was probably the head of the Ji ^ / tribe (see Bingbian 302.1/2). I suppose that the status of the visitor did not have to be literally inferior to the visitee. The kneeling element may simply suggest the respect that traditionally the visitor has always shown to the visitee in Chinese culture. Shang Chengzuo (JWJ 8.2811) suggests that we compare jian ^ with wang ' /* 3i. ( S~ ), and this is indeed very instructive: jian ^ simply shows the eye looking forward, whereas wang 1 , according to the explanation proposed by Takashima (1989:114-117) shows the eye looking backwards, thus suggesting that it is looking for something that it cannot see (see discussion under next graph). Significantly, there is no * ^ : the kneeling position is not appropriate for conveying the idea of looking about. Usage Mainly in its primary meaning 'to see,' and extensions of this, but in some cases it may also be a person's name (especially the 'standing' form). 690 $ . V & 3 L & £ • (Jingjin 1347) Tested: It should not be the king himself who performs the wang sacrifice. *I am grateful to Professor Takashima for sending me a copy of this material before its publication. 97 (Buci 770) Tested: Perform the wang sacrifice to Mount Hua. 1 715 f JGWB 1403: 7u (notinSW) S.114.3xl JWJ 12.3550: %J (notinSW) SW 12a.8a: SWDZ 121.17a: [Explains the function of the d£ element with the pun 'the ear (££ 'gets' something.'] Tr: Ting ^ % means ling 'to hear.' It consists of gr 'ear' and d6 signifies fwhich I attempt to explain below!. with ting i~ phonetic. Analysis The graph consists of 'ear' on top of 'person.' L i Xiaoding does not identify it with a modern character, but comparison with jian / 'to see' suggests that it is the primary form of ting 3% 'to hear.' The present graph may be identified with the ~% portion of the modern character. The rin \\ element was phonetized to ting i . The 4 follow Guo Moruo's first identification of ^ , rather than his second as y j £ -jfj (see JWJ 9.2918-9). Guo identifies the ^ element as the SW (6a. 15b) character hui $ / .defined as 'two-bladed ploughshare.' Duan Yucai (SWDZ 6a.41b) points out that in the Fangyan (5/35/27) this word is written . It seems possible that, rather than depicting a two-bladed ploughshare, ^ is a stylized flower, i.e the bone form of Jmi , for which the SW (6b.3a) seal form is 98 addition of the d£ ^ element is mysterious, especially since the original meaning of d£ itself is a moot point. The 'heart' element suggests something to do with mental perception, cf. cong 'perceptive, intelligent' also contains it (the 'ear' element in this character is probably a later accretion). Duan Yucai is probably on the right track, and the de\" jg- element perhaps indicates 'perception,' which may be seen as the abstract correlate t o d l ^f- 'to get (physically).' D £ %• refers to a mental 'getting.' SW (lOb.lOb) defines it paronomastically as $Y ^ ^> A [ ^ ) -^f* tL 'outside getting from people and inside getting from self.' This definition is admittedly not very intelligible. Duan Yucai (10b.25a) says that refers to spiritual enrichment ( -If M\" h ^% ) while f^* ^ ^ A_ refers to largesse -fc MlP ^•f) / S ( r&\" ~J% )• 1 1 0 3 1 ^£ '•Vsr and d£ probably originally referred to the mental and physical aspects of the same basic notion of 'getting.' D £ / ' i f - , with the hand clutching at pecuniary wealth, clearly indicates a very physical, tangible kind of 'getting,' while the 'heart' signific in d£ indicates mental getting, i.e. perception. The verb 'get' in English also has both these meanings, e.g. 'get wealth' versus 'get a joke.' It seems probable that d£ 0 and me structural identification with the % part of ting J ! - . 801 S.136.2x2 Not in JGWB Not in JWJ 1 GSR 835d defines the pingsheng reading as 'hear' and the qusheng reading as 'listen to, acknowledge, obey.' The Guangyun gives the meaning ling 'hear1 to both readings, but to the qusheng reading gives the additional meanings dM 4^ 'wait' and m6u 'consult.' Wang Renxu (Long Yuchun 1968 edn.) only gives the definition ling to the pingsheng reading, and defines the qusheng reading as shenwen | ^ 'consult.' According to Long Yuchun (1968:555), the wen Itt^ in this definition is written with the character in another copy of Wang Renxu's Qieyun, but this does not seem to affect the meaning. 100 Analysis The graph consists of 'person' signific and jri£. ^ / phonetic. From the context, all one can deduce is that it is a verb (it occurs after jvit ^0 and al ^ ) • However, since 'human activity1 is the chief significance of the 'person' element, one might suggest that it represents the word jig 'connect, come in contact' (GSR 635e). 1847 p*j] JGWB 4174 (unidentified) S.273.3x62 JWJ 3.1063: ^ S W 3 b . l 7 b : ^ , J | JSU . U , kL % 'to do violence.' It consists of gu_ 'to hit' and Tr: Kou 7&> 'to rob' means bao ^ p_ $L wari 7 0 'completely.' Analysis In his commentary on SW, Xu Kai tries to explain how pu. ^_ 'hand holding stick' and wan 'complete' act together to represent the meaning 'rob.' However, as one can see from the bone graph, the original representation was of a person wielding a stick inside a house. Karlgren (GSR 111) lists the early meanings of kou jQj as 'to rob, robber, invader, bandit,' and I think that 'rob, robber' must be the primary meaning. Why else would a person be wielding a stick inside a house unless he were robbing it? Ye Yusen (JWJ 3.1065) says that the dots indicate the mess made by the robber (as he rummages for valuables, presumably). He also describes the evolution of the graph by 1Q1 reference to bronze forms, in which we find the 'hand holding stick' behind the 'person,' thus illustrating a person being attacked in his own home: (O/NJWB 427/533) In the earlier forms, such as the first example I list above, the 'person' is written j , but this evolves into yuan 70 in the later forms, as in the second example above. This is probably a phonetization (for the phonetic implications, see Pulleyblank 1963:208). NJWB 1230 lists a graph \\$L_h ) which it transcribes as '[% (not in SW), but this should probably also be identified as kou x£j . Usage It occurs in two main contexts: 1. In the expression Duo Kou % 'fjij , probably a military force comprised of convicts. 2. As sacrificial victims. Other inscriptions refer to zhi 4fy 'shackling,' \\^ I* %$Hj 'beheading (?),' sha ^ (It ) 'killing,' and ft 'amputating the feet of (?)' the k6u H> . These are clearly punishments, and suggests that k6u 73, refers to robbers who have been caught, i.e. convicts. The soft text term sikdu ^} for 'Minister of Crime' suggests that kou 7 & ^ ^ a v e m * s m o r e general meaning 'convict, criminal,' rather than just the specific meaning 'robber,' and the bronze graphs could perhaps be re-interpreted as showing *Not in OJWB. It would be between 997 and 998). 102 punishment being inflicted on a convict in a prison. In classical Chinese it is also used as a derogatory way of referring to enemy peoples. 2120 \\i JGWB 240: (notinSW) S.323.1x27 JWJ 2.609: xing ^ S W 2 b . l l a : ^ , >C £ j f i j & . >M , JX T • J% -SWDZ 2b. 18a: Bu ^ means xing fa 'to walk' and qu means zou ^ 'to run. Together they refer to going by foot in general. Tr: Xing ^ refers to a person's walking and running. It consists of chi 1 ^ 'small paces' and chu 2 X 'stopping in ones's tracks.' Analysis L i Xiaoding includes the graphs \\ \"\\\\ and ^ \"\\ as variants of xing ^ / ^ J \" . They differ in that a 'person' element is added, and in the present graph the xing ^ element is also abbreviated. His classification seems reasonable on graphic grounds. He makes the interesting distinction that ^r- is the noun hdng 'road,' while , which shows a person walking along the road, is the verb xing 'to go.' Xing differs from hang in having an *-r- infix: harig -yaan. < * g a n , xing -jra rj n. < * g ran . . However, it is hard to tell ^his pronunciation is based on the Tangyun reading Jji \"tJ) given at SW 2b.8b. The Guangyun reading is the same (see Shen 1960:361). 2This pronunciation is based on Xu Shen's sound gloss 'read like c M ^ ' (SW 2b. 10b). The Tangyun reading given there is \"Q* - i-* \"t/0 , and the Guangyun reading is the same (see Shen 1960:361). 103 from the inscriptions how . SWDZ 8a.34b: [Quotes various classical commentaries to show that ji ^ 'to strike' is the primary meaning, and that zhengfa' ^iE. 4\\ 'to attack (in war)' is an extended meaning.] The Gongyang commentary says: \"In the Chunqiu, the word fa 4\\ is used both of the attacker and the attacked-how can this be? When it refers to the attacker, it is read long. When it refers to the attacked, it is read short. This is Qi dialect.\" The present 105 rusheng reading is the short reading...while the qusheng reading [in certain places in the Zhouli ] is the long reading.1 Tr: F i /[% means ji ^ 'to strike.' It consists of 'person' holding 'spear.' One source defines it as hM I^ C 'to defeat.' Analysis SW analyses the seal graph as a person holding a spear, but the bone graph shows that originally it depicted a person with a spear running through the neck. It thus depicts the act of striking an enemy dead. The second definition given in SW is ambiguous, since with a voiceless initial means 'to defeat' but with a voiced initial means 'to be defeated.' I have assumed for the sake of argument that Xu Shen intended the active meaning. Note on Graphic Evolution Of the 26 bronze forms at NJWB 1352 (21 at OJWB 1096), only one is like the seal form in having the'person'separated from the'spear,'thus: ( \\§j | § >^JE ) . So this is quite a late development (a) To attack (an enemy tribe) (b) To decapitate (as a sacrificial act)2 A type of sacrificial victim ('decapiturus') Usage Verb: Noun: 1The Guangyun only gives a r&sheng reading, but see Lu Deming (Pan Chonggui 1983.2:2020). 2In the past, some scholars (e.g. Shang Chengzuo, ap. JWJ 8.2661; Shima 1958:335) argued that 4j£ referred to a kind of dance, since they could not believe (in spite of the archaeological evidence) that the Shang would be so barbaric as to perform human sacrifice on such a large scale. 106 The Shang perhaps performed gu6 'decapitation' on their enemies in battle, and this would be how the word f& 4\"x] 'strike' also came to acquire the specialized meaning 'decapitate.' It is this specialized meaning that the bone graph depicts. JGWB 4388 (unidentified) S.465.1x2 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph clearly shows a person poling a boat, but it is not known what later character it corresponds to. This pictograph may have been replaced by a phonetic compound character, but it is hard to determine which one. Professor Takashima has suggested cao > e 'to row,' and semantically this seems like a good candidate. The meaning 'go by boat' fits well into the OBI context. The present graph is most likely a variant of J). (JGWB 4389, unidentified; S.465.1). This is one of the few examples of rin ^ and dji ^ alternating in the same graph. It is not clear to me why the frontal view was felt to be appropriate in this variant. Usage It probably means 'to go by boat.' 107 Section iii: Body Part In a small number of graphs, an element is added to the 'person' element to indicate the part of the body where it is added. This element may be simply a circle, or it may be a phonetic hint, or it may actually depict the body part. 108 25 | JGWB 4259 (unidentified) S. 10.4x9 JWJ 8.2747: Jan j% SW 8a.27a: jj , { U - W M 7 \\ H . f | : & ^ M , SWDZ 8a.71b: Ii 7T means xiaji ~p ^ 'base, support:' the buttocks are the base of a person. Inji tfL JL is like saying zu6 yu chuang Ty* rf^- 'sitting on a board.'... In the variant j ^ - , sun is phonetic. Tr: Tun 7^ 'buttocks' means bj. '|f !^ 'haunches.' It consists of shi f* [described at SW 8a.26b as 'depicting a person lying down,' but I think it shows a person sitting], with ji 7T 'base' underneath situated on top of ji / L 'stool.' is also written with r£y, 'meat' signific and sin %• . $ : iin is also written with gi 'bone' signific and dian phonetic. Analysis The graph consists of 'person' with a circle added to indicate the site of the fundament. JGWB also includes a form ^ (Yibian 5839, not in S), but the circle is on the knee here, so perhaps this graph should rather be identified as xi 'knee,' as Tsung-tung Chang (1970:110, n.l) proposes. The seal form is somewhat more complicated: the fundament has been distorted into (or replaced by?) j i T\\ 'base' (probably the original pictograph for ji ^ ) and a stool has been added underneath (rather thoughtfully) for the person to rest his fundament on. The modern character is usually written . Note also the derived qusheng word dian 'the rear (of an army).' Usage 109 L i Xiaoding says that it is used only as a person's name, and I think this is probably correct, e.g. (Bingbian 175.1) ...yin-day cracking, Dun tested: Tun will perhaps have illness. This is unlikely to refer to an attack of piles, which one would expect in OBI to be phrased something like jL ^ $~ jfc 'the king has an afflicted fundament.' At S.447.2-449.4 there are no examples of 'body-part ^ 4~ only 'person ^ f~ .' Not in JGWB S.10.4xl Not in JWJ Analysis The graph shows a person with a circle behind the neck and a bar across the leg. The sole inscription reads: (Kufang 283) As for the sick ^ , exorcize it to Ancestress Ji and Ancestress Geng. 110 So it is obviously a body part. By analogy with the preceding graph, we may safely conclude that the circle on the neck indicates the part of the body in question. One could tentatively suggest the translation 'neck.' The bar on the leg is a mystery. Perhaps it indicates qian T \" . It is hard to say why it should incorporate this element. It could be a phonetic hint, though of course we do not know how the graph was pronounced. Note however that this inscription is from a traced collection, so its transcription may not be entirely accurate. JGWB 1049: wii S.27.4xl Not in JWJ SW Sb.la: , flfc^. JUL t\\ 4 £ f fa . - £ L & fa % j £ , , 8? % K * f£ • K ... Tr: Wei 'tail' means j££i ' m £ 'slender.' It consists of mdo 'hair' upside down [in the seal form, it is upside down] behind sju ['body']. The ancients sometimes sported an ornamental tail, and the barbarians of the south-west still do to this day. JWJ overlooks this graph, which only occurs once, but it is unmistakeably wei , as JGWB has it. It is perhaps somewhat tendentious of me to include this graph in my section on 'human body parts.' As to why the creators of this script decided to depict the tail on a human being, one reason may have been that, if the tail had been depicted on an animal, since animals naturally have tails, it would have been hard to indicate that this was the focus of the graph, whereas when it is depicted hanging from a human being, it I l l immediately seizes ones attention, due to its unexpectedness, and thus there is no doubt where the focus of the graph lies. However, Xu Shen's explanation gives us another insight. Compare the graph pj± / jljt (I.l.i.a.2645), where I concluded that the tail indicates that the people the Shang used as domestic slaves were captured from some tribe which had the custom of wearing tails. The present graph occurs in the expression youwei ^ ^ , which may perhaps be understood as youweizhe ^jf fk^ 'the tailed ones.'1 The inscription reads as follows: Following a suggestion from Professor Takashima, I have understood Tu chu as meaning 'chu of the Tu tribe,' with chu perhaps referring to the soldiers or fighting men of that tribe. This fits in better with the 'capturing' context than Qu Wanli's interpretation in his kaoshi as 'foragers,' and supports the interpretation of youwei as a similar kind of alien tribe. 1 Although the common nominalization markers of classical Chinese zh& ~7& and su6 do not occur in OBI, Takashima (1984) has argued convincingly that unmarked nominalizations of a semantically comparable nature must be recognized in the inscriptional language. His proposals on this subject have enabled one to deal with many inscriptions that were previously hard to make sense of. The present case, where we have two verbs in succession, is a prime example, and we can make sense of this structure by interpreting the second verb as nominalized or as part of a nominal expression. 2Shima's transcription (S.27.4) makes this graph look like y6ng $1 . The rubbing is hard to make out at this point, but in the corresponding duizhen inscription on this shell the graph appears more clearly as (Yibian 4293) Jimao-day (16th) cracking, Dun ( J§ ?) tested: \"Zhe will capture the Tu C M from Qiang (?).\" The king prognosticated, saying: \"Perhaps it will be bingxu-day (23rd). The capturing of the youwei will perhaps be on the xin-day (i.e. xinsi, 18th?).\" (Divined at) Bin (?). . At any rate, in the present inscription it is a person's name. 112 2775 tH Not in JGWB S.420.1xl Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of 'person' and dp > which is the form of zhong *H / ^ that occurs in ancestral titles in OBI. It is probably phonetic in the present graph. The context strongly suggests that it refers to a part of the body: r£ * Y : E & f t * , * . (Yibian 5405) Wuwu-day cracking: Shi tripped and (caused-to-be-sick:) damaged her , it will not become an affliction. My interpretation of Shi as referring to a woman is based on a related inscription on the same shell which refers to her as Shi Fu TQ. (fp 'the Shi Lady.' The interpretation of the graph ^ as 'trip' is based on another inscription, Jinghua 1 (see S. 178.4), where the context strongly supports this meaning. Graphic analysis provides corroboration, as the graph consists of ^ 'steps' and ^ 'person with foot emphasized,' thus representing the idea of tripping down steps. 113 2838 >^*j JGWB 4444 (unidentified) S.434.3x2 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of qian j I $1. (or ji ?), representing a person with the mouth open, and ^ * , which is perhaps dong $ / on its side with an additional sheng / %. 'plant' element. *b*r i s probably a phonetic element, but its positioning before the mouth could be intended to suggest that it refers to a body part in that area. The graph occurs after ni ^ ~ 'sick' in both its inscriptions (Cuibian 1266 and 1267), so there is no doubt that it refers to a body part, perhaps the throat. 2840 JGWB 4287 (unidentified) S.434.4x2 Not in JWJ Analysis This graph consists of 'person' with what appears to be dong $ / laid on its side, and as in the previous example it probably acts as phonetic. The fact that the phonetic element is attached to the foot of the figure could also be significant, i.e. the graph could represent the word zhong {FJF 'heel,' for example. Unfortunately the graph occurs entirely without context, so there is no way of corroborating this, but this is the direction in which graphic analysis would lead us. 114 Section iv: Miscellaneous In this section I give a couple of examples of graphs which do not fit into the preceding three categories. These are the graphs for niao Jjk liquid waste' and sJii %. 'solid waste.' If they are regarded primarily as verbs, then they could be classified under 'human actions,' but if they are regarded as nouns, then the \\ element simply signifies that the product is associated with, or conceived of primarily as being associated with, humans. I include this miscellaneous section in order to show that not all graphs containing \\ as signific can be fitted into the three preceding categories. 115 9 ;{ . \\i JGWB 4262, 4263 (unidentified) S.5.4x8 JWJ 8.2755: niao '% ( jjL ) SW 8b. lb: / § , A ' V 4£ J&>. H JL , & &~ . SWDZ 8b.3a: Often written in old books [this is the only form given in GSR, 1123d]. Tr: Niao ML 'urinate' refers to a person's small convenience. It consists of wgi M^, 'tail' and shui water. Analysis In the SW seal version the body has been corrupted, curiously enough, into wei 'tail',1 while the urine has been standardized as shui ^rC 'water.' However the bone graph, as you can see, simply depicts a person urinating. Usage To all intents and purposes it seems to be used in its original meaning, as part of various rites. However, the lack of context makes it hard to be sure of one's interpretation. 10 S.6.1xl6 | v JGWB 1011: 4')N (not in SW), 4342 (unidentified) JWJ 8.2751: shi 116 SW lb.22a: g| , £ j & . >U ¥\"H , | ' | . SWDZ lb.47b: In the Zuozhuan and S/u/i, this word is written with the character sju [whose primary meaning is 'arrow']. Tr: SM \\% 'faeces' means f£n \"ft 'manure.' It consists of cao V f 'grass' and wei ^ 'stomach' abbreviated. The Yupian says that shi |fj is commonly written shi yjjl . Analysis As L i Xiaoding points out, SW overlooks the character shi , only giving the character shi |^ ) for this word,1 which is a semantic compound of 'grass' and 'stomach,' suggesting plant matter being processed through the stomach. There is no need to regard the stomach as abbreviated, since H§ is probably the primary form of 3 , with the r6u l A J 'meat' element being added later as an auxiliary signific. Cf. wei Ja (= hui '|^ , SW 9b. 16a, head form of wei * B 'hedgehog') contains IS) as phonetic. However, the character sM must have existed in Xu Shen's time, since it existed in OBI, and has survived all the way down to the present. This shows that the SW is not entirely reliable for determining the antiquity of a given character, since there are indeed some important omissions, as various commentators have noted. The bone graph shows a person passing solid waste. In the modern character, the 'standing person' has been modified to shi f1 , while the waste matter has been standardized as m£ %~ 'rice.' Compare how the urine was standardized to shui 'water' in the preceding graph. Note also that shi ^ Qi < could also serve as phonetic (it differs from shi c i furiously, however, SW (2b.4a) gives the seal graph /f^ as the 'old form' of si 'move towards.' This seal graph is clearly the character shi , with the apparent huo element probably derived from the faecal dots of the bone graph and M 'rice' added. The connection with xi must have been made on phonetic grounds. 117 < * + 8 j ' only in tone), and indeed Karlgren puts sju Jp; in his sju f phonetic series (GSR 561d). Further evidence that the non-occurrence of sbi ^ in SW is merely an oversight is provided by the fact that it occurs in the Shijing, though not in its original meaning but as a loan for a word xi 'to groan,' for which the SW form is (2a. 13a). The Shijing line (HY 66/254/5) reads: \"The people are now groaning.\" Usage Used in its original meaning. In connection with tian ffl 'field,' it probably refers to muckspreading,1 e.g. jkjH...i:% » % tS ,ta * • + (Xucun 2.166) Gengchen-day...tested: If next guiwei-day we manure the West Dan fields, we will receive abundant harvest. Thirteenth month. Note on both the graphs in this section In modern Chinese, niao is used both as a verb and as a noun, whereas sju Jp. is only used as a noun (the verb being expressed as lashi ). The fact that niao is a qiisheng word suggests that it is a derived form, and thus that the noun and !See Hu Houxuan 1955. 118 the verb may originally have had different readings, though only the qusheng reading survives (as a noun, it has the alternative modern pingsheng reading sjii, but this reading is not found in the Guangyun or the rhyme tables, and anyway does not seem to be etymologically related to niao). The alternative writing with / | f , which otherwise stands for ni n e j k 'drown,' suggests that there may have been a rusheng reading. One would expect the rusheng reading to be the verb, and the qusheng reading to be the noun. Since niao now only has a qusheng reading, this is only a speculation, but the fact that it has both nominal and verbal usages, whereas the non-qusheng word shi JP> has only a nominal usage, could be seen as lending support to this speculation. In the above quoted inscription (Xucun 2.166), sjhi ip. is a noun used as a verb: it does not mean 'to pass solid waste' but 'to manure.' However, I do not think there is any need to try and force these two words into a verbal mould in order to account for the significance of the \\ element. It is simpler to recognize this element here as just indicating 'something to do with people.' 119 Section v: Phonetic 120 13 \\ etc. JGWB 273: gjan ^ (for compounds, see 2182-2187) S.6.1x61 ( \\ x30, \\ x l , \\ x24, ^ x5, >^ xl*) JWJ 3.721: ojan ^ SW3a.3b: ^ , T I ^ • ^ + > ^ l • SWDZ 3a.6a: [Reads A ^ 'rin A is phonetic.'] Tr: Oian ^r- 'thousand' means 'ten hundreds.' It consists of sbJ -f- 'ten' and rin J^. 'person.' Analysis Karlgren (GSR 365a) says: \"The graph has 'man' with a stroke on one leg. Explanation uncertain.\" However, the Duan Yucai text of SW analyses rin as phonetic, and L i Xiaoding agrees with this. It is true that the initials seem somewhat disparate, but they are in the same OC rhyme (rin A n i n < * n s j i , qian 4\" ts 'en < *ts'g n), so it seems most likely that rin ^ is at least a phonetic hint.2 At the time that the inventors of the Chinese script first came to write down the word for 'thousand,' rin A was perhaps the nearest phonetic they could find. The bar across the leg is not 'ten,' as SW has it, but 'one,' and indicates 'one numerical unit' (cf. the bar on top of Mi ~E 'hundred'). This bar came to be a permanent part of the character, but in OBI other numerals can be superimposed to indicate higher multiples. Although S only has erqian \"T\" , sanqian ^~ \\ and wuqian $~ 4\" , JGWB also has one instance each of 1This graph probably has nothing to do with qian -f\" • I* occurs on Zhuihe 261 as the name of the north quarter. See Hu Houxuan 1956. 2Professor Pulleyblank has reminded me that the possibility of an *sn- cluster should be mentioned. Pulleyblank (1962:133) hyothesized the development *snh > *sth > *tsh, i.e. denasalization followed by metathesis. Further support that he provides for this kind of development is the phonetic role of £i — n i h in c l 'jlZ t s ' i h and Tibeto-Burman words for'seven' (Chinese gi \"t t s ' i t ) with initial sn-. 121 siqian rrp ^ > liuqian T \\ f^- and baqian J V 4\" , and it is quite likely that qiqian -fc_ 4\" and jiuqian -f\\i ^~ also existed. Compare the multiples of bai \"§\" 'hundred' (JGWB 485, 2175-2181). Even in OBI the higher multiples are sometimes written analytically. S records sanqian = ^ (Qianbian 7.24.2), wuqian ^- £ (Houbian 1.31.5. mistakenly recorded in S as 1.31.6). and erqian = £ (Liulu.Shu 81). These analytical forms are however quite rare. Usage Mostly in deng ren inscriptions, i.e. conscripting so many thousands of people for military purposes. 1282 ^ JGWB 876: ruin i f S. 194.2x530 (excluding ^ ^ ) JWJ 7.2365: niin i f SW7a.l8a: ^ , f£ %\\ U , 4 # . & 41 # & : £ ^ Tr: Nian i f means 'the grain is ripe.' It consists of h£ 'cereal' signific and qian phonetic. The Chunqiu says: \"There was a bumper harvest.\"1 Analysis 207/Xuan 16/4 Jing. Legge (1861.5.1:330) translates: \"There was a very plentiful year.\" I have given my own translation in order to harmonize it with the SW definition. 122 Ren A , qian 4\" a*\"* m a \" if- are all in O C zhen )@_ rhyme. According to S W, ren A is phonetic in qian -f\" (in the Duan Yucai edition), and qian T is phonetic in injn if- . In OBI, njin if- simply has rin phonetic. There are no examples with qian \"f\" , until the bronze script, where we find that out of 141 examples at NJWB 1164,1 approximately 28 (some forms are ambiguous) have qian -f\" ( m 12 of these instances a further line is added at the bottom, so that the lower element actually looks like ting -i- ). From the point of view of the initials, rin is clearly much closer to nian 5f than qian T is. so the replacement of ren phonetic by qian T phonetic is mysterious. L i Xiaoding explains the bronze form of qian \"T\" , along with that of rin i ( I > 5 ), by saying that 'in ancient characters a horizontal stroke is often added, but it is of no significance' ( ^ >C % 4r\\ %. )• He appears to be saying that the apparent qian -f\" element in nian 5^ - is not really qian -f\" , but simply rin A with a stroke through it (i.e. it evolved into qian -f\" unintentionally, and the further evolution into ting JL. is certainly hard to explain any other way). I have an idea that perhaps the bar applies, not to the rin alone, but to the whole character, i.e. indicating 'one' year, just as in qian \\ and bji I^ J the bar indicates 'one numerical unit.' The coincidence with qian 4~ would thus be unintentional. The hi x^L element is always written on top of the rin A - element, so Ye Yusen's suggestion that the graph depicts a person carrying the harvest on his back probably has some validity. The suggestive use of phonetic elements is very widespread in the Shang script. Usage iQJWB 941 has 117 examples, of which about 20 have qian 4\" 123 In OBI, nian jif- is nearly always used to mean 'harvest,' hardly ever 'year'1 (for which §1 'ritual cycle' and sui ^ 'Jovian period'2 are used), but in Zhou bronzes it is commonly used for 'year.' ^ o r the few examples, see Hu Houxuan 1942 (rp. in 1944) and 1987. 2See Pankenier 1983. 124 Part 2 The graph shen ^ / % depicts the human body with the abdomen emphasized, and occurs in a few graphs denoting words that have some connection with this part of the body. 125 16 ^ JGWB 3345 (unidentified) S.6.4x13 JWJ 8.2719: shen SW8a.l8a: , & . fa k. *~ & . & ^ , 1 *f% . K ... SWDZ 8a.47b: The phonetic is really shen ty abbreviated. Y i / cannot be phonetic because it is in the sixteenth rhyme category [i.e. ji *T* ] while shen -TT is in the twelfth [i.e. zhen IJ| ]. Tr: Shen Jj' means gong 'body.' It depicts a person's body. It consists of r in 'person' signific and yi ) phonetic. The quibble over whether shen ^ contains y i f or shen ty phonetic is irrelevant since the character is simply a pictograph in origin, and I am surprised that Duan did not realise this.1 Analysis L i Xiaoding is of the opinion that the present graph depicts a pregnant person. But really, Y is like jian % I iL , win *f / 1*9 , ai i / etc., in having the focal point emphasized. Compare yun ^ / ^ (no. 19 in this Part) which shows someone who really is pregnant. 'Body' is the usual meaning of shen ^ , and the expression you shen ~^r\\ 'have body' is probably just an idiom in origin to express the idea of pregnancy. Thus Li's surmise that the OBI expression ni shen refers to ^he seal form of shen !J3 is ^ , the 'old form' is ^ , and the zhduwen form is ^ (SW 14b.15a). Professor Takashima has pointed out to me that shen and shen ty are homophonous (both pin<*+ep), and that many pictographs do contain endomorphic phonetics. Thus although the bone form of shen Jj' does not contain the bone form of shen £^ , which is ^ (see JGWB 1708), it is quite possible that the graph developed in such a way that the seal form came to have shen ty incorporated as an endomorphic phonetic. 126 complications in pregnancy must be dismissed, especially in view of the fact that it is used of males (indeed, there are no definite references to females): •fct (Yibian 7797) Tested: The king's sick body is due to Ancestress Ji's curse. Usage In its original meaning 'body.' JGWB 3599 (unidentified) S.6.4x2 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of shen 'body' and ydu t / yL 'hand.* Both examples occur in the expression , so it would seem to be a variant of shen , though the addition of the hand is mysterious. 19 ^ S.7.1xl JGWB 1695: yjjn % 127 JWJ 14.4315: yun ^ SW 14b.l2a: ^ , ] £ J!L . M £ , AA / b . SWDZ 14b.24b: [Emends c6ng ji IX J L to nai sheng ft ^ ' n i l $ i s phonetic.'] Tr: Yun ^ 'pregnant' means 'to contain a child within one.' It consists of z£ ?r 'child'and j i Jb 'stool.' Analysis The graph shows a woman bearing a child in her womb (a sort of X-ray picture), thus illustrating the meaning 'pregnant.' L i Xiaoding readily recognizes that the bone graph does not contain nji , and yet he approves of Duan's emendation to SW making this the phonetic. Karlgren also recognizes nM as phonetic (GSR 945j). To be accurate, one should say that the original shen ^ element was either corrupted to (or perhaps replaced by?) nai X5 as a phonetization. Usage It is used in its original meaning, in the sole inscription: it i : k § %> & C 'fine' (*mal).\" The gist of the present definition is that the abdomen was named for its thickness. The Shiming[.Shi xingti] says: \"Fu Hg. 'abdomen' (*pekw) means ft ) >fe * y.A * #9 f ft (Shang Zhou kaogu, p. 101) The coffin chambers were all more or less oblong. In the tomb at Hougang, M32, traces of the wooden outer coffin were quite well preserved, and consisted of timbers forming a pattern like the character jing $~ , just like the so-called 'well-frame coffins' often found in Zhou tombs. The Yili. Shisangli says: Jf% \"having framed the coffin.\"1 The commentary to this reads: \"When the carptenter makes the outer coffin, he cuts the wood, and constructs it outside the funeral booth in a shape like the character jing .\" The Yili zhengyi quotes a scholar named Chu Yinliang as saying: '\"Well-frame construction' means that the beams of the outer coffin are placed two lengthways and two breadthways, piling them up alternately and successively, in the shape of the character jing .\" In some of the small size tombs, it was also found that the guan 'inner coffin' had been supported by two transverse lengths of wood, which happened to be directly under the shoulders and calves of the occupant. The inner coffin having rotted away, this now Steele (1917.11:74, % 18a) translates \"When the outer coffin has been brought to the door,\" as if jing 4$ meant 'bring to the door.' I do not see how he gets this interpretation. 136 gives the spit and image of the bone graph , and this is perhaps what the graph is intended to represent, rather than a person inside a coffin. A burial of the Warring States period excavated at Huairoucheng in the Peking area exhibits exactly me same thing.1 For convenience I reproduce both below: (Shang Zhou kaogu, p.105, fig. 80)2 (Zheng Liangshu 1971:234, fig. 48) In the variant I , the dots perhaps represent earth thrown onto the coffin. In view of the above archaeological information, I shall describe the !Jlf\" element in the present graph as a 'mortuary frame.' I do not know what its function was, but since it is depicted in the graph for 'die' it was clearly a conspicuous part of the funeral paraphernalia. Usage Always used in the meaning 'die.' 1 Though curiously the author here makes no comment on the crossbars beneath the skeleton's shoulders and calves. 2The photograph on which this drawing is based may be found at Ma Dezhi 1955, Plate 1. 137 JGWB 848: si ,4322 (unidentified) JGWB 907 si A% JWJ 7.2436: (both forms) si SW7b.5b: (fa, ± . M ^ , >ffi f . , * * L . Tr: Su >fi§ means zhi 'to stay.' It consists of mian ^ 'roof signific and sji phonetic, is the old form of si Analysis Graph 2026 shows a person lying on a mat. L i Xiaoding (JWJ 3.689) identifies the mat with the SW (3a.2a) character tian1 t § , and says it is the old form of dian 2 (SW 5a.3b) 'bamboo mat.' Graph 2027 has a roof added, thus underlining the idea of 'passing a night' in a building. SW maintains that is the old form of si . This would seem to be a guess based on the fact that they are homophonous, but it is undoubtedly correct to treat as a variant of si tf& , as L i Xiaoding does. JGWB follows SW, and also includes ^} (my III.l.i.2028) but, as L i Xiaoding notes, this shows a person sitting, not lying, on a mat, and its OBI context is also different. Usage ^he Guangyun gives this character two readings, f^jfe^ L. tV t ' 3 m h > t i n and 4$L> -bfl t 'em h >ti ia . 2Guangyun f\\JL 5& -£77 dem'. {I 2026 S.301.1x6 2027 S.301.1xl0 138 Probably in its original meaning 'pass the night,' but the context is rather limited. 2917 JGWB 964: ni j~ S.447.2x435 JWJ 7.2515: ni $~ SW7b.l la: | \" , 'a sickness of the small stomach,' and that this explains the variant ^ fj in which the stomach is drawn in. He says that the 'hand' element is not only phonetic, but also represents the idea of stroking the sick stomach to soothe it. However, you and zhou have quite different meanings (if one accepts their SW definitions), and they are phonetically too far apart, having both different initials and finals in OC. Usage Mostly a person's name, but could refer to a sickness in the following inscriptions: (Yibian 2340) Tested: Sick body (7) 1 improve. m Jg. K . m. i : ' f -fc A & % . {Jiabian 2040) Bingchen-day cracking, Que tested: Lady Hao's sickness will continue to improve. In view of the uncertainties, I have refrained from being specific about what sort of sickness it was. However, the present graph is a good example of the heuristic application of the present theory of graphic analysis. Even though there is some dispute about the ^ee 1.2.17 for the interpretation of this graph. 143 identification of the present graph, we are able to predict from the human figure element lying on a bed that it will probably have something to do with sickness, and this is corroborated by those inscriptions in which it is used in its primary meaning (as indeed one can often guess the general meaning of modern characters one does not know from their radicals). Thus although it is nearly always used as a person's name, we can be quite confident in regarding this as a loan usage. 2926 S.450.3xl47 2927 .^ 'B S.451.2xl3 2929 . fP S.451.3xl2 2930 S.451.3x7 JGWB 962: meng JGWB 861: rt)ru (not in SW) JGWB 962: ming J j ^ JWJ 7.2509: SW7b.l0a:|>wt , jtf M % A> . ... ffl %% ik 8 H E m. £ ^ $ 2_ £ & 0 4k * SWDZ 7b.24b: phonetic and signific. . ^ ... Now written ^ . ^ means burning >JN 8$ 'dark,' so it is both >x ^ tl 144 Tr: Meng jffi 'dream' means 'to sleep and have sensations.' It consists of mi an ^ 'roof,' ni i 'recline,'1 and meng rf is phonetic. The Zhouli [says:] \"Par les positions du soleil, de la lune, des planetes, il devine les presages heureux ou malheureux des six sortes de songes. Ces six sortes de songes sont: lo les songes rdguliers; 2o les songes terribles; 3o les songes de rdflexion; 4o les songes de veille; 5o les beaux songes; 60 les songes de crainte.\"2 Analysis The OBI context shows that graph 2926 *j ^ must be a variant of graph 2930 meng / 'dream.' It is by far the commonest form, and L i Xiaoding says that it is an abbreviation of the latter, the head part being abbreviated and distorted. However, it is a rather curious abbreviation. ^ is probably the original form, and the dishevelled hair ^ suggests a person in the throes of a nightmare. Compare wei ^ / 7=L (^nk*. ) 3 (example from Fuyin.za 58), which shows the hair of the head all pointing in the same direction, and mgi ft*/ M (example from Yinxu 1854), which shows the hairs of the eyebrow all pointing in the same direction. |^ may thus be interpreted as showing the hair pointing in different directions, i.e. dishevelled. Compare also dou 4 (example from Yibian 7119), which shows two people fighting. In this example, the hair of the person on the left is particularly wild. In ru6 %r?l I (example from Jiabian 205), the hair seems to be smoother and more orderly. ^ The variant 2927 appears to contain hjL ^ / Jfi, 'tiger'-I have no explanation for this at present. The variant 2929 f^J appears to contain jian *As we have already seen, SW defines ni both as 'recline' and 'sick, but analysis of its use as signific, compared to that of n , shows that it only means 'sick.' However, I have glossed it as 'recline' here, because I feel that this is the meaning that Xu Shen intended. The meaning 'sick' does not seem to be so relevant to dreaming. 2 H Y 6/28b. Translation from Biot 1851.11.82 (XXIV.27). 3See 1.7.36. 4See 1.4.98. 145 ^ I Wi 'see'-this can be interpreted as representing the fact that in dreaming one seems to see things: visions float before one's inner eye. The final variant, 2930 , has the eye elaborated by a brow, and it is from this form that the modern character develops. The eyebrow, m6i @^ , is perhaps intended as a phonetic hint, since it has the same initial as meng ^ m u w n. h<*m9n . s . This element ^ is also found in mie ^ / ^ (S.212.1) met < *m jat. where it probably stands for m& \"l m i < * m a j a s phonetic. In view of the phonetic value of m6i % , Sun Haibo (ap. JWJ) suggests that , which he transcribes as , should be identified with the SW character mi #J , which is defined at SW 7b. 10b as 'not enough sleep.' However, the meaning in the OBI context has to be 'dream.' The reason why m6i @^ is not a very accurate phonetic in meng ^ is perhaps that it was not planned as the phonetic in this character, but came about through a modification of what was originally a signific element, i.e. it is a phonetization. Note however that appears to be ^ & & phonetic in characters like meng rp* , meng /g\"* , m6ng ^ , mang /j-f^ and hong & -&£ y£j . This is perhaps by analogy with the character meng . Usage In its original meaning 'dream.' 2931 f)^ JGWB 2101: meng a % #L S.451.3x3 JWJ 7.2509: ming a % • Analysis 146 JGWB and JWJ both analyse the present graph as a h6w6n ^ >C of meng and fu. ;C_ . This would seem to imply that it is an ancestral title, 'the Meng Father,' whoever that may be. Ding Shan (JWJ 7.2513) identifies him as the sage Fu Yue »TL > whom Wu Ding was led to by a dream and thus might have been given the title 'Dream Father'-an interesting suggestion, but impossible in the OBI context (Ding makes the context seem more appropriate by misinterpreting you \\jd I ^ as zhi X . and shai | L / 1 as mji ^< ). In the context it seems best to interpret it as some kind of oneiric omen, e.g. a nightmare. It may be transcribed * f^c . The fullest inscription in which it occurs is the following: Oracle bone specialists, following Sun Yirang (JWJ 9.2997), usually transcribe this graph as >^ , which SW(9b.l5b) defines as'a long-haired beast* ( ^ JIfc ) or the word for'pig'(sM ) in the Henei area, and says is read like di ^ (the Guangyun actually gives two readings: ^ \\ \"fcfl dej h > d i and % ~§~ j i h > yj). If this is correct, then the OBI usage must be a rebus for something. It occurs both as a noun and a verb, and contextually the translation 'a curse, to curse' seems to make good sense. Although the graph does not look very animal like, one may compare it to qM 'to seek,' the primary from of gnu. 'fur clothing,' probably depicting a pelt (JWJ 8.2733). (The theory of graphic analysis used in this thesis would lead us to look for a common symbolism for the ^ element in shai ^ and gju ^ . If one can recognize the same element in wei , then perhaps it is the stylized drawing of a tail.) Guo Moruo (JWJ 9.2998) accepts this identification, but also notes that the graph is very similar to the graph ^ which SW (3b. 13b) gives as one of the 'old forms' of sha~shai ? e r t ~ § e r j h < *srat~srats, and also to ^ , the bronze form of the phonetically similar cM ts'aj h<*ts'ats. I think ^ may have evolved into the TjO element of gha. , which in the seal from is written ffv , but the meaning 'kill' does not seem appropriate to the OBI context, so I read it sak, in which reading Lu Deming defines it as hM 'to harm' (see Pan Chonggui 1983.2:1606). The OBI usage should perhaps be understood as 'harm, to harm.' However, I still feel that there are some problems with the identification of this graph which would require a full separate study. 147 % *\\ H 1 • ¥ $ fc. * *. fir . (Tongiuan 430 = Jinghua 6) Guichou-day (50th) cracking, Zheng tested: \"In the next ten days there will be no misfortune.\" The king prognosticated, saying: \"There is a curse, (I?) had 2 a nightmare (?).\" On jiayin-day (51st) there was indeed a coming trouble-report.3 Zuo reported, saying: \"There were Tu chu from Y i , (numbering) twelve persons.\" Since both meng ^ and fu. have phonetic series (GSR 902 and 102), it is not certain in the present graph which is signific and which is phonetic. However, Xu Shen did not set up fu A . as a radical (he classifies it under y6u at SW 3b.8b), and the Kangxi dictionary, though setting it up as a radical, is only able to offer under it colloquial terms for 'father,' plus a few rare characters, so perhaps fu. was not used as a signific till after the Han dynasty, though the lack of dictionaries for Han and earlier times makes this conclusion tentative. The Fangyan does not have any characters with fu as signific, though there must have been different expressions for 'father' in different dialects at that time. It seems most reasonable to assume then that in the present bone graph, the meng element is signific and the fu. element is phonetic. Guo Moruo makes the same assumption, in his commentary on the above cited inscription, when he suggests that it is a complex form of fu ^ . SW (7b. 11a) simply defines this lrThe identity of X as Hi , rather than as a variant of wang , is supported by the writing ^ on Yibian 4293 (quoted under I.l.iii.132) 2 I feel that a past tense translation makes best sense here, although of course in the original bone text there is no tense marking. 3This translation of jian \"^T is a functional one based on its OBI context. 148 character as blng 'sick,' and quotes the Shijing line 4fc $JL 7^ - ^ L \"My driver is ill\" (HY 1/3/4). However, I have already shown that ni {|!^ / ^ and meng |j ^ as signifies are generally quite distinct, and one would not expect meng ^ to be used in a character denoting sickness. Furthermore, the OBI context suggests that the present graph refers to some kind of bad omen, as do shai & and jian \"^T , so another suggestion one might make is that it represents the word bji 11$ 'a malevolent and noxious deity' (GSR 102k'), which occurs in the Zhouli.Diguan.Zushi passage ^ it # if fc-h Z. \"Au printemps et en automne, quand il sacrifie aux esprits malfaisants, il fait encore de meme.\"1 Zhu Junsheng (1834:9.29a) says that this is the same word that is written M \"Ty in the ZhouliXiaguanJiaoren passage ^ ?f> j^? \"En hiver, il sacrifie au mauvais genie des chevaux.\"2 In his commentary on this passage, Zheng Xuan describes mabu % ^ as ^ ^ j§ 'a spirit that harms horses.' Although it is impossible to say for sure that the present bone graph denotes the same word, the meaning of M l l $ ~ \"fp~ is certainly apposite to the context. Since the Zhouli writers did not have a proper character for this word, writing it with two different phonetic loans, one might suggest that the proper character was in fact * , but that knowledge of this character had been lost. 2932 -fHr Not in JGWB S.451.3xl Not in JWJ iTransladon from Biot 1851.1:254 %26. translation from Biot 1851.2:257 1)48. 149 sw7b.iob: $[ , % HP £ /fc . M f , * If . SWDZ 7b.25b: [Emends the text to: , $p / j ^ A> , and interprets y in )&K as yin 'nightmare.'] Tr: M i jjfc means 'to sleep but not be satisfied' [i.e. to feel drowsy?]. It consists of meng ffi 'dream' abbreviated signific, and mi phonetic. [Duan em: M l / | | | means 'to have nightmares during one's sleep.'] Analysis The present graph seems to contain a person element similar to that in l£o. / -^T 'old.' However, in view of its componential similarity to the SW character mi ^ , it seems best to regard \\ $ as a variant of meng p I ^ . Usage S gives two different transcriptions, one of which assumes that the inscription is incomplete. Due to the fragmentary nature of the bone, it is hard to know which reading is correct For the sake of argument, I shall give the complete reading: i •• * 1 1 1 E tfe & . (Qianbian 4.15.4) Tested: Our household's former (i.e. dead) drowsy (?) servant is not after all 1 cursing us. I think that the heuristic application of graphic analysis enables us to make a guess at the meaning of the present graph (i.e. that it could be something to do with sleeping), but unfortunately the only inscription in which it occurs is rather hard to decipher. ^or my 'emphatic' translation of wang \"£ l »see Takashima 1988. 150 Part 4: h\\ The graph that I use to head this section is c6ng \\\\ I AJ» 'to follow.' However, this cannot be said to be signific in the graphs that I deal with here. I am simply using it as a convenient title for all those graphs that contain more than one ren \\ I A. element. These graphs denote words covering a wide variety of human interaction. Sometimes it simply represents a crowd of people, but ideas such as cooperation, confrontation, competition (in fact, many words that begin with the Latin word for 'with,' and this is not coincidental) are also represented by using more than one 'person' element. The following selection of graphs attempts to show how this is done. 151 81 ^ JGWB 1025: cing AA ;1028:bJ Jrfej S.19.3x617 JWJ 8.2687: c6ng kk , 8.2693: bi fctj SW8a.l6a: W , *8 JTjfe- . AC ^ A . ft ... SWDZ 8a.43a: This is the primary form of c6ng Tr: Cong kk 'to follow' means 'to listen to one another.'1 It consists of two people. The SW definition as listen to one another' is perhaps intended to explain why this character consists of two rin elements, as Professor Takashima has suggested to me. SW reserves the more concrete meaning suixing l^t, 'follow' for the AM-aggregate character (SW 8a. 16a). Analysis The graph shows one person following another. There is some argument as to whether the graph should be identified as bj fct-» , in the sense of 'to ally oneself with.' The argument given for this is that the oracle bones frequently talk about the Shang king 'following' certain military figures in battie, and some people feel unhappy with the idea that the king should be following others when he should be leading them or at least sending them to fight on his behalf. The idea of 'alliance' is a sort of compromise between these passive and active stances. However, this is all guesswork concerning a social situation which we know very little about.2 JGWB hedges its bets by saying that cong kk and bi 4 am grateful to Professor Takashima for informing me of the kambun kundoku reading of this phrase, aikiku nari. which has enabled me to arrive at this translation. 2Takashima (1987:63-69) has a thorough discussion of cong kk . He notes that some Japanese scholars interpret it in a causative sense 'cause to follow,' but shows on grammatical grounds that it must mean 'follow,' and only means 'make follow' when preceded by the causative verbs ling, 'order,' z&h. ty ) 'to make,' or hu, % ( p ^ ) 'to call.' He concludes (p.69) that \"it was not always 152 t t j w e r e anciently the same graph, while L i Xiaoding attempts to distinguish the forms with the bent arm, and ff , as bj fcb , but is forced to acknowledge that even with these forms only the reading 'follow' makes sense. I think that on graphic grounds there is little doubt that the present graph is c6ng M . • In the seal form, bj \\, t j also consists of two rgn elements and differs from c6ng Ik only in facing right rather than left. However, right~left orientation is not usually significant in the bone script, and I suspect that bj b b originally consists of two bj t_ 'spoons' in a row as it does in the modern script, the spoon thus also being phonetic, though it is admittedly unusual for a graphic element when reduplicated to keep the same reading, as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me with examples such as ma. > lfn , ren A _ > cong , etc. Usage Probably in its primary meaning 'to follow,' usually of the Shang king following various military figures who were perhaps the leaders of allied tribes, against a common enemy. It is also used as an adjective in the expression c6ngyu kk 1^ 'subsequent rain,' and as a preposition meaning 'by way of (a certain place).' % JGWB 1027: bjng 84 S.23.1xl2 JWJ 8.2691: bjng $ (this reference not cited in S) the case that the commander-in-chief, namely, the king followed his subordinate commanders. At times he followed them, at others he made them follow him.\" 153 SW8a.l6a: \\i , M & . JJL J~k , ft f£ . - © : M n - % # . SWDZ 8a.43a: [Inserts gan =f after ir ^ - .] Tr: Bing 3ft means 'to follow one another.' It consists of cong Ik 'to follow' signific and jian phonetic. One source says: c6ng Ik holding two [gan -f 'poles'] makes bing -ff- . The character -f-f- is supposed to be read jian. 1 so the SW statement that it is phonetic in bing -tj- is very curious. Note however that SW 14a. 12b defines jian as ping p^\" level,1 and this could be intended to be a paronomastic gloss. Analysis The graph shows two people connected by one or two cross-strokes across the legs, and thus illustrates the meaning 'combine,' which is the meaning it has in OBI. Ironically, the seal form breaks the bond between them. The modern form $~ has brought them back together again, but the original pictorial intent is no longer discernible. Needless to say, both the SW analyses are wrong, being based on the corrupt seal form. It is interesting to compare the present graph with bing (II.l.i.216). Bing i i . shows two people standing side by side, thus representing the concept 'side by side, together' (GSR 840). In soft texts, it is nearly always followed by a verb, and thus acts as an adverb, e.g. in such phrases as bingqu 'ride together,' bingzud 'sit together,' and bingsh6u jL ^ 'receive together (i.e. two people receiving something at the same time),' occurring in the Shijing.2 Bing ^ on the other hand is basically a verb 'to combine,' and all its other uses can be derived from this. Since bing j^- can also be used as an adverb 'in combination, all together,' it sometimes superficially resembles bing , but some nuance of difference can often be l rrhe Guangyun gives the reading \"vt Jf^ ~t/j ken, and says it is also read like qian ^ ken. 2Unfortunately the Jingdian shiwen does not have any glosses on these examples. 154 detected, e.g. in the Shijing line g ^ > 4 ^ £ \"The innocent ones among the people are (all together:) indiscriminately made serfs\" (HY 43/192/3). Although the people are the subject on the surface, underlyingly they are the object of the action. Further, bing $ here implies 'mixing up' rather than 'side by side.' As an active verb, bing may take an object, as in the bone sentences cited below, but I have seen no examples of bing j$L in soft texts followed by an object.1 If there are any, they must be vary rare. The difference in usage between bing r|L and bing can perhaps be accounted for in terms of the introvert/extrovert opposition that Takashima (1987:sec. 3.3, 4.1) has worked out for pre-classical Chinese. Karlgren (GSR 840) says they are cognate. Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me that the Guangyun reads bing $ as pj iaj n,and pj iaj n h and bing j[L as bej rj ' , and that there is also a character bing read pjiajrj ' , pjiajnh,and bejrj', of which the last reading is actually the same as bing JJL . It would seem from this that there was some confusion as to which word should be written with which character, and we cannot be sure that early texts have come down to us in the original characters with which they were written, so extreme caution is needed in unravelling the original uses of these characters. Professor Pulleyblank relates this word family to bi bt> 'combine, unite.' U s a g e Mainly a place name, but also occurs in its primary meaning 'to combine,' with reference to horses: ^ % v^ L • (Jiabian 298) It should be (so that we) combine piebald horses, (or:) It should be the paired piebald horses. lrThis claim is based on an examination of HY concordances. 155 $ # %% > \"t- J i . • (Qianbian 4.475) It should be (so that we) combine lao-horses, there will be no disaster, (or:) It should be the paired lao-horses. there will be no disaster.1 These divinations concern the choice of horses to pull a chariot, in order to ensure an uneventful ride. Note in this connection the character ping~pian 'horses side by side with one another' (GSR 824n). 85 \\k JGWB 1029: b i i J b S.23.2xl40 JWJ 8.2699: Mi J b SW8a.l6b: 1ft , ijfi J&J • XI ~ A. SWDZ 8a.44a: [Quotes classics to suggest that Mi i b is the primary form of bei ffi 'back.'] T n B i i 'north' means guai j^jt- 'contrary to.' It consists of two people with their backs to each other. Analysis The words bei 'north' (<*pak), hei 'back' (<*paks) and Mi 'to turn ones back on' (<*baks) are all etymologically related, so the problem is to decide which member of this set the bone graph depicts. The bone graph clearly does not depict 'north,' nor does it depict a person's back. Rather, it depicts two people standing back to back. It thus U am grateful to Professor Takashima for suggesting these possibilities of interpretation. 156 represents the verbal usage 'turn ones back on.' As for which word is primary, the morphology shows that it must be M i 'north,' as this is the form with no affixes. I would guess that its original meaning was simply 'back' as a locative adverb. The English word 'back' has a similar range of uses (i.e. person's back and back as an adverb, though not for the meaning 'north'), so this forms an interesting cross-linguistic parallel. Usage Always used in the meaning 'north.' 92 J)f JGWB 4346 (unidentified) S.24.4x7 (excluding the name (ft ^ $ ) JWJ 8.2677: hul j£j SW8a.l5a: fl| , | ^ ft . M ^ , U JL ; £ fa 1%r • T r : H u l YrL means 'teaching is carried out.'J It consists of hjia 'to change' and r£n A- 'person;' hua V-> is also phonetic. Analysis The graph shows two persons, one the right way up, and the other upside down. The original meaning may have been something like 'to turn' (i.e. zhuanhua and 'to change' would be an extension of this.2 Clearly, in order to convey this idea, both ^This translation is based on the kambun kundoku reading, which Professor Takashima pointed out to me, and which is in turn based on the SWDZ commentary. 2Professor Pulleyblank has informed me that hul 4 may belong in a large family of words with initial *xw- that have to do with 'turning.' This would corroborate my interpretation. 157 person elements have to be present. How is it then that SW has the 'upside down person' element hya ^ as a separate character? There are no textual examples of this character, and Karlgren does not give it in GSR, starting his phonetic series no. 19 with hua 4 L> • Xu Shen tries to make out that they are separate words by defining hua b as 'change' and hua //(£j as 'educate.' However, not only is hua 4normally used to mean 'change,' it is also clear that the meaning 'educate' is simply an extended usage, i.e. to transform through education. I would suggest that Xu Shen extracted the element hua YJ from the characters in which he thought it occurred, and that it never existed independendy. The character for 'change' has always contained two person elements, and has to in order to illustrate the idea of one person changing his position relative to another. Usage Unfortunately the present graph is always used as a proper noun, especially in the name of the military figure Cha Zhi Hua £|a £ Jit, . Thus there are no examples of it being used in its primary meaning which could corroborate the meaning 'turn' that I posit for it. 93 5 f f S.25.1xl5 JGWB 282: jing. ^ JWJ 3.757: jing ffa SW3a.l8a: f f , ? I %% . — © : Ai . . M tt , Xk 158 SWDZ 3a.32b: Ojlng is a paronomastic gloss. Qiang yu ^ means 'to dispute.' Tr: Jing # £ j 'to compete' means 'to talk forcibly.' One source defines it as 'to pursue.' It consists of jing 'to argue' and two people. Xu Shen defines jing -jp^ as 'dispute' in order to account for the double y£n 'word' element (which is probably another of his inventions, since there are no textual examples of this element), but the bone form shows that this is a corruption of something else. The basic meaning of jing z/fu^ simply 'to compete.' Analysis The bone graph consists of doubled. This graph has not been found independently in this form. ^ (Yibian 8786, given at JGWB 5166 as an unidentified graph) could be an example, but the context is disappointingly fragmentary. JGWB 283 identifies 7\\ (Jiabian 916) as jing %j , and I think that the present element should also be recognized as jing %j . This is supported by the phonetic similarity between jing %fj giajn < *grans and jing %j kiaJQ < *krans. The graphic and phonetic similarity is so close that I do not think there can be any doubt that jing \" j ^ is phonetic in jing %%j • But what is the primary meaning of jing jgj ? It consists of xin T 'tool for branding the foreheads of criminals' on top of rin 'person.' I suggest that it is the primary form of qing giaj rj < *gran 'to black-brand' (GSR 755g). The phonetic fit is perfect. The present graph is thus a phonetic compound consisting of jing doubled. However, the two rin A elements also suggest the idea of one person racing after another. Thus although it is basically a phonetic compound, it is also highly suggestive of the meaning that it represents. I believe that this was a conscious piece of design on the part of the creators of this script. From a purely graphic point of view, the graph could of course simply be seen as two people walking peacefully together. However, the meaning 159 of the word that the graph represents suggests that the intention was otherwise. One cannot analyse the bone graphs in a vacuum, without reference to the meanings of the words they represent. JWJ includes the graph J J (S.40.1) as a variant, though JGWB 3005 lists it as unidentified. A similar variant is also found in bronzes (see O/NJWB 304/389). However, the form with two rin A . elements is the commonest form, and it is from this form that the modern character develops. It is not clear to me why there should have been a variant with the djl ^ element. U s a g e Personal name. Also a verb in a sacrificial context, meaning unclear. 94 % S.25.1x8 95 ^ JGWB 1033 (both forms): zh6ng $i S.25.1x65 (excluding certain contexts) JWJ 8.2703 (including ^ Y. zhong ffi SW8a.l7a :W , A . & ^ , Q , )$L ^ . Tr: Zh6ng )$K 'crowd' means djio. ^ 'many.' It consists of yin 'to stand as a crowd' and nui @ 'eye,' thus expressing the idea of 'numerous' [presumably because there are numerous eyes in a crowd]. Analysis 160 The graph shows two or three people standing under the sun, thus illustrating the idea of 'the masses.' The sun suggests that they are out working in the heat of the day, and indeed the OBI context suggests that the body of people designated by this term was primarily a workforce (see Keightley 1969). In the seal form, the sun has been distorted to 'eye,' and this is also the case in the bronze form (see O/NJWB 1117/1376). This further supports the idea that they were a workforce, with the eye representing the supervision (literally!) that they would be under. L i Xiaoding recognizes the variant ^\\\\\\ , with no sun on top, in the inscriptions Tieyun 231A and Qianbian 5.20.2. S transcribes both with the sun on top. An examination of the rubbings shows that in both cases the bone is broken away immediately above the \\ \\ \\ graph, so there is no way of knowing whether there originally was a sun element on top of these two graphs or not. JGWB 1032 records one instance of ty\\ (Jiabian 2858). identified there as the SW character yin . However, an examination of the rubbing reveals that the rightmost rin ^ element is somewhat separated from the rest of the graph, and is most likely quite unconnected. Thus what we really have here is c6ng kk , and the context supports this: ^ -4 s S Xk ... (Jiabian2S58) If we dance, today there will be subsequent1 [rain]. lrThe author of JGWB (Sun Haibo) himself says that c6ng kk here is used for z6ng as in z6ng yu 'loosed rain > pouring rain.' The basic meaning of zdng is 'to let loose' (GSR 1191h), and the idea is that the Shang expressed the idea of torrential rain by saying 'loosed rain.' The fact that I have been unable to find such a usage in soft texts does not totally preclude the possibility that the Shang had such an expression, but on the other hand taking c6ng kk at face value also makes sense. The expression cdng yu kk ffi nearly always occurs embedded in a nominalizing formula: ^ kk 1^ (positive) or ~ t kk ^ (negative). It also usually occurs in the apodosis of a two clause sentence, where the protasis specifies some ritual activity (e.g. dancing), the aim of which is to obtain rain. 'Following rain' would then be the rain that follows from the ritual act. 161 This phrase is repeated several times on the bone, and in all other instances we have the graph cong ^\\ I /A . I think it is safe to say then that the character zh6ng ^ has always had a sun element on top, and it is an integral part of its meaning: the graph does not simply depict a crowd of people, but a workforce, and their role in Shang society as seen in the oracle bones fully corroborates this. Usage As already mentioned, it refers to the zh6ng-workforce. 96 T H JGWB 4532 (unidentified) S.25.3x2 Not in JWJ SW 9b.7a: (fe , )f. ft J*L> . AA & t % . SWDZ 9b. 17a: SW says 1%^ \"~f in order to explain the J*~ on top. Tr: Shu means 'a crowd under a roof.1 It consists of yan 'roof and ; is the old form of the character guang 'light.' [Xu Xuan explains that 'light' also represents the idea of zhongsheng 'numerous and flourishing.'] Analysis The graph consists of ^ \\ , identified by Yu Xingwu and Chen Shihui (1959) as shix Jim , on top of three people. It is probably the primary form of shu in the 162 sense of 'numerous,' especially with regard to people, as in shur6n yC commoners. Qiah < *+aks (?) itself contains shi / ^ dziajk < *dak 'stone' phonetic, as Karlgren suggested (GSR 804a, but he did not feel confident enough to include it under sM phonetic, GSR 795). Yu and Chen say that shu Jjfc is the original character for zhu \"^r tpfa' < *ta' 'to cook by boiling.' This claim is based on the office of Zhushi t^/ in the Zhouli (HY 10/7a). The Zheng Xuan commentary says that shu here should be read like zhu as in yaozhu 'medical decoction.' Biot (1851.11:386) transcribes accordingly Tchou-chi (i.e. Zhushi), and translates the title as \"Cuiseur (d'herbes).\" The role of this official was to decoct pesticides, so this supports the idea that the primary meaning of the character shu was 'to boil.' There is also a character in the Yanshi jiaxun (ap. Kangxi), where it says that the people of Wu ^ use it for zhi ^ tciajk < *tak'to roast.' The three person elements have the same function as in the character zhbng J^k } i.e. to indicate a body of people. Usage Possibly in the sense of 'numerous': (Qianbian 5.25.1) Gengxu-day cracking, tested: There are many locusts,1 it is that God is ordering dearth.2 lrThe graph ^* has not been identified with certainty as an independent character, but it is generally agreed that the expression (S.247.1) means 'this autumn,' and that Jj| is the phonetic element in $f|l / -^ I|L> , which SW (7a.l8b) gives as the zhduwen form of gju 'autumn' (see JWJ 7.2369 and 13.3939). SW (10a.20b) says that the phonetic element in aiy. ^m. is jiao 163 97 1$\\ Not in JGWB S.25.3xl Not in JWJ SW 8a.l7a: $ , u H S.25.3xl6 J W J 3.889: d5M |*5J SW 3b .7a : f f , #L $L . * « i S W D Z 3b. 15a: [Emends text to: , | , S ?i 8^ f i , | t 7 ^ . ] Tr: DQU. (J J| consists of two men opposed with weapons behind. It depicts fighting. [ S W D Z em: D&u. means 'to struggle.' It consists of two j i elements facing each other, and is a pictograph.] Analysis 165 The bone graph shows two people having a punch-up. It is pure fisticuffs, no weapons involved. Xu Shen saw weapons in the seal form because he regards it as consisting of j i ^(j doubled, an element that he thought depicted a hand holding something, though here again he is mistaken, as the bone form shows a person kneeling with empty hands held up. As you can see, d6u does not come from ji ^ : this is merely the way in which the seal script has standardized it. Note also the tousled hair, which Ye Yusen describes as nufa K i \" 'hair standing on end with rage.1 The same sort of hair is found in ru5 ^ / 'to agree,' lao / 'old,' and fli ^ / ^ 'wife.' It is hard to find a consistent symbolism behind it. Professor Takashima has suggested to me that the grapheme ^ may have had a 'double function,' the graphic equivalent of the sort of antiphrasis found in such pairs as sh6u dzuw' 'receive' and shou 4& dzuwh 'give.' Similarly, $ may have signified wild hair in d6u l^f but smooth hair in ruo ^ . Usage Place name. 1280 *ir JGWB 4321 (unidentified) S.194.2xl JWJ 7.2373: & l t (not in SW) SW7a.l5b:JjJL*g ' .4*F % £ | g - M l L • ^ £ , £ f • SWDZ 7a.43b: In the Huainanzi it is written H ^ . Other books have , also wntten or 4 & . All refer to wild rice. 166 Tr: Li HfL means dao^E? 'rice.' It refers to the perennial variety. The character consists of h i s?~ 'cereal' signific and ni phonetic. Analysis L i Xiaoding transcribes the right element as if it were bji , but actually it is slightly different. Although the two figures are back to back, the left figure is higher than the right figure, as if riding on its back. The graph * jf^ has not been found independendy in OBI, so I shall identify it as n| It and discuss it here. S W 8 a . 2 7 b : ( f c , lit Hit*-. /JLJ* , t # . Tr: Ni IL means 'to approach from behind.' It consists of shi F1 ['body'] signific and hi *L. phonetic. Analysis The SW definition 'approach from behind' seems to be just what the bone graph depicts. Note also the graph 1 , which unfortunately only occurs as a person's name 4 (S.324.1), but which is probably the present graph augmented by the chi | 'walking' radical, thus emphasizing the meaning 'to approach.' (JWJ 2.535 identifies it as chi x£. 'slow,' but I think this is mistaken, since chi *~L contains x i 'rhinoceros' phonetic, which consists of wei ^ 'tail' on top of n M 'ox': the present bone graph does not contain such elements.) Various phonetic compounds of nf jfc. have the meaning 'close, familiar,' and these meanings are clearly related to the meaning 'approach.' The graph shows one person who is so close to another that he is almost on top of him. The corruption of the left-hand person into shi f* and the right-hand person into bj was probably structurally conditioned. 167 2885 Iff JGWB 827: A S.444.3xl5 JWJ 7.2227: li SW7a.8a: f$( , % 3- ~$ JL % . JX jL , JI XX ; JX , Tr: Lji -VK ; a group of five hundred men in the army is called ly. sjfc . It consists of van 'fluttering streamers' and c6ng XL ; cong JA represents 'togetherness.' is the old form of hi ^ K . • In ancient texts it is used for Lu as in Lu and Wei The top part of the SW old form is zhi jL , while the lower part is probably a corruption of cong XL , as Luo Zhenyu (JWJ 7.2227) surmises. Analysis The graph shows two people standing under a flag, two standing for many. 'Troops' may be the original meaning. As in zhong , the two people show that the graph refers to a group of people . Usage In its original meaning 'troops.' ^he reason Xu Shen phrases himself thus is to make it clear that the old form of lu ^ tJ£ was only used for hi ^ as the name of the state, not as an ordinary word. As an ordinary word, it means 'dull, blunt, simple' (GSR 70a). 168 Part 5: In the bone script, as a graph component, it is very hard to distinguish this element from ren j . As Karlgren says (GSR 561a): \"The archaic graph is practically identical with that of .\" There are one or two graphs that possibly contain it, but it is very hard to be certain, and it has therefore seemed to me rather poindess to discuss them. It is however important to aver the fact that such an element did exist, since it is the origin of the shi radical, whose general significance is clearly that of 'sitting' or 'being located,' as (now written %. ) 'to sit.' It denotes sitting as on a chair, and thus differs from the element J i , which shows what I assume was the usual Shang way of sitting, which is actually kneeling. The rarity of the / element compared to the i i element in the Shang script shows that the latter was their usual way of sitting. Notice that the phonetic element is always written underneath the shi f* element, thus implying that this is what the person is sitting on. This is typical of the way in which the designers of the Chinese script designed their graphs, as I have already had occasion to mention. In some cases, r£n ^ may have evolved into shi f* simply as a structural variant, e.g. in the case of shi 'to defaecate' and niao f[ I 'to urinate.' Thus the occurence of the shi P radical in a modern character should not necessarily be taken as an indication that the action denoted by it was originally performed in a sitting position. In the example of pi ^ , the s_hi j 2 element is actually evolved from the 169 kneeling figure ^ . Its evolution into shi j 3 was thus purely a structural adjustment to accommodate the kou 12 element. The use of shi / * for yi ^ in some early texts is not, as some have supposed, because the barbarians sat in this fashion, thus distinguishing them from the Chinese, who knelt on mats, but is rather a phonetic loan (shi T 5i < *+aj, y i ^ j i < *1 b]). I would imagine that in Shang times the surrounding tribes sat in the same way as the Chinese, i.e. in the posture illustrated by the graph \\ . Although hard to find in the bone script, the shi element is well represented in the bronze script (see O/NJWB 1146-1150/1410-1421-though most of these are not in SW). Notice that we have shi ) in wji here (in the character QU_ $ , O/NJWB 1150/1421), but in the OBI form ^ we simply have rin ^ , so this is another example of r6n \\ evolving into shi f* as a structural variant: having to make room for the tail distorted the ren \\ into shi j* . In this part then I shall deal only with the graph that has been identified as shi T ; 170 3 j JGWB 1048: shi j2 S.5.2x21 JWJ 8.2745: shi f SW8a.26b: f , f | |< i?r JL&j . ft . .. means 'to lay out.' It depicts lying down. Analysis The graph shows a person sitting, as if on a chair. The primary meaning must have been 'to sit' in this fashion, though it is very hard to find remnants of this usage in texts. Wu Dacheng (ap. NJWB 665, not quoted at OJWB 539) says that in the classics, •> S h i / 2 means zhu 3~ 'to preside,' and in the opening phrase of Shu.Wuzizhige \" ^ %. T ,\" Shi wM T 46 means ji yvM |?p 4£ 'succeed to the throne.' Unfortunately, this chapter is found only in the jinwen text, so I am unable to offer Karlgren's opinion on how it should be translated (he only translated the guwen text), but I think it would be reasonable to render it as When Tai Kang sat on the throne.' Karlgren translates the Shijing line jl 'barbarian.' 172 : * \\ Part 6 The element * >J has not been found independently in OBI, so I mark it with an asterisk to show that it is a hypothesized form. Apart from the graph (Kikko 2.21.18), which S.28.1 lists as a variant of the unidentified grapheme W , it occurs in only one graph, i.e. . However, Tang Lan, in his exposition of \\ \\ (JWJ 14.4143), proposes to identify * \\ with the graph \\f that SW (4b.5b) gives as the old form of tijjrn ^ , and suggests that it is the primary form of dian i l l , which Karlgren (GSR 375m) defines as: '...(fall on the head:) fall down, be overthrown, overthrow.' Tang hypothesizes that the same element is phonetic in zhen . This would make the SW (8a. 15a) claim that zhen IJ| contains 'person upside down' correct, except that it would not be hua ^ signific but the primary form of dian Ijll as phonetic. A phonetic problem that has to be discussed here is: which O C rhyme does the zhen 4 phonetic series belong to? In order to support Tang's claim, it should belong to the zhen ! j | rhyme.In favour of this classification is the fact that SW (9a. 8a) gives JI. JL fa: as a variant of zhen 4 , and this variant, as you can see, contains zhen phonetic. Although he does not mention it explicitly, this is perhaps the reason why Wang L i (1937:67) puts the zhen series in his jian jfc. type (i.e. zhen ^ rhyme), and Tang Zuofan (1982) follows this. However, Tang Zuofan lists the character tian as w6n yL rhyme, and in a later study Wang L i (1937a: 133) classifies the zhen series as 173 zhun 5,? rhyme (i.e. w6n ^_ rhyme), giving as evidence the fact that zhen rhymes with yjin in the Shijing (HY 77/290), and zhen with rgn ( §> in ChuciXisong. The only other rhyming occurrence of a zhen series word in the Shijing is tian ^ with mei >fci (HY 9/43/2), which Wang L i (1937:67) classifies as jin 7f type (i.e. win >C rhyme) and Tang Zuofan as yuan 7T_> rhyme. Karlgren (GSR 453) classifies the z h e n ^ series as w6n rhyme, and indeed this is what the rhyming evidence points to. Thus the evidence provided by variant characters conflicts with the rhyming evidence. In spite of the phonetic problems, the fact that SW gives as a variant of zhen ^ is significant, and I am basically in favour of Tang Lan's identification of the present element as the primary form of dian . 174 1124 | ^ JGWB 1643: f M $1 [=zhui $ 'fall'] S.178.4x2 JWJ 14.4143: hui f § (GSR 11a reads djm) SW 14b.2b: f$,%t%&&. , £ f . SWDZ 14b.4b: Commonly written ^ and pronounced zhui. TnDui means 'to fall from a height.' It consists of f i \\ 'wall with steps'1 [this is not the SW definition of f i f , but this is clearly what the bone graph depicts] signific andsjii ^ phonetic. 3 a j | , 9k t & rt. IX i , §. # . [ g & % 0 : SW 14b it * * i. % , & - £ ft * -fc 2L , ~ A . Tr: Hui : to destroy a city wall is called hui j\"^ . It consists of f i \\ 'wall' signific and phonetic. [Xu Xuan et al. note: There is no character ^ in SW, but it may be analysed as two ZU& . The strength of the multitude assists therein (the destruction of the city wall), therefore it contains zuo ^£ 'to assist' doubled. It is now commonly written , but this is incorrect] The seal form is ifrf [i.e. j f g ]. According to SW (SWDZ edition 4b.30b), hui fai is the abbreviated phonetic in sui fj| . This suggests reconstructions for these two words something like * x w a l and *7rwal respectively. But why did the initial in the former fail to palatalize and front to s- in EMC? Note that hui ( |}f\" ) * s m ^ a c t a grade IV word in a chongniu rhyme, E M C xjwia, and it is possible that in this case the E M C medial -j- goes back to an OC * - l - , so we should actually reconstruct * x w l a l . 2 This still leaves the problem of how zuo H am indebted to Professor Takashima for suggesting this translation. 2For the suggestion that it may have been a medial *-l- that prevented palatalization of the initial in certain grade IV words, see Pulleyblank 1984:176. 175 *tsal? can be phonetic in hui $ | *x w l a l . Karlgren (GSR 11a) gives hui ?|L the modern reading dud, as if from *lwal but gives hui i^ SL both the readings du6 and hui (GSR lie). It seems to me that the reading du6 should be reserved for the intransitive verb 'to it fall,' since this is the reading of du6 'to fall,' and the reading hjii should be assigned to the transitive verb 'to fell.' The phonetic relationships are highly problematical. Professor Pulleyblank has informed me that he thinks it is possible to connect the initials in zuo and sjn , though he has not yet worked out the details. He compares zong f _ tsown, containing xiojuj & xuawrj phonetic. The initials in duo and hui are ?! admittedly far apart, but the fact that the character ^ has both these readings suggests that they can be reconciled in some way (though perhaps the answer lies in prefixes). Analysis The graph shows a person upside down next to a wall, implying that he is falling off it. JGWB and JWJ also both include the graph £ ^ (S. 179.1x4) as a variant, which shows a child falling. Perhaps a child is more likely to fall off a wall than an adult. It is possible that they are indeed variants of the same graph, but the inscriptions with ttl in are too fragmentary to determine its usage. The present graph, on the other hand, occurs in a nice long inscription (Jinghua 3) that tells us how Prince Yang fell out of the king's chariot during a hunting accident. Thus the meaning is clearly 'fall.' L i Xiaoding (JWJ 14.4145) suggests that the upside down person was corrupted to zuo t I £ (i.e. a phonetization), and this zuo was later doubled to %. . This is an interesting hypothesis because phonetizations, naturally, are often not such good phonetic guides as original phonetics, so this would explain the divergent initials of zuo ~& and duo~hui . If this is true, it is a great help, because it means that we do not have to account for the divergence in the initials. One can further suggest that $ui • $ does not contain hui f j i abbreviated, but simply * , the phonetized form of -j ^ . The reason for the later doubling in hui *JEE. is not clear, but there are other examples of this sort of doubling in the 176 bronze script (cf. geng , O/NJWB 415/518 and & } § : , O/NJWB 1812/2319, in which the bing and hu T \\ elements are usually doubled). The reasons are perhaps calligraphic rather than linguistic. That is to say, to make the graph look more pleasing to the eye (in the subjective opinion of the scribe), rather than to reflect some phonetic difference between the simple element and the element doubled. L i Xiaoding also suggests that du6 f ^ (which Xu Xuan regards as the proper ?I form of duo *jr 'to fall'-see SW 14b.3a) is an alternate graphic development from the same bone graph, thus: \\]^ >f^ > f^ • However, while the corruption of ^ > ^ is understandable in terms of phonetization (which L i does not mention), a corruption to xi $ is unmotivated. It would be more likely that the form hui changed direcdy to dub f \\ -this would be motivated by (1) getting rid of the non-character ^ , and (2) A getting a more accurate phonetic, since the initial of duo & would be closer than that of zuo . Thus Li's proposal that there was a development f | > f& > f^r explains a lot. It explains why there is no character * %i , and why zuo ^ and hui have such divergent initials. His proposal is further supported by the phonetization process that one witnesses so frequently in the evolution of Chinese characters. The identification of the present graph as hui 1^ may thus be accepted in preference to the JGWB identification as dui . However, whether the graph ^ | is also to be identified as hyi ] ^ remains to be seen. L i says that this form became extinct, though \"£ could also perhaps have developed into ZJIQ ^ . Tang Lan proposes to identify the present graph as a variant of dian * ^ /lj|l| . but I think it is best to regard it as a huiyi ^ of •) and ^ , rather than as a phonetic compound with * y as phonetic. As for his proposal that * y is phonetic in zhen ^ , the bone forms (JGWB 867, also 3456, 3868 and 4742) clearly do not have 'person upside down' but M t 'spoon.' Usage 177 In its primary meaning 'fall,' as in the well known inscription: % t T , tl I : >S) -t . i if) ® (Jinghua Divining on guisi-day by cracking bones, (the diviner) Que tested: There shall be no misfortunes in the (next) ten-day week. The king, having interpreted the omens, said, \"There will thenceforth also be harm in this (omen), and (will prove) to be as prognosticated (by me).\" When on jiawu-day the king went chasing wild buffaloes, a minion took charge of (steering) the chariot horses; (he) drove the king's chariot precipitously, and Zi Yang [who was riding the chariot] also fell down.1 here is presumably read du6 rather than hui. lrrhis translation is taken from Takashima 1984:32, inscription B3 (a). 178 1 Part 7: In the present group of graphs the emphasis is on the hair, and the r in \\ element tends to be neutral in its significance, as one might expect, since it is not the focus of these graphs, but rather a carrier for the hair which is the focus. Long hair is used chiefly to suggest 'age' or 'growing,' as in lap. / \"7t 'old' and zhang A A % >k 'elder; to grow.' It is also used for other purposes, e.g. in wei 1 I T u it suggests the fineness of hair, in pi ^ / ^jr it represents the long hair of a grown woman, and in xu 'beard' it represents hair itself with no further symbolism. In ku_ I 'to wail' and dou ^c^f / 'to fight,' it could perhaps represent tousled hair (in ku T€.v through distress, in dim l^) through fighting). 179 33 S . l l . lx8 41 S. 11.4x8 672 S.108.3x8 & JGWB 1046 (aU three): Mo. JWJ 8.2739 (all three): M Q SW 8a.25a: & , • £ A . . - t + 8 . M A , 4 , £ . t *I ft 6 ^ . /C ... SWDZ8a.67a: ^ is not rin A , but part of m£o . [The bone graph shows that he is mistaken.] Tr: Lao means kao -fe 'old.' \"When he is seventy we say, 'He is old.'\"1 It consists of ren 'person,' mao 'hair,' and hua ^ - 'to change.' It means to say that the hair turns white. Analysis This graph, as Ye Yusen so eloquently describes it, depicts a bent old person with long hair hobbling along with the aid of a stick ( A Jt^ ^ \\\\$*. 'fir ). It is interesting to compare the Egyptian hieroglyph for 'old,' which also depicts a - - — i man bent over a stick: > J^j ((Gardiner 1957:444, sign A19). One should also note Serruys' suggestion that the hair, m£o , also acts as an 'endomorphic phonetic' (Serruys 1957:153). I think this is highly possible. In the bronze form of !a2 , ^ (O/NJWB 1138/1402), the stick has already been corrupted into the shape that it has in the seal form, and which Xu Shen identifies as ^Liji.Quli HY 1/8. Translation from Legge 1885.1:66 (|27). 180 his huJt £ radical. Far commoner than 1|Q in bronzes ( O / N J W B lists five/seven examples) is the character kao -%} ( O / N J W B 1142/1406 lists 107/134 examples), where it is used in the specialized meaning 'deceased father.' The element ~>~ is usually understood as kao 3\" phonetic, which is homophonous with kao . One can see that the bronze scribes intended it as phonetic, as sometimes the phonetic alone is used to represent the word (e.g. on the vessels j £ - ]^ ^ and 4ty -4$ J|[ ). However, some forms also look very much like the bone form of lag. , with the old person leaning on a stick, e.g. I think it is quite possible that the bronze form of kag. is the direct descendant of the bone form of lag , and that the stick was corrupted to kao \"5\" as a phonetization. Before this phonetization, the same graph was probably used for both kag and lao, and the two words are of course etymologically related. S W uses them to gloss each other (though in practice there was a difference, lag. Jk. being used for 'old' and kao for 'deceased father.') Usage Place name. 34 ^ J G W B 4300 (unidentified) ^ J G W B 4378 (unidentified) S . 11.2x34 181 36 ^ JGWB 4299 (unidentified) S.11.3x30 JWJ 9.2967: (34 only) chang SW8a.7b: ^ , ty A> • ^ A , ^ £- , £ * f • Tr: Wei 7 ^ 'fine' means miao \"^ jr 'subtle.' It consists of rdn. .A- 'person' and pji X_ 'hand holding stick,' with 41 abbreviated phonetic. SW 2b.9b: #f . ?!- ^ . AL * , jfe $ . * # 0 : Tr: Wei nieans 'to act secretly.' It consists of chi ^ signific [a walking signific, implying 'action'] and wei phonetic. The Chunqiu says: \"The Duke of Bai [fled to a hill and strangled himself] but his followers concealed it.\"1 Analysis L i Xiaoding includes the present graph among his variants of chang , but I believe that only the form ^ is correctly so identified (see 1.7.39). I follow Hu Houxuan's identification as fu (JWJ 9.2968). This element does not occur as an independent character, but only in the aggregate forms wei and wei 4njli whose SW definitions I have cited above. Only the form wei is current in modern Chinese, and has the meaning that SW ascribes to wei . The definitions 'subtle' and 'secret' are obviously different aspects of the same basic meaning, so I think we can be quite confident here that we are dealing with one and the same word. The basic meaning of wei is ! H Y 494/Ai 6/Fu 3. X u Shen has left out some of the text, which reads in full: {g ^ M y translation is based on Legge 1861.5.2:847. 182 'small, fine, slight, weak,' and I think the present graph represents this by emphasizing the long fine hair on the person's head. This is particularly clear in the graph ^ (JGWB 4299) which may be regarded as a variant. L i Xiaoding overlooks this graph, though he transcribes the same element with a foot underneath ^ (JGWB 4299) as the non-existent character j | (JWJ 2.463). Note also the graph \\ \\ , which JGWB 998 correctly identifies as w^i . Usage All the above mentioned variants are used as a place/personal name. 38 U ?[ M JGWB 3238 (unidentified) S.11.4x3 JWJ 2.431: ky ^ SW2a.l6b: £ , % & . H W , % % % . K ... SWDZ 2a.30b: [Expresses doubts over SW's 'abbreviated phonetics' and suggests that ku_ • fC v originally referred to the howling of dogs, and was only later applied to the wailing of humans.] T r : K y ^ v means'the sound of wailing.' It consists of xuan 0tz signific [defined at SW 2a. 16a as jinghu % 'a cry of alarm'] and y i abbreviated phonetic. Analysis As L i Xiaoding notes, the present graph occurs only in a very few inscriptions with little context, so Ye Yusen's identification as ky ^ N must be regarded as tentative. Ye 183 describes the graph as depicting a person beating the breast and jumping (piyong jffi ), while the two mouths represent wailing (according to Chinese ritual texts, this was the appropriate way to express ones grief at a funeral1). If Ye's identification is correct, then this means that the original graph for ky -jC contained a person rather than a dog, and the person was corrupted to quan \"^C dog in the seal form. Xu Shen tries to account for the dog by claiming that it is y i abbreviated phonetic, while Duan tries to explain it by saying that the word originally referred to the howling of dogs. If ky. ^ originally contained 'person,' then these explanations become unnecessary. If the corruption from a person to a dog was not purely graphic, it is hard to see what the motivation could have been. If, as Duan maintains, it originally referred to the wailing of dogs and later came to be applied to people, one would have expected a corruption the other way round, from 'dog' to 'person.' Ye's description of the central element ^ as 'beating the breast and jumping' does not seem to be accurate. The hand is not turned to the breast, and the foot is not even depicted. The focus is rather on the long dishevelled hair, which I think is probably intended to suggest the state of disarray that one's hair would get into while mourning, especially in the vigorous fashion recommended by the ritual texts. The two mouths would of course represent the wailing. Usage A good context is provided by the following inscription: A * i : %b , % t- iC> . (Qianbian 5.10.7) Wuwu-day, tested: If we wail and cry, there will be approval and no blame. ^.g. Liji.Tangong: $ [sic] H , %_ i L % A , (HY 4/15) \"Beating the breast (by the women), and leaping (by the men) are extreme expressions of grief (Legge 1885.3:169 |28). 184 I have taken yi as standing for ai , since the context seems to make this reading appropriate. However, the context is really too limited to be sure of one's interpretation. ^ JGWB 1133: ching -JL 39 S. 11.4x2 JWJ 9.2967: chang •L SW 9b. 13a: & . fL I'l ft /ft. . -t. ¥ . /? , /ff.j .-t AL . Tr: Chang -Jj^ means long,' both of time and space. It consists of SIR TCJ 'high with the top level' and hui. ^- 'to change.' Wu ~R-> here represents the idea of high and far. When something goes on for a long time, then changes occur [this explains the role of thehua element]. Wang T^ L is phonetic. (¥ is wang upside down. [Xu Xuan et al note: Wang upside down means buwang ^ T H 'unperishing,' and this represents the idea 'enduring.'] 7\\. is the old form of ch£ng •k . \\ is another old form of chang f^, . Analysis Xu Shen was clearly non-plussed by the seal form in front of him, and invented the most fanciful explanation imaginable. The bone form is just a simple graph of an old person with a walking stick. The second 'old form' given in SW is strikingly similar to the 185 bone form, so the identification is quite certain. In the seal form, the stick, arm and leg have become corrupted into a meaningless mish-mash of lines, so it is no wonder Xu Shen was unable to see what lay behind them. The graph is very similar in construction to 1£Q ^ / -^jr . However, the top part is distinctly different, and lacks a definite explanation. Karlgren suggests tentatively that it might represent \"long hair or a tall, plume-like head-dress\" (GSR 721a). The horizontal bar suggests that, whatever it is, it is on top of the head, rather than part of the head, so it seems more likely to be some sort of distinctive head-dress that was worn by elders in the community where this graph was created. The graph thus probably represents the meaning zhang 'elder,' perhaps evolved from an earlier meaning 'grown up' (since zhang also means 'to grow'). Usage There are only two occurrences in Shima, and one is fragmentary. The other reads: (Houbian 1.19.6) Perhaps when offering to the Eldest Son,1 it should be Yuan who proffers2, (then) the king will receive divine aid. Although the precise meaning of this inscription is unclear (my translation is highly tentative), at least the collocation zhangzi is in terpre table. This further encourages me to think that the graph depicts an elder. ift would seem from this inscription that he has died. 186 43 3p JGWB 3602 (unidentified) S.11.4xll JWJ 12.3599 (including ^ ,1 J f * , 2 ^ , ^ 3): ai ^ SW 12b.2a: f ^ ^ ^ ^ M 9 , U SWDZ 12b.5a: SW gives no old form under gul . [Duan also emends the text to make che V4, phonetic, but this is impossible: che W trMat < *tr'at, gj. 4r ts'ej < *ts sj. In fact the £h£ V* element is simply a standardization of the wife's hairdo.] Tr: Oj is the lady who is equal to the husband [i.e. 'wife']. It consists of nii >* 'woman,' che V4 'sprout,' and y6u 9^ 'hand.' The hand represents the idea of running things [i.e. running a household]: this is the wife's job. ^ : the old form of gi •3r consists of R and ny. is the old form of the character gui ^ 'noble.' Analysis As an independent graph, the n element is a variant of 1£Q_ , but in the present graph it has to be recognised as a variant of \"f , as L i Xiaoding does, since the context, although fragmentary, indicates the meaning 'wife': % % ... (Yinxu 651) ...Ancestor Xin's wife... ^Qianbian 5.17.4 (S. 137.4x1). 2S.137.3xl3. 3S.137.4x2 187 (Waibian 46) Guiwei-day tested: Seek birth from the wife Ancestress Geng. The graph may depict, as L i describes it, a hand tying up a lady's hair, or else perhaps inserting hair-pins. He quotes the adage 2, ^ ^ \"J ^ ^ ^ 'when a girl has reached the age for wearing hair-pins, she can become a person's wife.' It had the same significance as capping did for boys. These customs are mentioned in Zhou ritual texts,1 and perhaps the Shang had similar customs. The hair-pins are not actually illustrated in the bone graph, nor in the bronze graph as an independent character (see NTWB 1956, not in OJWB between 1534-5), but they do appear to crop up in qi -*r as the phonetic element in * , a bronze variant of ji (O/NJWB 643/787): ^ 5 Note also fjfl , which occurs on the Stone Drums (in the Tian Ju 5^ ^ ode) for ji (Mattos 1973:279-280) Karlgren (GSR 592) says: \"The upper part in the character is...[gX] ^ .... But this is not simply phonetic, for dz'isr 'equal' and ts'isr 'consort' are cognate words, ^.g. Liji.Neize: \\ vrp ^ \"At fifteen, she assumed the hairpin\" (Legge 1885.3:479 K37), n \"T\" v f p ^ ! \"At twenty, he was capped\" (Legge 1885.3:478 f34). 188 the consort being the one wife who is socially the equal (the \"mate\") of the husband. The element at the top...is a drawing of the hair-pins characteristic of the married woman.\" However, the bone graph ^ simply depicts a woman with long hair, which in this case should not be taken as a sign of old age, but of womanhood. Although the hand element has been interpreted as doing the hair up, one should note that a hand over a person in OBI usually indicates the subjection of someone inferior, as in M I ^ ( $1SL ) 'to dominate, subject' and sui ^ / -^r ( ) 'to subdue, pacify.' One can perhaps interpret that, when the bone graph for gi was created, it was intended to show a woman being subjected (or perhaps 'taken as wife'). On the other hand, the present graph is unusual in that in most instances the 'woman' element is standing rather than kneeling. This would seem to support the idea that a gi jj^ was a woman who was equal to a rin \\ (which means 'man' by default). Usage As noted above, probably in its primary meaning 'wife,' perhaps specifically 'principal wife.' Since the OBI and bronze usage of shuang ^ (II. 1 .ii. 186-191) to refer to ancestors' wives does not survive in soft texts, one can only rely on the inscriptional context to determine the difference in meaning between it and gi f^r . The \" te first thing one notices, is that shuang y$ occurs far more frequentiy than pj. (all variants: over 200 instances versus about 25 instances respectively1). It is also possible that shuang ^ was a term reserved for dead people. There are no examples of it applying to a living person in OBI, but there is one clear example of gi referring to a living person: 1 I have given approximate figures due to the uncertainty over which graphs should be recognized as variants, but the ratio is perfectly clear. 189 (Tongzuan 431) The king prognosticated, saying: \"There is a curse. Perhaps there will be a trouble-report coming.\" When it reached the ninth day, xinmao, there was indeed a trouble-report came, from north You. 2 Lady (?) Zhu (?) reported, saying: \"The Tu tribe abducted (from) our fields ten people.\" 50 ^ JGWB 4423 (unidentified) S.12.3x2 JWJ 9.2855: xu. 4) SW9a.7b :^f , \"S & Als . XX ¥ , XX 4 . fi ... SWDZ 9a. 18a: Now written . [Duan also emends the definition to yi xia m £ o $| \"T 'the hair under the chin.'] Tr: Xvi ^ means 'facial hair.' It consists of xi£\\ \"|T 'head' and shan ^ 'ornamental hair.' Analysis *For the identification of ^ as , interpreted as a i n . f^'^ . , see JWJ 2.335. It should be distinguished from mk ^ / (JWJ 3.1081). I am grateful to Professor Takashima for pointing this error out to me. 2For vou 3 5 a place name, cf. Tongzuan 513 (S.93.2) 190 The graph depicts a person with a beard. Usage Seems to be a person's name. 191 Part 8: \\ The graph \\ , Guo Moruo has suggested (see below), depicts a spoon with a hook at the back for hanging it over the rim of a cauldron. As an independent graph in OBI it is always used as a rebus for the word now written , with the meaning 'female ancestor of more than one generation back,' i.e. grandmother and earlier (for 'mother,' mu is used). I therefore translate the tide as 'ancestress.' As a component in other graphs, it is used both as 'spoon' and as 'female.' The female usage is restricted to animal graphs, in which it is used to denote the female of the animal. In other graphs it simply represents a spoon, as in zhi t=j / O 'spoon' + 'mouth' = 'delicious.' Since the present element depicts a spoon, it is not actually a human figure element, but I have included it in my thesis in order to clear up the confusion that surrounds it. After discussing the graph itself, I shall divide the present part into three sections according to the role of the element thus: i. Female ii. Spoon iii. Phonetic (?) 192 2 ^ JGWB 1024: bj fc_ ; 1421: bj -kt S.5.2xl0 (excluding examples followed by tiangan JWJ 8.2679: bj t SW 8a. 15a: Tr: Bj \"C. means 'to line up in a row.' It is the character rin A. 'person' [seal form: / \\ ] turned round. Another meaning of bj b is 'that with which one scoops up food,' also called a si 'spoon.' Analysis The graph depicts a spoon, so it is the second definition that SW gives that is the primary meaning. This explains its role as signific in the character chi ^Sr 'spoon' (the shi element is phonetic, but at the same time may originally have depicted a spoon, as Guo Moruo maintains, so the bj b signific could simply be a later elucidatory augmentation). Its use as 'spoon' is also attested, albeit sparsely, in the classics, there being one example in the Yijing and one in the Shijing: ^ -xJL t_ ^ . (HY 31/51) \"And he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.\"1 \" / M - ^ - (HY4g/203/l) \"Long and curved are the spoons of thorn-wood.\" iTranslation from Wilhelm 1967:50. 193 According to Guo Moruo, the 'arm' near the top of the graph represents a hook that served to hang the spoon over the rim of a cauldron, and that exacdy this situation can be seen in (O/NJWB Fulu 2.34a.2/2.303) (O/NJWB Fulu 2.34a.3/2.304) 0 * It may also be seen in the bone graph jjfg (Yicun 895, JGWB 333: )• Curiously though, none of the Shang spoons that I have seen in publications have such a hook, so the claim that £ depicts a spoon with a hook still awaits archaeological corroboration. Although the bone graphs for bi t i and rin A_ are often quite similar, there are definite differences, and in the bronze script and all subsequent styles of script they are quite distinct. I think the confusion between the bone forms is largely due to inaccurate transcriptions that tend to homogenize the differences. Usage It is used for the word now written ancestress. 194 Section i: 'Female' 195 1347 j JGWB 80: pin $t S.213.4x53 JWJ 2.303: pin 4 t SW2a.3a:W $ 0 : £ $ t * £ . SWDZ 2a.5b: Pin ^-L. refers to the female of all domestic animals. T n P i n ^ t . means 'the female of domestic animals.' It consists of niu -4\" 'cow'signific and hi t phonetic. The Yijing says: \"Care of me cow brings good fortune.\"1 Analysis JGWB 80 identifies all the 'animal+ b ' graphs as pin $t., and the SW definition provides the justification for this. Cf. the SW (ibid.)definition of mu as -zr /--. chiifu v|? X - 'the male of domestic animals,' which leads JGWB (78) to identify all the 'animal+shi dr ' graphs as m i . L i Xiaoding is more cautious, and identifies only the present graph as pin The reason why Shima lists the 'animal+ b. ' graphs under r6n in his index, is that he does not distinguish hi fc- from r£n A as graph components. The two graphs are generally distinct, but Shima's standardized orthography tends to blur the difference. What we really do appear to find confusion between here is hi \\ / t 'spoon' and dao I) I 77 Tcnife.' Perhaps here is really I, written upside down. Another possibility is that we are dealing with two different graphemes: pin cow, and * i f lj , perhaps indicating 'bullock.' Note that * ht (S.220.1) and * M (S.220.2) are clearly differentiated by context, * ^ t . occurring as a noun referring to a sacrificial victim (hence probably 'sow'), and *^ -'J occurring as a verb, perhaps with the meaning 'to butcher.' However, the use of* 4'1 and* | l j appears to be identical with that of pin !HY 19/30. Translation from Wilhelm 1967:119. 196 # t a n d * j £ t respectively, and Shima does not seperate them. JGWB has the remark under its first example: t . \"H % U 'hi t is mis-written as dao 77 .' It seems that we have to accept this explanation. Pin ^-t and the other 'animal + t ' graphs are fully analysed under JWJ 2.291 mu . However, it is attempting to analyse them according to the same principle that has led people astray. Luo Zhenyu is on the right track (JWJ 2.291) when he says that nyi does not contain phonetic as SW (2a.3a) maintains (which is a pretty awful phonetic anyway), but shi 'male' signific. However, he errs in accepting the SW analysis, that shi consists of shi \"f\" 'ten' and yi. —• 'one.' Ma Xulun (JWJ 2.296) gets nearer the truth when he says that 1 and f depict the male and female reproductive organs, but mistakenly identifies them as liao 3 and y_£ respectively. The identifications as shi \"JZ and are in fact correct, but they do not operate according to the same principle: they both represent 'male' and 'female,' but whereas -i. actually depicts a male organ, \\ depicts a spoon and only indicates 'female' through its homophony with the word now written This is an example of what I call a 'rebus signific,' and they are very rare. We come now to the problem of whether to recognize all the 'animal + t 1 graphs as pin ifffc. and all the 'animal + -j: ' graphs as mji at , as JGWB does. Luo Zhenyu (quoted by Yang Shuda, JWJ 2.294), agrees with JGWB's position, and maintains that you %, 'doe' is also a variant of pin at , and the pronunciation you was a later invention. Yang Shuda however seizes on you ^ as a relic of a bygone age when Chinese had separate words for the male and female of all domestic and familiar animals, just as English does. He proceeds to identify as many of the bone graphs in question with characters in the Erya thus: 197 I % = jia | | _ 'stag' ^ /Jg = you. 'doe' (no character1)'boar' / £ f c = h a frt 'sow' (nograph)/J± = zhif<| 'stallion' $f /I*1 =sM 'mare' The problem with this, as L i Xiaoding (JWJ 2.298) points out, is that these identifications are based purely on meaning, so there is no way of knowing if these really are the words that the bone graphs represent. He notes that the character sh£ is not in SW, and that SW(4a.l6b) defines fen as zang jff , and zang Jff as 'ram.' Duan Yucai (SWDZ 4a.34a) changes the definition of fen to 'ram' and zang jf^ to 'ewe' in order to make SW consistent with the Erya, but this is quite arbitrary. Words for the male and female of animals are bound to differ between dialects and across time, so Li's caution in leaving these graphs unidentified and simply transcribing them etc. must be followed. Usage As a sacrificial animal. 1348 JGWB 2244: tewen y L of pin Jft and nul Jf± S.214.1xl Not in JWJ Analysis ^ u t in SW we have the characters x i i (9b.l6b) and jia (9b.l5a). 198 This curious graph only occurs once, and appears to contain the symbols for both 'male' and 'female.1 Perhaps in this instance the | element really is dao 77 'knife' and the graph thus indicates 'bullock.' Another possibility is that the Shang herds did actually produce a hermaphrodite freak-this would explain the rarity of the graph (though the inscription says 'two ,' and it seems unlikely that there would have been two at the same time; it also seems unlikely that the Shang would have had a word for 'hermaphrodite cow' to correspond to the graph ). 1379 JGWB 80: pin ift. S.217.3x2 JWJ 10.3127: 3jt (not in SW) [this reference not given in S] Analysis The graph consists of quan | /j£ 'dog' and the sign for 'female,' and thus probably means 'bitch.' U s a g e Obscure. In Houbian 2.5.10 (the graph given above) it is a person's name. 1362 S.215.3xl5 JGWB 80: pin # t 199 JWJ4.1345: £ t (notinSW) Analysis The graph consists of yang % 'sheep' and the sign for female, though in some cases it looks more like dao i) I T} 'knife,' so we have the problem of deciding whether it means 'ewe' or 'wether.' Usage As a sacrificial animal. 1405 7 $ JGWB 80: (including jfy ) pin # t S.220.1x6 JWJ 9.2989: ^ j = frt (not in SW) Analysis The graph consists of shi 4§C 'pig' and the sign for 'female.' Curiously, L i Xiaoding only identifies the graph (S.220.2) as fat , even though he quotes Tang Lan's identification as ^'J (also not in SW). L i gives no examples of . Although in the case of pin it and %t it is hard to see any difference in usage between the forms which clearly contain bj t and those which apparently contain dao 77 , in the present case a difference in usage is detectable. While the form with bi b- is a sacrificial victim, the form with dao 77 may be interpreted as a method of disposal: (Zhuihe 59, ap. S.220.2) 200 Gengshen-day cracking: Issue the call to fetch the butchers and chu-soldiers. J : fa{\\ %9L \"f #L Z± . (Yibian 2833) Tested: Butcher piglet to Father Yi . However, due to the elliptical nature of OBI, the second example could also be interpreted as '(offer) female piglet to Father Yi. ' Usage As a sacrificial animal. 1 4 4 0 ^ (Xubian 5.26.8) J G W B 80 s% (Qianbian 6.46.6): pin %\\_ S.222.4x1 JWJ 10.3050 (same example as JGWB): . f t (not in SW) Analysis The graph consists of ma ^ 'horse' and the sign for 'female.' Curiously, JGWB and JWJ only give the graph that Shima lists after the present one, which could be interpreted as containing 'knife.' The usage of both graphs is too fragmentary for any contextual corroboration. 1563 JGWB 497: %L (not in SW) 201 S.236.3x3 JWJ 4.1291: %JL (not in SW) Analysis The graph consists of zhui i-t 'bird' and the sign for 'female.' Yu Yongliang identifies it as cj filM- 'female of birds,' but L i Xiaoding sticks to his agnostic position. Usage Place name. 202 Section ii: 'Spoon' 203 15 fc=J JGWB 602: zh£ a S.6.3x43 JWJ 5.1643: zhi | | SW5a.l4b: § , | £ . A l -fr , b contains zhao ^ as phonetic. In some bronze forms, we clearly do have djo I 77 , but in other forms it is written f , which looks like rgn A. , or 3 , which appears to be due to confusion with the descending hand elements ^ ^ that flank it. In the bone form (JGWB 92), it sometimes looks more like than dao. h / 77 . I think on the whole it was intended to be dag X) , but it is not always well written. In some bone variants, the zhao ^ phonetic element is lacking (S.359.2). Some forms appear to show two hands placing (or lifting up?) a wine vessel on a stand. It is not known what meaning this graph was originally designed to represent. Usage Occurs mostly as the name of a military leader. There are no examples of it in its primary meaning. 2487 B S.385.4x7 JGWB 3868 (unidentified) JWJ 3.855: geng JjlSij SW 3b.5b: ['§ , 3- | \\ . AA | , £ . # 0 : * % *« f . f : f « % . § : £ XL h . f 4 - f 205 Tr: Geng means 'five flavours harmonized soup.' It consists of l i ^ 'cooking vessel'and gao lamb.' The Shijing says: \"There is also the well-seasoned soup.\"1 It is sometimes abbreviated as ^ . It is also written J $ j , consisting of mei |^ 'delicious' and geng abbreviated. The small seal form is written , consisting of gas lamb' and mei 'delicious.' Analysis L i Xiaoding correctly analyses the graph as consisiting of r&u. | ^ 'meat,' M t l 'spoon,' min 'vessel,' and little dots representing gravy. He accepts Luo Zhenyu's identification as geng | ^ , although really there is no cogent basis for doing so. Usage Context fragmentary, but probably some sort of sacrifice. 2520 Jg> S.388.4xl JGWB 333: s i JWJ 3.854: g (notinSW) S W 3 b . 6 a:f|l, ft f Ht $ «. t& . »* % « 4* * $ . ^ f , SWDZ 3b.l2a: [Emends:] {fit f A- . If : , $4 «) ft*. *HY 81/302. 2Written in the present text. 206 Tr: Su means [the contents of the cauldron. The Shijing says: \"What were the vegetables? Bamboo sprouts and reed shoots.\"1] In Chenliu2. jian 4^ . 'rice gruel' is called si . It consists of li 'cooking vessel' signific and si $J». phonetic, ffc* : also written with shi % 'food' signific and shi %~ phonetic. i i Analysis The graph occurs without context, so it is hard to be sure of the proposed identification, but I think it is at least clear that it contains hi t 'spoon' and not rgn k 'person.' It seems likely that the dong $ / j ^ . element is phonetic,3 while the apparent lido / ^ element probably represents the contents of the cooking vessel. X H Y 71/261/3. 2 I am grateful to Professor Takashima for informing me that this was a place name. 3Dong $ towrj < *tat]w andfiM jjf / cuawk < *takw (initial uncertain) are both graphically and phonetically similar (being in corresponding nasal-final and stop-final rhymes). Shit ^ seems to show a bag tied at both ends, and Chinese scholars agree that dong $ shows something similar (JWJ 6.2029). 207 Section iii: Phonetic (?) 208 2652 fc^ JGWB 1668: ^ (notinSW) S.406.2xl87 JWJ 7.2578:'^ (notinSW) Analysis The graph consists of bj ^ / 'a hand-held net' with bj fc- on top. Bj t (pj i* < *psj ?) is phonetically very close to bi ^ (pj it < *pac). The two rhymes that they are in, zhj ^ & and zhi ^ , are very closely related. I would guess that the present graph is a variant of hi Jp. , with hi t l added on top both as a phonetic hint and also to suggest the thing being caught in the net. This does not mean that a spoon is being caught, but the fact that the phonetic element is placed in the mouth of the net is probably intended to be suggestive. Compare huli ^) / \\ % (III.2.376), in which ge_ 'spear' is phonetic, but at the same time is placed suggestively in the hands of the offering figure-it does not necessarily mean that the graph refers to the offering up of spears. Usage Occurs principally as the name of a military leader. This contrasts with the form , which usually refers to the capturing of game (S.404.1-406.2). 209 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER I Since my chapter on the rin *\\ element is the most complex chapter in the thesis, it might be a good idea to summarize the main points before proceeding to Chapters II and IH, so that the reader may have these points in mind when considering how the use of the d l A and \\ elements differ from the of the ria f elemenL To start off, r in \\ is an 'all-purpose' element that could be used in graphs denoting words that had anything to do with humans. In order to bring some organization to my material, I divided it up into six divisions: i.a Type of human i. b Specific human ii. Human actions iii. Body parts iv. Miscellaneous v. Phonetic I believe it was useful to do this, because it is not necessarily the case that in a script of the same nature as the oracle bone script, a single human element should be used to cover all these areas. For example, the designers of the script could have chosen to devise a separate grapheme for making up graphs that referred to types of humans, or a special grapheme for making up graphs for people's names. It was therefore necessary for me to attempt to show that the rin \\ element does indeed have all these uses. This classification is also 210 heuristic as, for example, one might have avoided interpreting graphs containing the rin ^ element as people's names if one did not have reason to think that this was merely a standard usage of this element. Or one might have felt that such graphs were only being 'used as' people's names and really had some other meaning, which one might then endeavour to find out and be forced to say 'meaning unknown,' when in fact it would be quite acceptable to conclude that the graph had no other meaning and was designed to represent a person's name in the first place. I then identified a number of variants of the rin element: ^| , ^ = * , \\ \\ , j , | , , and \\ (this last not strictly a variant, but included in order to clarify a point of confusion). ^ shows the emphasis on the abdomen, and is used in graphs relating to that area of the body. M = * —> represents a person lying down, and is used in graphs to do with sickness, sleeping and dreaming. h\\ shows a couple of people, sometimes standing for 'many.' } shows a person sitting (as in the Western fashion). ^ is rin \\ upside down. ^ shows the emphasis on the hair. And \\ depicts a kind of spoon but is used as a rebus for the word M 'ancestress,' now written •j&L . The conclusion that rin. ^ sometimes represents a person lying down (when it does so can only be determined by the analysis of particular graphs) is something that I would especially like to draw attention to, since it is hot otherwise obvious. Some people may feel skeptical about this, but I have tried to show that it makes sense. In contrast to the several forms and uses of the rin \\ element, the forms and uses of the da ^ and elements that I examine in the remaining two chapters can be described much more specifically. 211 Chapter IL A Parti: A What deterrnines the use of the d l ^ element is perhaps the most difficult to work out. At the heart of the matter is the problem over its primary meaning. Is it really intended to represent the concept 'big,' or is this a rebus usage? Since the word d l is not known to have any other meaning apart from 'big,' it seems most likely that it is indeed intended to represent this concept. But how does it represent it? The usual explanation is that it represents a man standing with his arms held out, drawing himself up to his full stature, and thus implying the idea 'big.' I would like to modify this slightly, and say that d l is intended to depict an adult. In Chinese, daren , literally 'big person,' seldom refers to physical size, but either means 'great (i.e. important) person' or 'adult.'1 The graph d l ^ then may be interpreted as portraying a person (male by default) who has reached the age where he is able to stand firm and confront his responsibilities as an adult. One is reminded of Confucius's saying: j=L \"\\~ \\$p JA . Support for the idea that da ^ is intended to depict an adult comes from the graph fu. 'adult male.' It represents, in a stylized fashion, a man wearing a cap that is pinned onto the hair. This is the cap of manhood that was ceremonially bestowed, ^ e e Dai Kan-Wa Jiten 3.414-5. 212 according to the ritual texts, at the age of twenty,1 and signified that a male had reached the age where he assumed his various social responsibilities as an adult (e.g. the duty2 to get married). One may compare the fact that the graph for gr ^ / ^ » 'child' contains the rin \\ element. We see from this that the rin ^ element did not carry the inherent significance [+ADULT], whereas the d l ^ element did. Thus it would be impossible for the graph for 'child' to be written * . This helps to explain then why there are no clear examples of d l ^ as a graph element in OBI having the significance 'big.' In most cases it simply represents a person. Its use is usually conditioned by the desire to depict both sides of the body (i.e. in concepts where the involvement of both legs and/or both arms was felt to be important to the depiction of the concept), and is thus used instead of rin ^ when the concept in question was felt to be most easily or most naturally depicted from the front. This makes it particularly suitable for use in graphs designed to capture the concept of standing still, where it was felt desirable to portray both legs in order to emphasize the idea of being stationary. This use comes out particularly when one compares it with the rin \\ element, as I have already done in the Introduction. However, where the idea of subjection was felt to be more important, then the kneeling figure was used, even when it was desired to depict both arms, as in the elements ^ , , ^ and J*\" which I examine in the next chapter (Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5). lB.g. Liji.Neize: ^ ~T~ 7&> \"At twenty, he was capped\" (Legge 1885.3:478 1J34). The Yili and Liji both have chapters devoted to this ceremony (Shiguanli and Guanyi respectively), but in neither chapter is the age of capping mentioned. Steele (1917.1:266) says that the traditional ages for the capping of boys and the pinning of girls should probably be regarded as inferior limits. 2 I say 'duty,' since the main purpose of marriage was to provide descendants to maintain the sacrifices to the ancestors. Steele (1917.1:266) notes that a man was expected to be married by the age of thirty. Zhouli.Diguan.Situ xia.meishi says: ... ^ ' ~- \"f* vfp ^ , *f~ (Lin Yin 1974:144) \"Officier des mariages (Me'i-chi)...il ordonne que rhomme a trente ans prenne femme, que la fille a vingt ans soit mariee\" (Biot 1851.1:307). The Baihutong says that marriage is not an occasion for congratulation, because it signifies that the son is taking over from his father as the provider of descendants (see Tjan 1949:2491|241). Thus marriage is clearly portrayed as a duty. 213 After dealing with the graph d l ^ itself, I shall divide the present part into the following sections, according to the role that I deem this element to play in the graphs that I assign to those sections: i. Graphs to do with standing ii. Other graphs involving both sides of the body, or most easily depicted from the front iii. Miscellaneous 214 153 j\\ JGWB 1239: da 7v S.28.2x259 (excluding many collocations) JWJ 10.3199: d l 7v SW 10b.2b: SWDZ 10b.4b: This definition is based on a sentence in the Laozi. [ch.25], which actually reads: \"Hence the way is great; heaven is great; earth is great; and the king is also great.\"1 Tr: Da 7v : Heaven is great, earth is great, and man is also great. This is why d l -fc depicts a man. [ i l ] is the old form of d l Analysis Karlgren (GSR 317a) says: \"The graph is a drawing of a man (grown-up person).\" I think this is probably correct, and I have already explained how this may be related to the concept 'big.' L i Xiaoding says that the meaning 'big' is a loan usage. He does not state clearly what he thinks the original meaning was, but presumably he thinks it meant 'man.' 'Big' is indeed the sort of concept that is very hard to portray pictographically. Its opposite, xiao * ' / ' J N 'small,' consists of three short vertical lines, perhaps representing grains of sand, or perhaps just anything small in an abstract way. Usage In most cases it clearly means 'big,' and I believe this is its original meaning. translation fromD.C. Lau 1982:39, |57. 215 Section i: Standing 216 165 JGWB 3849 (unidentified) «»« S.30.3xl JWJ 10.3209: (notinSW) SW 5a.l7b: ( f , ^ f i i ^ f j k . # & tl%k . U jt , £ & Tr: I i j | | means a bell-support. It is decorated with ferocious beasts. The character consists of hu. 'tiger stripes,' with y i ^ depicting the legs underneath. : j i is also written with jin JE. 'metal' signific and j i phonetic. : the seal i i form of j i J&L is abbreviated. Analysis Shima transcribes the present graph with the three circles that occur underneath it in the inscription, but JGWB and JWJ both omit these circles, and indeed it seems better to regard them as a separate graph. Although this bone graph has not been identified, as far as I know, it is very similar to the bronze form of j i y^ ji 'bell-stand,' so I think one may safely identify it thus. 4* (O/NJWB 772/630) Karlgren gives and jfjj (GSR 78e and g) as variants of the same word, which he defines as 'upright posts of a drum or bell frame' (as opposed to xun %) ~ ~ m A f the cross-beams), and this is the meaning it generally has in the bronze 217 inscriptions. The reason why Xu Shen says it was decorated with fierce beasts, is in order to explain the role of the hu. yL tiger-top element. I do not doubt that it may have had such decoration (Duan Yucai 5a.43a quotes a passage from the Zhouli to support this1), but the role of this element is of course primarily phonetic: h i x o ' < *xa? , j i gta\"' < *ga?. Karlgren separates it under his pji )jl k'ta < *k'ar phonetic series, but this is really just a sub-series of hu . The ^ element underneath qu i ^ . is a form of qiu 'hill' which happens to have remained more faithful to the seal form Ml (SW 8a. 16b), and is of course signific here, the primary meaning of pji Jit being 'hill' or 'mound.' In the character j i however, the element is corrupted from , as you can see, and never contained pju_ . Since Karlgren quotes one of the bronze examples (from the wf ), it is strange that he does not bother to remark on this. I suppose he just decided to gloss over this problem. The present graph clearly does not depict a bell-frame, so it seems to me that this must be a specialization of a more general basic meaning. In the Fangyan (Jiaojian 5/38/37), j i is defined as 'a high table of the sort that one puts before a couch' fli) JL> . . . /iiH ). I think the basic meaning was probably 'a stand, a support.' Note the alternative form j # § < , which suggests an etymological relationship with j i ^jft k i a h < *ka-ys 'to depend on.' The signific element then, which has not been found independendy, may be interpreted as showing an adult with both feet planted firmly on the ground, and the 'tiger-top' phonetic is joined on top in such a way as to suggest that it is the person's head. Thus d l ^ is used, rather than rin ^ , because it was felt desirable to portray both legs in order to represent a concept to do with 'standing,' and the feet are also drawn in to emphasize this. ^rom the chapter Kaogongji.Ziren (see Lin Yin 1974:462). The passage describes the beasts in terms of categories, so no specific animals, such as tigers, are mentioned. 218 Usage Although in bronzes it occurs with the meaning 'bell-stand,' the bone graph occurs only as the name of a person, Zi Ju £ ^ Prince Ju.' 167 JGWB 1023:yi %L S.30.3x4 (excluding its usage as a diviner's name) JWJ 8.2675: yi $}C S W 8 a . l 5 a : ^ , £ & . M K. , 1 £ . £ , £ * & £ . SWDZ 8a.39b: [Omits w^i t^L , which he says was inserted due to confusion with yj , thus giving the opposite definition. Duan says yigX- is often glossed as zhi jJb in the classics.] Tr: Y i $X- 'doubtful' means 'uncertain.' It consists of hua Y- 'to change' signific [Duan explains that 'after things change, they become stable,' but I think Xu Shen may have meant this in the sense of 'changeable'] and phonetic. #z. is the old form of shi arrow. SW 14b.l2b: *t , § A,. JX* ,jk, \\L, SWDZ 14b.26b: Neither hui ^- nor s M ^ can be phonetic, but zhi j £ - could be. The analysis should be XL %T , it % , jk. $ 'from zi 'child,' y i |L 'certain' abbreviated, and zhi _lk phonetic.1 'Child' and 'certain' combine to give the meaning. [Duan revised the definition of y i $X- to 'certain,' but Xu Shen's original definition 'uncertain' would fit in better here.] 219 Tr: Y i $3t 'hesitant' means 'perplexed.' It consists of zi 'child,' zhi jh. 'to stop,' hua ^ 'to change,' and sM ^ phonetic. Analysis Duan Yucai attempts very bravely to wrestle with Xu Shen's uninsightful analyses. If only he could have seen how simple the original bone graph is! The graph simply depicts a person standing still, leaning on a stick. The primary meaning was probably 'stand still, stop>fix on, settle' (see GSR 956a), which is the meaning that yi has in the rusheng reading, while the meaning 'to doubt, hesitate' that it has in the pingsheng reading is perhaps etymologically derived from this ('stand stillVhesitate').1 (Since Mandarin has lost its rusheng, I am unable to indicate these different readings in the pinyin transcription.) Duan's attempt to use these different meanings to distinguish between the two SW characters yi $ £ . and yi is thus futile. The simple character yi is the direct descendant of the present bone graph, but it occurs only in SW. In texts, the minimum form is always yi . In this character, the 'hand holding a stick' element has been corrupted into zi %~ 'child' in the seal form, while the additional signific zhi jt-probably indicates the idea of 'stopping.' It is interesting that in the simple character yi Jfc. (1 the 'hand holding a stick' has been distorted into Xu Shen's hua V- element, since exacdy the same distortion took place in the character lao ^ / If the primary meaning of yi was 'to stand still,' then this would explain why it was felt desirable to show both legs. On may compare the above mentioned graph l|o. 1The Guangyun only gives yj 4^ a pingsheng reading, with the meanings 'uncertain, to fear, perplexed, to suspect.' However, there is some early rhyming evidence for a rusheng reading (Zhu Junsheng 1834:5.15a gives examples from the ShujingMongfan and the ChuciDazhao), and Lu Deming's glosses on the Shijing and the Yili provide evidence for such a reading with the meaning 'stand firm' (see Pan Chonggui 1983.1:209). Note also that some graphs containing yi -ZJC as phonetic have a rusheng and a non-rushengreading,e.g.yf JfiL n + , rjik,yi rji ,n.ik,yi , | f rj4,rjik. 220 fj , which shows an old person leaning on a walking stick, where there is no motivation in the concept for not using ren \\ . Usage Name of a person, especially that of a Period II diviner (see Keightley 1978:195, table 6), so the Shang bronzes bearing this graph inside or under the y i izL cartouche (see O/NJWB Fulu 1.16/1.129) may perhaps be identified with this person or his clan. The graph ffi^ however (S.324.3), which has a chi A road element added, and is included by both JGWB and JWJ as a variant of the present graph, is used as a verb. L i Xiaoding says it is used in the meaning hu&iyf t i l 'suspect, doubt,' and I think he is probably right: | : -4 0 £ ... £ S © : 4&& %> il . 0 yu . ^ H . (Qianbian 136.2) Tested: Today perhaps... The king read the cracks and said: \"(I) suspect this (crack) (awaits:) harbingers rain.\" That day it did indeed rain. Third month. 172 ^ JGWB 1263: H JL S.31.4xl09 JWJ 10.3251: li J£ SW 10b.8a: 221 SWDZ 10b.20a: Z M has been changed from s M \\$- [defined at SW 8a.7a as JI £ 'to stand'] by a 'shallow person.' Tr: L i £ 'to stand' means zhu %. 'to stay.' It consists of djj, A . [representing a person] standing on top of a line [representing the ground]. Analysis The graph depicts a person standing on the ground. Usage The graph occurs mostly followed by an object, such as zhong xfy , s_hi , shu ^ or rin , so it is clearly being used as a transitive verb. It would make good sense to read it as li >fj£ 'go and inspect'(GSR 520b). Thus li shu JL would mean'go and inspect the millet (crop).' As for zhong ty , shi JjJL and rin , these probably refer to military units, so a causative interpretation 'set up, establish,' which is a common meaning of li £ in soft texts, would also make sense. Once again, d l ^ is used because it was felt desirable to show both legs in order to represent a concept to do with standing. 216 M - ff\\ JGWB 1264: bing jL S.39.3x72 JWJ 10.3253: Mng SW 10b.9a: Tr: Bing %. means bing ^ 'to combine.' It consists of two H U- . 222 Analysis The graph shows two people standing side by side on the ground. Shima also includes three examples in which the ground is not present (Shiduo 1.416 and 2.76, Yicun 222). JGWB 1262 includes these as variants of bin ftf , but Shima lists other inscriptions with similar wording in which the graph is written jti with the ground underneath, so his inclusion is undoubtedly correct. SW (8a. 16a) gives a graph ft ft as the 'old form' of bi , which is curiously similar to the bone graph (\\([ . This is interesting in the light of the word family connection between bing jllL and M fcb that Professor Pulleyblank has informed me of. Usage In many inscriptions it seems to be the name of a person, but there are also some inscriptions in which the interpretation 'together, to combine' would make sense, e.g. (Houbian 2.9.1) On the seventh day, jisi-night cutting into1 (gengwu-day)...there was a new big star together with the Fire-star... 4 9 i | f t . . . (Houbian 2.9.1) Today mix new wine [e.g. with y i 'spiced wine'?]. 1Another interpretation of this graph proposed by Serruys (1974:106, n.35), is that it stands for ddu Iff] (sic =l!frl ), which SW (3b .7b) defines as y i I S . 'to meet.' This meaning would fit the OBI usage between dates very well. If we understand 'meet' as 'intercept,' then this can still be related to the meaning 'cut.' My translations of these sentences otherwise follow Li Xiaoding's interpretations. 223 Section ii: 'Bilateral' and 'Frontal' In the majority of graphs containing the d l element, I think that its use was determined by the feeling that the concept in question was most easily or most naturally depicted from the front. This is particularly the case in concepts where it is felt necessary to portray both the arms or both the legs, as the present section will show. The ren element cannot be used in such cases, because only one arm and one leg are apparent in this profile view. It is interesting to note here that, although the Egyptian script has a much greater variety of human figures in it, they are invariably depicted from the side. The human figure is never frontally depicted. This seems to be true also, in general, of their art. The Egyptians were quite happy representing both arms and both legs from the side, by adjusting their relative positions so that the near limb did not hide the farther. In the Shang script there are one or two graphs in which both arms are portrayed from the side (e.g. zhi % I , showing a prisoner with both hands bound in a sort of manacle), but there are no graphs in which both legs are portrayed from the side. This naturally supports element is largely structurally conditioned. 224 160 ^ . ^ JGWB 1250: zg ^ S.479.4x9 JWJ 10.3213: m ^ SW10b.3b: ^ , 4 f A . M ^ , | L . K/ . . . Tr: Zg, \"^L means 'to incline the head.' It is based on d l , and is a pictograph [showing the head inclined]. Analysis The graph shows a person with the head inclined to one side. Thus the primary meaning must have been, as Xu Shen has it, to incline the head. It is now usually written , and SW (9b.9a1) has this as a separate character, with the definition ceqing 'to incline.' I do not know what the origin of the form is-the seal form fft does not seem to be derivable from the bone form ^ . The word ze J£ now seems to be restricted to its specialized use in poetry to refer to the deflected tones. The word zg JJ^ 'the sun slanting towards the West,' is another specialized usage. I assume that the d l ^ element is used in this graph because the designers of the script felt that inclining the head to one side was most easily depicted from the front. Usage Apart from a few obscure exceptions, it occurs mainly in the name Wang Ze S~ which, being the beneficiary of sacrifices, must be the name of an ancestor. There do not seem to be any examples of it in its original meaning. *SW gives |X ^ m e zhouwin form, and says that the z£ jk> element is both signific and phonetic. 225 168 ^ JGWB 3002 (unidentified) S.30.3x30 JWJ 5.1825: yang JJ^ SW 5b.l0b: | J ^ i ^ . i A ^ t n i ^ . , JL J L > . SWDZ 5b.26b: [Explains that 'middle' and 'side' depend on each other for their meaning, i.e. in order for something to be in the middle, there has to be something on either side. This is typical of the Chinese 'relative' way of looking at things] Tr: Yang *fe means'middle.'1 It consists of da inside jiong f\") 'wilderness.' D | ;7v here represents a person. The characters yang and pang ^ are similar in conception. [SW la. lb defines pang a s b j i ^ 'vast.' Xu shen's meaning is unclear, but perhaps he is trying to make a connection between the 'edge' of a wilderness and the 'middle' of one.] One source defines it as long lasting.' Analysis Ding Shan agrees with Dong Zuobin's description of this graph as depicting a person wearing a cangue, and says that it is the primary form of yang , which is defined in SW (3b.4a) as jingzhi * ^ jjtjS 'neck-strap.' Karlgren defines it as 'strap on breast of horse or ox' (GSR 718f), and describes the bronze form as 'a man with a carrying-pole, supported in its centre,' but considering that none of the characters in this 1 Pulleyblank 1986 argues that yang ^ basically meant 'inside' rather than 'middle,' and is a derivative of y i ^ 'in.' 226 phonetic series relates to this meaning, I do not know how he can be so dogmatic. Ding Shan notes that the Zheng Xuan commentary to the occurrence of yang % ^ in the Shijing (HY 50/205/5) defines it as M ffi 'to carry,' and continues 'it is like a horse 'carrying' a chariot' ( ). However, as Karlgren (Gloss 646) notes, the earlier commentary by Mao treats the expression yangzhang ^ in this ode as a binome meaning shir6ng 'disconcerted, perplexed,' and Karlgren identifies its components with the words yang and chang TH»), which occur separately with this meaning in other early texts. Since the expression rhymes, it does indeed seem better to treat it as a rhyming binome, and the Mao commentary, being earlier than the Zheng Xuan commentary, has greater authority. It seems better simply to accept that yang means 'horse's neck-strap.' The bone graph probably depicts a person wearing some kind of collar round the neck, the frontal view making this easier to represent, and the application to a horse's neck-strap would be a later development. One final point is that, although the graph probably depicts a person wearing some kind of collar, one cannot help being struck by its 'centrality.' I think this is a conscious part of the way in which the graph was designed. Usage Person's name, mostly in the name Zi Yang %~ <$JL 'Prince Yang.' 175 ^ JGWB 1249: yi # S.32.4xl97 JWJ 10.3211: yi 227 SW 10b.3b: $ , A % fa Jhj . rl A , 4 & fa *~ • R ... SWDZ 10b.7b: Y i fa came to mean 'in addition' because the armpits are 'added' to the side of the body. Tr: Y i fa refers to a person's armpits. It consists of d l !7\\. with the two armpits depicted. [Xu Xuan et al: Now erroneously written .] Analysis The graph shows a person with marks indicating the armpits. It is the primary form of y_i 'armpit.' Because it was used as a phonetic loan for a common word meaning 'also,' the word for 'armpit' came to be written with the phonetic compound , consisting of rim $J 'flesh' signific and y i phonetic. Y i 7^ 'night' in turn consists of xi $ 'evening' and y l fa* phonetic, according to'SW (7a. 10b). It is not found in OBI, but the bronze form is ^ ( 3 & J^- , O/NJWB 916/1132). The 'evening' element replaces the right armpit. Dl A is used because there is an armpit on both sides of the body, and it was felt desirable to indicate both armpits, as they form a natural pair. Usage Mostly used in the sense of 'also,' or perhaps 'again.' I suspect that the graph ^ was invented specifically as a rebus for the word 'also' and was never actually used to write the word 'armpit.' This may be another reason why the complex character y i was created to write the word 'armpit.' Whether or not this suggestion makes sense depends on the original purpose of the script. It is true that the oracle bone language is largely religious in nature, so one might not necessarily expect to see armpits referred to (unless the king had a sick one), but we do not know what other genres of writing the Shang had. Supposing that they came across the need to write the word 'also' before they had written about armpits? It would be perfectly natural, using the rebus principle, to 228 depict an armpit to represent this word, without having previously used the graph to mean 'armpit.' The same may have happened with any graph that is commonly used as a rebus. 182 ^ JGWB 1240: jia & 'place name' S.34.2x8 JWJ 10.3201: jia & SW 10b.2b: $ , # A> . kk 7v 4% X k . Tr: Jja means 'to hold.' It consists of d l 7v [representing a person] embracing two people. Analysis The graph depicts a person apparently embracing two other people beneath the arms. Some of the meanings Karlgren gives are 'be on both sides of, support, press between' (GSR 630a), and these seem to be the sort of concepts that the graph is intended to depict. The word x i l , which Xu Shen uses paronomastically in his definition,1 has very similar meanings: 'grasp, hold, clasp under arm, encompass, embrace' (GSR 6301). There is probably an etymological relationship here. lM Ts k e r p < * k r j a p . xia ~gep < *g 3 ap (for the classification as y£ Hp. rhyme, rather than the ji fa which the EMC values would seem to point to, see GSR 630 and Wang Li 1958:66-67). It seems unlikely that £hi dr + < *dr 8-y in the definition is intended to be paronomastic. 229 Place name. 186 187 $ 188 189 191 tflw 190 JGWB 1242: 'overlooked by SW' JGWB 1246: H (not in SW) JWJ 4.1161: ju SW3b.20b:^. SWDZ 3b.44b: [Refers to meishuang $1 'the grey light of early dawn.' Explains the *-)( element as like the holes in a lattice window letting in chinks of light.] Tr: Shuang $ | means ming 8 $ 'bright.' It consists of l i & [see Duan's explanation] and d l 'big' [i.e. implying great light]. Analysis A great deal of ink has been spilt over the identification of this character, and I do not have space to discuss all the identifications proposed here. L i Xiaoding enthuses over Zhang Zhenglang's identification as ju. ^ , but I find it far too complicated and contrived. I think that, on graphic grounds, one has to accept Yu Xingwu's identification as shuang ^ . This creates a big problem over the meaning of the graph in OBI, which clearly has nothing to do with the SW definition or any other known meaning of this character, but I think one simply has to accept that this problem exists, and some avenues of escape have 230 been proposed. Here are some graphs that O/NJWB 455/569 lists as bronze forms of shuang The Jj[ graph is clearly a direct descendant of the bone graph ^ . The elements under the arms may be lamps, in which case the SW definition 'bright' could be its original meaning. The form on the ^i. is very close to the modern form, with the lamps simplified to criss-crosses. The graph is used to refer to the wife of an ancestral king, in exacdy the same formula as we find in OBI. The d l ^ element is used in order to give the graph a symmetrical design. Usage Although there is much dispute about the identification of this graph, there is none over its meaning, which is perfectly clear. It usually refers to the wives of the ancestral kings, and may perhaps be translated as 'queen' (except in a few cases where it refers to the wife of an ancestral minister). Yu Xingwu suggests that shuang staar)' < *srarj' ? stands for xiang staan.h < *sans in the sense of 'helpmate.' Another possibility is that it may be connected somehow with the word shuang staan. <*sran. 'widow.' As Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, if a queen outlived her husband she would be his widow. 192 S.35.4xlll JGWB 708: wj± 2£ 231 JWJ 6.2039: y/1 ; 5.1927: w l ^ SW 6a.24b: ^ , f Ab . & * * - . . [ « ] « t l & * t , SWDZ 6a.67a: This meaning is now written or . Tr: Wu $ h means feng jji. 'abundant.' It consists of lin 'forest' and tfj* . Some sources say that *)$t is the character m i 'model.' It consists of d l 'big' and . represents a big number [there is no such character in SW, but it may be analysed as nian JT* 'twenty'doubled]. A forest is a lot of trees. is conceptually the same as shi jjfc 'many.' The Shangshu [= Shu.Hongfan] says: \"All the plants are rich and luxuriant.\"1 Analysis s Xu Shen is able to marshal so much evidence in favour of his analysis, one hardly feels charitable in gainsaying it. However, the bone graph simply depicts a person dancing, and is the primary form of wJt 'to dance.' The modern graph must be descended from a later form in which the feet were drawn in, such as we find an example of in bronzes: (NJWB 899, not at OJWB 730) ^Tongjian 24/848. Translation from Karlgren 1950:33, |26. In the present text, the last two characters are written IT 1& 232 This emphasizes the fact that dancing is mainly performed with the feet. In the bone graph, the distinguishing feature is the things hanging beneath the arms. Ritual texts suggest that they may represent plumes. L i Xiaoding quotes ZhouliDiguan.Wushi (Lin Yin 1974:126): \"Us enseignent la dance des plumes variees, et sont chefs de danse dans les cer6monies des temps de s6cheresse.\" (Biot 1851.1:269) This describes one of the duties of the wushi ffi iff 'dance masters.' The Zheng Xuan commentary to this, which L i also quotes, reads: , $r j^x. % , fc 'the hu&ng i s m a c i e from splitting five-coloured feathers; it is also like afu W .' Karlgren defines fy as 'wand with silk pennons carried in ritual dances' (GSR 276n). The word huang ,2- is also written j£_ , which as you can see consists of yu 'feather' signific and w£ng phonetic. SW (4a.lib) defines this character as 'to dance with feathers covering ones head when worshipping the stars.' Note also that SW (5b. 15a) gives the old form of ^ i l as \\JT , consisting of yjL %M 'feather' signific and wang \"t phonetic. Thus one can see that the association between feathers and dancing was very close in ancient China. In OBI, dancing is often performed to solicit rain. It seems likely that yj . 'feather' and yjL $3 'rain' have always been homophonous, or at least very similar in pronunciation (GSR 98 and 100 gives them the same reconstruction), so one wonders if there is some sympathetic magic involved here, or whether the plumes were simply a decoration. In spite of Xu Shen's definition of wji as 1£ 'to rejoice' (SW 5b. 15a), I think it is clear that in ancient China dancing was mainly a ritual activity rather than 233 something done for pleasure.1 It was an expression of harmony between the spiritual world and the physical world. The emphasis therefore was on its orderly and symmetrical performance. The bone graph, representing the dancer from the front, with the plumes hanging down in a balanced pair, may be seen as symbolizing harmony through symmetry. The ritual nature of dancing is brought out clearly both in OBI and the classical ritual texts such as the Zhouli passages here quoted. Note also that the word yyji ?EL 'shaman' differs from wji ^ only in tone, and could well be etymologically related, i.e. it could mean literally something like 'dancer.' Ritual dancing was one of the main activities of the shamans, as one can see from the Zhouli.Chunguan.Siwu passage (Lin Yin 1974:269) that L i Xiaoding cites: % i < % S'i * % f . \"Si le royaume 6prouve une grande secheresse, alors il se met a la tete des sorciers; et il appelle la pluie, en exdcutant des danses.' (Biot 1851.2:102) This refers to one of the duties of the siwu 3iL 'chief shaman.' An interesting contrast is formed by the Egyptian ideogram 1 ^ (Gardiner 1957:445, sign A32), which shows a man dancing from a half-frontal view (there are no fully frontal ideograms of humans in Egyptian), and occurs as signific in a word meaning 'jubilate.' There is no striving for symmetry in this graph, only for grace and balance. I suppose the Egyptians had a very different temperament from the Chinese. Usage though of course the two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The designers of the script may have had a bias towards the ritual context, as the Confucian texts certainly do, and this would distort our view of the nature of dancing in ancient China. 234 In bronzes, siA is always used as a negative, but in OBI it is always used in its original meaning 'to dance.' The equivalent negative in OBI is wang 200 X S.37.4xl4 201 S.37.4xl6 JGWB 316: yi j | 202 ^ S.37.4xl 203 S.38.1xl 205 t# S.38.1x25 JGWB 4694 (unidentified) JWJ 3.803: yi |g (= dH % ) SW3a.21b: I , # J & . / A ft\" , / A # ; £ , * . ft . . . Tr: Y i JI 'to differentiate' means fsn. ^ 'to divide.' It consists of gong 7T\" [representing a pair of hands] and bi 7T . B i 7T means yji \"j 'to give.' Analysis The basic form of this graph shows a person carrying a basket1 on the head, and is the primary form of djti. ^ tajh < *tg-ys 'to carry on the head.' The primary form was borrowed to write a word meaning 'different.' The phonetic element zai tsaj < *ts8-y was then added to distinguish the original meaning. L i Xiaoding suggests that in the form (my 200), the top element is zi ty tst < *tsr8-y 'earthenware vessel,' and acts as a phonetic hint. In the form jr (my 203) we can recognize ci i I dzsj < *&zkn as 1Which I identify as gui £l£ (GSR 540a 'basket') in order to account for its phonetic role in gui ^ $L (seeIII.l.i.283). 235 a phonetic hint, and in the form ^ (my 205, which L i includes as a variant, though many scholars are doubtful over its identification), we can recognize zi •? / ?T t s t '< *tsa? phonetic. Thus the thing being carried incorporates a phonetic hint. This is typical of the design of the bone graphs. The graph is depicted from the front in order to show that the basket is being held on the head by both hands. Usage Some of the above forms are used as personal names, but their usage is otherwise rather obscure. Takashima (1973:70 #18) suggests the tentative translation \"I-influence,\" or otherwise \"transform, change (?); protect (?).\" j | . JGWB 1599: (including ? ) gjn f 206 S.38.1x49 JWJ 13.4013: flin % S W 13b.l4b: |(x , 4£ j t A l J ± . , rV . . . f f , Tr: Qin Jf. means 'clay.' It consists of t i _£~ 'earth' and huang 'yellow' abbreviated.... 'H and X are both old forms of qin JL . Analysis Karlgren correctly identifies the present graph as , an element which does riot occur independently (not even in SW), to which he ascribes the pronunciation jian on the 236 basis that it is the primary form of jian \"ffi 'distress, difficulty1 (GSR 480). The character gm jg_ actually consists of the present graph as phonetic and, in the seal form, til jt_ 'earth signific,' distorted from hui> k 'fire' signific in the variant bone form and bronze form (the bronze forms show how the 'fire' element became distorted to 'earth'): W (S.38.3) > ^ - L j£N (O/NJWB 1715/2189) In OBI, the present graph clearly refers to some kind of calamity, so the meaning 'distress, difficulty' is quite appropriate, and there is general agreement on this. However, there is disagreement as to how the graph represents this concept. Karlgren says that \"the graph shows a man (prisoner?) with back-bound hands.\" L i Xiaoding on the other hand suggests tentatively that the hands are being held in front, in a respectful, attentive attitude, and that this is the primary form of jin £jf. 'attentive, cautious.' This would make its use for 'distress' a loan usage. In OBI, crossed hands usually indicates that the hands are tied (see m.5), so I think Karlgren is more likely to be closer to the truth, though other explanations are still possible. One might note, for example, that many of the characters containing this element as phonetic have to do with heat and dryness, e.g. han~han ^jl 'to scorch' (GSR 144a), b in 1 'dry, burn' (144b), and r in ft , variant of r in $S 'burn' (152i). Note also jin 'die of starvation' (480o) and the homophonous ~®% 'famine' (480s). I am tempted to see the bone graph as a person suffering from thirst or hunger. This would help to explain the addition of the 'mouth' element on top that we see in most forms. However, it is hard to reach a conclusive solution. Whatever the precise interpretation of this graph, clearly the distinguishing feature is the crossed arms, and this is most easily depicted from the front. (In the case of n i 'woman,' the arms are depicted crossed from the side, but this is due to the 1The Guangyun also gives this character a qusheng reading. 237 greater desire to use the kneeling element in this graph, in order to suggest the idea of submissiveness.) Usage It is used mainly as a 'disaster' graph, for which Takashima (1973:71 #19) suggests the tentative translation \"dry; drought; cause drought,\" but the form ^ also occurs as an adjective describing sacrificial animals. Possibly it refers to their colour (e.g. 'clay-coloured'?). 210 ^ JGWB 719: chgng $ t S.110.2xl39 JWJ5.1933:ching £ SW 5b.l7b: # , f & . M X , g . £ , % $ & . J # [ X SWDZ 5b.45b: Ch6ng ^ means 'to add on top.' Its use to mean 'ride (a chariot)' is one aspect of this. E i ji£ A _ means 'to overcome strength with weakness.' Tr: Cheng ^ £ 'to get on top of means fit 'to overthrow, vanquish.'1 It consists of rji X 'to enter'and jM Tjl . M ^ here stands for xi i ?f» [defined at SW 10a.26a as 'hard black']. In warfare, entering the hard black [= overcoming strength with weakness] is called ch6ng ^ . ^ : the old form of ch6ng ^ contains j i 'table.' ^ee Karlgren GSR 1034m and Gloss 376 for this understanding. 238 I find this analysis very hard to make sense of, and Duan's explanation does not seem to help much. Ji6xi& ^ %a. occurs as a binome in Honshu 91.4b, and Wilbur (1943:281) translates it as \"rascally and crafty\" (referring to male slaves). Analysis The graph shows a person who has climbed up into a tree. The original meaning must have been 'to mount, ascend' (GSR 895a), from which it became specialized to 'mount a chariot, ride,' which seems to be its commonest usage in soft texts, and in the qusheng reading sheng it even has the specialized meaning 'chariot* or 'team of four horses (as would be used to pull a chariot).' However, the meaning 'mount, ascend' does have some textual support, as in the Shijing line: ^ J 4 t (HY 32/154/7) \"quickly let us get up on the (house=) roof Although we do not have any inscriptional examples of the character ji£ ^ , I think it must originally have depicted a bird-perch. This is the meaning it has in the Shijing line 0. -f ^ \"the fowls roost on their perches\" (HY 14/66/2). Ch6ng ^ shows a person perching in a tree, so it is easy to see how these two characters could become similar in the seal form. The seal form of ch6ng ^ must have evolved from a form in which the feet were drawn in, such as we find in the bronze form: % (O/NJWB 738/907) 239 The depiction of the feet here seems to be intended to emphasize the idea that the person is standing in the tree, after having climbed it, but the basic meaning of the word that this graph denotes would seem to be 'to climb.' Usage It occurs mainly in the name of the military leader Wang Cheng are no examples of it in its original meaning. ^ #L . There 211 JGWB 809: z£ Si S.39.1x24 JWJ 7.2187: zg SW 7a.2b: Tr: Z£ ; X refers to when the sun inclines in the west. It consists of ri H 'sun' signific andz£ JX phonetic. The Yijing says: \"In the light of the setting sun.\"1 Analysis Ye Yusen and Dong Zuobin analyse this graph as a semantic compound showing the sun and a person's shadow slanting. Whether actually represents a shadow is a moot point, and furthermore, as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, the sun is underneath the person, when one might have expected it to be on top. It seems best then to follow the suggestion that Professor Takashima made to me, that ^ may be a variant of iHY 19/30/3. Translation from Wilhelm 1967:120. 240 z£ £ I (no. 160 in this section). Whereas the latter shows only the head tilted, the former shows the whole body tilted. Further support for this analysis may be found on the bone Yibian 32 where, in the same inscription, we find the present graph written both B and \"Q\". In the second example, the ^ element is completely on its side. Strangely 0 enough, the modern form ^ seems to be closer to the original bone form than the SW seal form fj\\B . The present graph is thus a phonetic compound, but it seems likely that it is the same word as z& jX 'tilt,' but was created especially to refer to the westering sun tilting towards the Hesperides. Usage Refers to a time of day, fixed by Dong Zuobin as 2-3pm. 223 ^ . ^ S.40.2x6 224 \\r\\, JGWB 1639 (both forms): Hng S.40.2x2 JWJ 14.4131: ling Analysis Luo Zhenyu identified this graph as ling f^t. in the sense of 'climb up,' and said that it depicted a person with one foot on the ground and the other on the rung of a ladder. As you can see, JGWB and JWJ accept this. However, it seems rather obvious that the graph shows a hand sawing a person's foot off with a saw (the second form, 224, lacks the hand). In some forms the remaining foot is drawn in fully in order to emphasize the 241 fact that the other foot is missing. The serrated line represents a saw, and is quite distinct from f£ | / % ( f ), which represents a wall with steps up it. The bone graph from which the modern element ling ^ comes is probably $ (see I.l.i.b.40). Therefore the present graph may not be identified as ling I £ . . I do not know what modern character it should be identified with. It may have been replaced by a phonetic compound. One might suggest yue \"to amputate (as a punishment),' but this is not a very good candidate for, as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, yue already occurs in OBI with this meaning, e.g. with y£ng ^- 'sheep' as object (as in the inscriptions Yicun 153 and 404). In order to illustrate the fact that one foot has been sawn off, it is of course necessary to show both the legs. Thus this graph could only be written with d l . Usage L i Xiaoding says it seems to be a person's name, but the context is so limited that it is hard to reach any conclusion. It could perhaps be interpreted as 'amputate' in the following inscription: j| : \\K ^ (ft)- (Qianbian 6.55.5) Tested: The foot-amputated convict will not die. This could mean that the convict had just had his foot amputated and this had endangered his life, or he may have been amputated some time ago and the threat to his life was from some other source. On the other hand, l^ ts could be a person's name, and k6u 7& refer to a convict that he owns. With no other context, the interpretation is very uncertain. The Duo Kou 9 7&> were used by the Shang as a military force (see I.l.ii. 1847), so these people were of some value to the Shang state, and perhaps this explains why the diviners are here concerning themselves with the health of one of them. 242 235 JGWB 4705,4708 (both unidentified) S.40.3x5 Not in JWJ SW5a.l3a: $ , J | j & . - 0 : ^ J$> • M it , kk ^ . SWDZ 5a.31a: Kg \"of is also phonetic. Tr: OJ 'strange' means yi f | 'unusual.' One source defines it as 'odd' [opposite of even]. It consists of d l k. 'big'and kg. °J [defined at SW ibid, as kgn IT 'meat sticking to bones']. Analysis Kang Yin (1983:35) describes this graph as depicting a person riding a horse, and tentatively suggests the identification pi , i.e. as the primary form of pi 05 ^ 'to ride a horse.' Presumably he is implying that the lower element was later corrupted to kg as a phonetization. I think this identification is a distinct possibility. However, one should note that in none of the five instances of this graph is the element bestridden truly horse-like, so I think rather we have to interpret the graph simply as a person stepping over an object, the exact nature of which is unclear. Most scholars believe that the Shang did not ride horses, but only used them to pull chariots (see Chang Kwang-chih 1968:237), so indeed one would not expect to see a graph that depicted a person astride a horse. The original meaning of the word pi would simply have been 'to bestride,' and only later would have come to be applied specifically to bestriding horses, and the use of pi <*] to mean 'odd' would be a phonetic loan. 243 If Kang Yin's identification is correct, then this solves several problems, the biggest of which is: how on earth does dl k +k£ •*] mean 'odd'? If we regard it as a phonetic compound, in which only the dl 7^ . element is signific, then it is still hard to relate the meaning of dl to the meaning 'odd.'1 Another interesting phenomenon is the fact that the phonetic series formed by qi ^ is distinct from that formed by the simple element kj> n) 2 . The former occurs only in Type B syllables, and the latter only in Type A syllables.3 This could be seen as further supporting evidence for a different origin. Dl ^ is used in the present graph because both legs have to be depicted in order to show that one is on one side and the other on the other side. Usage It occurs only in the name Zi Qi \"5\" \"SJ\"* 'Prince Qi.' 242 ^ JGWB 4676 (unidentified) 'some identify as gj j&> ' S.40.4xl JWJ CunyiA542: gj %\\ SW9a.6a: tl, l l ^ . & \\ , £ f . 4 & ^ ^ #1 JI '-Though what we have in this graph is not exactly djl , but ^ , which could depict the idea of 'only having one leg.' When read j i , means'odd (number).' Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me also yj 'to lean' and, even more intriguing, fli 3% 'one-footed' (GSR lc'). 2Though there is some semantic overlap, as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, e.g. e. 'slope' and y i 'lean.' 3 For an explanation of these terms, see Pulleyblank 1977-78:183-5. 244 SWDZ 9a. 14a: Now w r i t t e n t % . Tr: Qj means chou 'ugly.' It consists of xi6 fl 'head' signific and QI phonetic. Today in driving away pestilence 'ugly-heads' [i.e. masked shamans] are used. Analysis This identification was made by Guo Moruo. He quotes ZhouliXia.guan.Sima: \"Inspecteur de region ou preservateur universel: II met une peau de jeune ours, orn6e de quatre yeux en m6tal jaune.\" (Biot 1851.n:225; Lin Yin 1974:324) to which the Zheng Xuan commentary says: -fa like the ugly-heads of today.' As you can see, the graph shows a person wearing a mask. L i Xiaoding cautiously puts it in his Cunyi -0L 'doubtful' section, because the identification as Qi ^1 is purely on inference. There is no solid evidence. However, one can still see that d l A has to be used in order to portray the mask from the front. Usage Name of a city. 2381 $ . $ S.364.1xl68 JGWB 1606: huang fa JWJ 13.4039: hulng 245 SW 13b.l7a: |> , }tb ^ t t . Us © , ^ ^ . & ^ i§£ . £ , £ ^ 7 & . . . . f , t • Tr: Huang lj[ is the colour of the soil [i.e. yellowish-brown]. The character consists of tjjn ffl 'field' and vfl . $ . is also phonetic. >sL is the old form of guang 'light.' Analysis In bronzes, this graph is often used to refer to an item of ceremonial clothing conferred upon people by their superiors. It was probably a belt containing rectangular plates of jade. The graph presumably represents a person wearing such a belt. Since the belt goes horizontally round the waist, it seems possible that the word h6ng 4fC 'horizontal' is related. ^ is used because a belt going round the waist is most conveniendy depicted from the front, rather than from the side as * \\ or * ^ . Usage Already in OBI, huang is is used as a rebus for 'yellow.' However, its main usage is in the name of the ancient minister Huang Yin 1? , who is regularly sacrificed to just like the royal ancestors. 2422 ^ JGWB 1253: jigQ 3C S.373.4x9 Not in JWJ, but cf. 10.3157: =jiao 246 SW10b.4a: , £ J& J & . & * . . JI ... Tr: Jiao means 'to cross the legs.' It is based on djL ;7v [representing a person], and depicts the legs crossed. Analysis The graph shows a person with the legs crossed. D | ^ is used because the front view is the most convenient for depicting this. It would be very hard to depict this from the side. Usage Obscure. 2423 ^ . ^ JGWB 4689 (unidentified) S.373.4x5 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of jiao with a mouth-like element between the legs. A friend of mine, John Lankford, suggested to me that it depicted the female pudendum. 247 Tsung-tung Chang (1970:54, n.7) also came to this conclusion. The 'sickness' context clearly shows that it refers to a part of the body, so this identification is certainly quite plausible. Although the sick person is not specified, it is a female ancestor that is called on to cure the affliction, so one may perhaps assume that the sick person was a woman, and this further supports the idea that it depicts a specifically female organ, though one should note that, although there is a tendency for sick people to be exorcized to ancestors of the same sex, this is by no means hard and fast. For example, of the 23 'exorcize Lady Hao' inscriptions at S. 140.2-3, 11 mention an ancestor/ancestress, of which 6 are male and 5 are female. Chang identifies the present graph directiy with the modern character bj jfo , but this is something that is hard to prove. Professor Takashima has suggested to me that the graph depicts a womb, rather than the external pudendum. If one interpreted the ^ element here as a frontal view of shen , rather than jiao , then the location of the a element would be inside the body, not between the legs, and this would make Professor Takashima's suggestion preferable to Chang's. However, note that yun I 'pregnant,' which shows a baby inside the womb, is depicted from the side. I think that in the present graph the element is intended to represent an opening, and the frontal view is used because the opening is at the front. Shima (1958:333) simply states that the present graph means a HI. 'stomach,' but offers no supporting evidence for this interpretation. From the context, the most one can say with any certainty is that it refers to a body part. Usage In the two inscriptions from Yibian 4540, it clearly refers to a body part: 248 Renxu-day cracking, Dun tested: Exorcize the sick body part (to) Ancestress Gui. Exorcize the sick body part to Ancestress Gui. 249 Section iii: Miscellaneous 250 154 $ JGWB 3: tiM ^ S.29.4xl (excluding JWJ 1.13: Man SWla. la : J , | f j & . £ | j & . ^ - , * . Tr: Tian 7s. means dian l | g 'top.' It is that than which there is nothing higher. It consists of yj — 'one' and d l ^s 'big.' Analysis According to Karlgren (GSR 361), the graph depicts an anthropomorphic deity. However, I can find no solid evidence that the ancient Chinese regarded Heaven as a person.1 It was rather a very abstract concept, and certainly cannot be pinned down to such a concrete notion as 'God.' None of the analyses recorded by L i Xiaoding even refer to anthropomorphic deities. I prefer Wang Guowei's analysis: -Tv J2J^ ^ k |J|][ originally referred to the human head, and that is why the graph depicts a person.' He further says that the head is emphasized because that is where the focus of the meaning is. One may compare such graphs as jian *% I |L 'to see' and wen / f^j 'to hear,' where the eye and ear are disproportionately large to convey the ideas of seeing and hearing. Chen Banghuai expresses a similar opinion, and quotes Zhang Binglin 2: is a person's head, and by 1 Though some of the references to tian in the Shujing and Shijing, Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, seem to be quite anthropomorphic in the sense of implying volitional activity. An example from the Shijing would be \"fc. ^ £ (HY 55/236/4) \"Heaven looked down upon the world below.\" Tian does not figure much in OBI, where the chief god is Shang Di f P , but does figure prominently in Zhou literature. Thus it is hard to know what it actually meant to the Shang. 2No reference given. 251 extension refers to the welkin' (i.e. because it is above a person's head). Note also the name of the monster Xingtian in the Shanhaijing.Haiwaixijing: Severed Head contested his spiritual powers with God. God cut his head off and buried it under Changyang Mountain.1 I have cited the text from Yuan Ke 1985:191, who has emended from an original -fit on the basis of quotations of this passage in other works. He mentions that tian ^ is written ^ in OBI and £ in bronzes, saying that o ~ • depicts the head, and that 'head' was probably the original meaning of tian %L (notice that in OBI, tian %~ is written £ , and • is the OBI form of ding T , while in bronzes it is written £ > and • is the bronze form of ding \"T , though Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me that ding \"\"]\" tejrj < *tan is unlikely to be phonetic in tian. k. fen < *t'a n, 2 since in phonetic series initial t'- has to be separated from the series t/t'/d and tg/tc'/d? when it is exclusive in a series, as it is in tian jfc. , and another problem that has to be taken into account is that the tijin 7 ^ , series shows final -m in such words as tian fern'; on the same grounds, Xu Shen's paronomastic definition cannot be taken as evidence of an etymological relationship with dian ten < * t 9 j i ) . Thus, Yuan concludes, 9f'l k. means 'cut the head.' This monster was so-called because God had cut its head off. There is also an interesting usage of tian 5^ . in the Yijing. Karlgren says it means 'to brand on the forehead' (GSR 361), but traditional commentaries define it as kunxing /U T T J 'cutting off the hair as a punishment.' The passage runs: ^Shanhaijing Tongjian 112b. My translation. 2Professor Pulleyblank is currently working on the idea that this t - actually comes from *x} -, as may be indicated by the early transcription of Hinduka as tianzhu , and the word xi a n if. 'Zoroastrianism,' but he has not yet published this theory. If correct, it would totally preclude any relationship of tijn 7^ . with ding or dian . 252 \"A man's hair and nose cut off.\"1 L i Xiacxiing also includes ^ as a variant of tian . Luo Zhenyu analyses this form as shang _ h over d l 7v , and explains: A JH(, $| 7v » 7 v ^ ^ J l J^ 2-> 'Heaven is what a person bears, heaven is above man.' Although I am not clear on the role of d l ^ in this graph, one can at least start off by comparing it with the graphs ^ and ^ . The second graph is yi \\j 'city,' and shows a subject kneeling under a city wall. The identification of the first graph is more problematical, but from its context (S.10.4) one can at least see that it is a person's name (his death is divined in Zhuihe 58 and Jimbun 455). I would analyse it as consisting of rgn signific, indicating 'man's name,' and ding 0 / T phonetic, with the phonetic element attached to the top of the 'person' element in such a way as to suggest the head. Then it is necessary to determine what meaning the graph >^ is intended to represent. Is it intended to represent 'heaven'? Or is it intended to represent 'head'? If the former, then maybe d l 7v represents the 'greatness' of Heaven, or maybe one has to accept the 'anthropomorphic' theory after all. If the latter, then one should note that body parts are usually indicated with rin ^ , so there would be no reason why the graph for 'head' should not be written ^ . The role of d l ^ in the present graph is something that I must leave open. Usage Mainly in the expression tian yi shang ^ , which I would translate as 'the head city Shang' (rather than 'celestial city'). Cf. Tsung-tung Chang (1970:236): iHY 24/38/3. Translation from Wilhelm 1967:149. . 253 \"Auch die Schreibung fiir die \"Haupt\"-stadt Shang £ p|j = fP, |g} ...ist auf die Bedeutung \"Kopf' zuruckzufiihren.\" If ^ (S.30.1) may be admitted as a variant of tian , then Chang (ibid:236, ex.17.1) is able to come up with one example of it meaning 'head': , h # #1 • (Yibian 9061) Gengchen-day, the king (cracking): It will not sicken my head. 159 ^ J G W B 1261: fn £ S.30.1x34 JWJ 10.3249: fu. SW 10b.8a: ft , £ . kk -K , — v\"/ |< # . ffl vk >\\ i\" & f\\ , -T A St • A. A- , *t 9 5t £ • ft ... Tr: Fu ^_ means 'adult male.' It consists of d l ^v. with a line representing the pin. In the Zhou system there were eight inches in a foot and ten feet in a yard. A man grows eight feet tall, and that is why he is called a 'zhang-high fellow.' Analysis The SW analysis is probably correct. As already mentioned, according to the ritual texts (e.g. Yili.Shiguanli), when a man became twenty he had his hair bound up and a cap pinned on to it. This symbolized the initiation into adulthood. One may compare the 1The rubbing is not very clear, but it seems possible that there is a M. Y after 'king.' 254 graphs ^ , variant of nji. j | / 4? 'woman,' and ^ , variant of mu I 'mother,' which seem to show the hairpin that was a sign of womanhood. The d l fa element here perhaps indicates 'an adult,' a man who has reached the age where he can stand as a full-fledged member of society, shouldering all the responsibilities that he is expected to. Note also that there is a graph consisting of rin ^ with a bar through the top: 3\\ . This is generally taken to be an abbreviation of ££. (see S.333.4), and in this case the bar indicates that the head is being cut off. Usage Seems to be the name of a place and a person. 169 j£ JGWB 513: msi S.30.4x25 JWJ 4.1323: msi SW4a.l7a: $ ,*^.M£,/A*.#fc*-$£$fe!l4j&, . SWDZ 4a.35b: Msi H. , shan -||\" > y i $ £ and yjm. | ^ are all based on the same concept [i.e. as regards the significance of the yang % 'sheep' element.] Tr: Mei means gan 'delicious.' It consists of yang jf- 'sheep' and d l 'big.' Among the six kinds of domestic animal, the sheep is the chief supplier of meat. [The characters] mei J|_ and shan * 'good' are based on the same concept. Analysis 255 Xu Shen gives the meaning of mei J | _ as 'delicious,' rather than 'beautiful,' but I do not think this can be regarded as the basic meaning. I suspect that Xu gives this definition purely in order to enable him to make a pun on shan 'good'~shan $H 'cooked food.' In the classics, mei J ^ , is used mostly of appearance, i.e. 'beautiful.' This must be its basic meaning, and to describe flavour as mei J ^ , is simply an extension of this meaning. How then does the present graph represent the concept 'beautiful'? Traditionally this character is regarded as a semantic compound of 'big' + 'sheep,' because big sheep are beautiful (or delicious?), as the Xu Xuan commentary explains. Duan interprets the sheep as having a 'good' meaning in the characters mei f(t , shan , yj. and you | ^ . 1 The association between 'sheep' and 'goodness-beauty' is a litde hard to grasp, and I feel sure that these characters can all be explained in some other way. It would be too much of a digression to explore them all here, but I would just like to mention the relatively simple case of yi nia h < *nals, which is probably the primary form of 2d x i a < *rj hal (?) 'sacrifical animal' (see Shirakawa 1978:13). The 'sheep' element represents sacrificial animals in general, a n d w £ 4^ Qaa* < *nal'? is phonetic. Since wjj> / depicts a weapon, it is possible that it is also intended to suggest the idea of cutting the animal up. Karlgren describes the present graph as \"a man with a head adornment in the form of ram's horns\" (GSR 568a). However, when we look at the bone graph, we see that it does not actually have yang ^ / j^- 'sheep' on top, but some other unidentified element. /V> tfi It occurs to me that could be an old pictograph for m6i /@ 'eyebrow' (for which the usual OBI form is ). This would of course be phonetic: mei /g and mei differ only in tone. On the other hand, if /V s really is a headdress of some sort, then it could represent the idea of a person dressed up and looking fine. ^ofessor Pulleyblank has suggested to me the interesting idea that the 'sheep' element may derive a 'good' significance from the word xiang 'propitious.' 256 U s a g e Name of a prince, Zi Mei ^ -Jsk . Apart from this, its usage is obscure. 173 /Jj JGWB 644: gji S.32.3x62 JWJ 5.1725: QU SW5a.20b:& , A *8 & & . /A * , U $ . K/ . . . Tr: Ou -^T refers to people leaving each other. It consists of dJL k signific [representing a person] and rni L i phonetic. Analysis Karlgren (GSR 642a) suggests that the graph may possibly represent the idea 'castrate' (i.e. qushi ^ ), with the intercrural element representing the excised portion. On the other hand, L i Xiaoding accepts the SW analysis. Although the element usually represents a mouth in OBI, there are cases where it has to be recognized as a container, e.g. fou. ^ / 1& 'earthenware vessel,' or zi tt* / ^ , also an earthenware vessel. I feel more inclined to the opinion of Shang Chengzuo, who takes the whole graph as the primary form of mi -ifc , which is described in SW (5a.20b) as a food basket made of osier wicker. SW gives ^ as the primary form of this character. This would mean that the element here represents, not a person, but a lid. I think this is quite plausible, since there are other graphs in which this element can only be interpreted as a lid, e.g. certain forms of M 'j£ (see JGWB 1254): 257 (Yibian 2924) (Qianbian 5.5.5) There is also a similar graph (JGWB 5603), which occurs only as a person's name but may perhaps be identified with the SW (10b.5a) character yun j[ (seal form: | | ) the original meaning of which is obscure, but which clearly depicts a similar kind of vessel: (Kufang 1506 = Zongtu 20.21) Xu Shen places his M ^ radical shortly after his d l 7v radical, and says: Jk 7v $ : j^L ^ 'the d l ^ element depicts the lid' (SW 10b.5a). I would say that the present graph is the primary form of gl i 'lid.' One may explain the disproportionately large size of the lid compared to the vessel by saying that this is the focus of the graph. U s a g e It is possible that in some cases it means 'to leave,' but the context is too limited to be sure. It also occurs frequently in the phrase mi kyi $\\ ^ / -jfe , which could be intepreted as 'abandon lances.'2 Compare the phrase gj kui ^ \\ (S.6.3), which could be interpreted as 'raise lances.' Also a place name. iThe same graph is found on the carved antler Kufang 1989. 2Tsung-tung Chang (1970:120, ex.7.24) translates this phrase as \"Kui verlassen,\" taking kui as a place name here also. 258 177 ^ JGWB 1300: M -,K S.34.1x25 JWJ 11.3359: M SW lla.23b: $ A, >f| . Al 7^ , ^ $ . Tr: Tai ^ means 'to wash rice.' It consists of s M ^ - 'water' signific and d l \"K. phonetic. Analysis The graph consists of d l surrounded by drops of water. P I ^ is phonetic, and at the same time suggests a person washing. Its primary meaning was probably 'wash,' and it later came to be used specifically for washing rice. The character is now generally written ' A , and survives only metaphorically, as in taotai 'wash out impurities, purify.' The character t | i ^ is really the same thing, but with two hands added, as the seal form t ' H shows (SW lla.26b), thus suggesting the idea of washing something with the hands. Usage Name of a person, Zi Tai %T 'Prince Tai.' 1074 & S. 176.3x4 2428 A JGWB 1238 (both forms): chi fa S.374.3x4 259 JWJ 10.3197 (both forms): chi SW lOb.lb: # , |j& ^ & J & . M , KL^JL. JI .... t : 4 £. Tr: Chi ^ J N 'red' is the colour of the south. It consists of djt 7 \\ 'big' and huo ^ 'fire.'.... ^ : the old form consists of van y£_ 'flames'and i i . i - 'earth.' Analysis The graph consists of 'big' and 'fire,' so the SW semantic compound analysis could well be correct. If so, then this is the only graph I have come across in which d l ^ actually stands for 'big,' i.e. 'big fire' = 'blazing red colour.' Usage Graph 1074 occurs in a hunting inscription (Yibian 2908 = Bingbian 284.4),but it is hard to say what it means there. Graph 2428 on the other hand occurs before * i j ^ 'male horse' (Houbian 2.18.8), so it may be interpreted as referring to the colour of the horse. Shima's separation of these two graphs is perhaps meant to imply that the former contains shan iU 'mountain' while the latter contains huo 'fire.' These two elements are often hard to distinguish in OBI. U „ „ . 4 3016 ^ JGWB 1260: xi S.469.1x5 JWJ 10.3245: xi £ 260 S W 1 0 b . 7 b : | , * ^ X , M f l . S t H . SWDZ 10b.l8b: SW here takes xi \\ in the sense of 2U. $$. [SW 9b.l4b] which, doubled, forms a descriptive epithet for the fat stomach of a pig. Tr: XI means 'big belly.' It consists of dJL 7^v 'big' signific, and abbreviated phonetic. is the zhduwen form of 2d ^ . Analysis In his effort to account for the d l \"A. element, Xu Shen maintains that the original meaning of this character is 'big belly.' However, as I have already mentioned, there are hardly any bone graphs in which this element might reasonably be claimed to mean 'big.' Here, as usual, it simply represents a person. There is a rope attached to his head, and a hand holding the rope. Luo Zhenyu is thus probably right in claiming that the original meaning of 2d ^ is zulli 'convict,' or at least some similar meaning. Karlgren (GSR 876d) gives the meanings 'slave, servant.' It is possible that the ^ element is 2d ^ 'to bind,' as Xu Shen and Karlgren maintain. This would make it both signific and phonetic, since the noun 2d %i may be interpreted as 'one who is bound, bondsman,' and may thus be related to the verb 2d ^ 'to bind.' Note that the latter is in the departing tone, which is often a sign of etymological derivation.1 The bone form of 2d ^ is actually A (JGWB 1546), but it is possible that the shorter form $ , which is the ancestor of the modern form, already existed. It is possible that the graph ^ (S.469.1, not in JGWB or JWJ) was the original2 form, and that the top part was then phonetized to 2d H I & . Y u Xingwu maintains that $ really depicts, not a rope, but a queue, and 1One would normally expect the noun to be derived from the verb. However, as Downer (1959) has shown, the situation with qusheng derivation is now very confused (though presumably when it was still a piece of living morphology native speakers had a clear idea of its significance). 2 occurs in a Period I divination by diviner Que RsL (Jimbun 443), and in a Period I divination by diviner Zheng ^ (Zhiyi 18, S.468.4), whereas J^. occurs in Period IV and V inscriptions, so this could reflect a historical development in the graph. 261 that this hairstyle was affected by non^Chinese, and was thus a sign of being a barbarian. L i Xiaoding approves of this. However, the same element also occurs in ^ , a variant of qiang , and here it clearly depicts a rope tied round the neck. Whether or not the barbarians wore queues in Shang times is certainly a moot point, and not the sort of thing for which archaeological evidence is ever likely to be forthcoming. probably indicating 'type of human.' Perhaps the d l ^ element in the present graph indicates that the slave was an adult male. However, there are no examples of this graph in its original meaning that could help us determine what sort of slave it referred to. Note that the present grapheme has a variant Usage Name of a hunting ground. There are no examples of it in its original meaning. 262 Part 2: ty Ni ty I ^ is d i ^ upside down. It occurs in only one other graph, where it is augmented by a foot and/or a road radical, and I think really this represents just another aspect of the same basic meaning, so there is not really much to say about this element. However, it is necessary to include it for the sake of completeness. 263 1341 V JGWB 265: nl $ S.212.4xl6 JWJ 3.687: ni ^ (this reference not in S) SW3a.2a: \\ , ^ Mfc ^ . & f T ^ f ^ Jk!t> • SWDZ 3a.2b: Later usually written £2L . [Duan also has kan U 'pit' instead of che ^* 'sprout,1 and explains that it has the same meaning as in xiong \\ ^ , representing a treacherous pit.] Tr: Hi f 'going against' means 'not going with.' It consists of gan -p [defined at SW ibid, as fjtn 'to attack, aggress on'], underneath which a sprout opposes it. Analysis The S W analysis is based on the corrupted seal form. As Luo Zhenyu notes, the bone graph is in fact simply djL ^ upside down. This is still clear in the bronze form ( O / N J W B 252/315 1), though in the bronze form of ni i ^ - (O /NJWB 184/217) it is already quite corrupted: However, Luo describes the bone graph as 'showing a person entering from the outside' ( TT- A- i& $Y s\\ ^ L - 7J7v )> which seems unnecessary. I think rather that the da being upside down simply symbolizes the idea of 'contrary, opposing.' The meaning 'to meet' that ni 15*. sometimes has in the classics is simply another aspect of this basic meaning, i.e. 'to meet head on.' 1 Though note that it only occurs on Shang vessels in very short inscriptions so there is no contextual corroboration here that this really is m <^ • 264 One may compare the graph formed by turning r£n ^ upside down: dian * 7 / . This means literally 'turned on the head,' whereas ni \" 181 © a 10, . SWDZ 2b.5a: Ni \\ £ , and ying IkE. begin with the same sound [i.e. *rj-], and are interchangeable, e.g. Shu.Yugong \" 1 , 1 is written \" \" in the jinwen text. Tr: Ni means ying 'to meet.' It consists of chu6 [a walking radical] signific and ni phonetic. East of the Pass they say ni U£. , west of the Pass they say y ing i f l l . Ni I5i. r j iaj k < * n r a k and ying O i a j n < * n r a r j differed only in the nasality of the final consonant. Xu shen regards this variation as dialectal. Analysis tongjian 6.853-4. 265 The bone graph consists of ni on top of zhi $ / j h . 'foot.' While the former is undoubtedly phonetic, the meanings 'oppose' and 'meet' are probably different aspects of the same basic meaning. In soft texts the character ni J3c_ is used in both meanings, but note that ying l£E has only the meaning 'to meet' and does not have the meaning 'to oppose.' The nasal~non-nasal variation in the final of related words is quite common in Chinese, though its significance has not yet been explored. One wonders if it is purely dialectal or also derivational. JGWB and JWJ both include the graphs $ and $ (S.324.4). The first form is the direct ancestor of the modern character. Although the ni ty' element is phonetic in the present graph, it also seems likely that ni li£L is simply an augmented form of ni f . Other members of the same word family that Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me are 'to oppose,' I X 'to go against,' and 'go against, encounter,' all pronounced wji (GSR 60g, 60h, 58o). Usage As L i Xiaoding notes, it sometimes means 'meet,' and is also used as a person's name and a place name. 266 SUMMARY O F CHAPTER U To sum up then, although there is a residue of graphs for which I have been unable to arrive at a satisfying explanation, in the majority of cases the use of the d l ^ element can be shown to be due to the need or desire felt by the designers of the script to portray both arms and/or legs or both sides of the body, or due to the desire to create a symmetrical graph (e.g. wji 267 Chapter I I I : ^ Part One: X Of the three elements \\ , $\\ and ^ , only the \\ element is used symbolically. The graph depicts a person kneeling, and is used to symbolize the ideas of yielding, inferiority and submission. This much seems fairly clear, but there is a great problem over the identity of this element. It evolves into the modern form \"P , and SW has an entry for this. From Xu Shen's paronomastic definitions of various characters containing y , one can see that he thought it was capable of standing for ji£ t P , and the Tangyun reading in SW accordingly gives it the same pronunciation as jig £p • 1 However, there are no examples of as an independent character, and it is highly doubtful that Xu Shen knew its true pronunciation, since he manifestly did not know that it depicted a person kneeling. The mystery of the ' P element is by no means solved, but I offer various theories in my analysis thereof. After discussing the graph \\ itself, I shall divide the present part into three sections, according to the role of this element as I have determined it, thus: i. Reflects the posture that would be adopted ordinarily in real life for a given activity ii. Symbolizing yielding~inferiority~submission lr[nat is $tz. \"fcfl . The Guangyun reading is the same. 268 iii.Phonetic (?) 269 256 JGWB 1089: jig\" f S.41.1x32 JWJ 9.2865: ji£ f S W 9 a . l l b : ? , # A i . t i * ffl £ f , £ J® P % *p -# « 4i f, n m « » f , t it J H f -p, ^ SWDZ 9a.31b: The shape of the tally reflects what there is most of in that place. The information on tallies here is from Zhouli.Zhan.gjie [see Biot 1851.1:333-5]. Tr: Jis means 'jade tally.' The person in charge of a country uses a jade tally, the person in charge of a town uses a horn tally; the governer of a hilly district uses a tiger[-shaped] tally, of an agrarian district uses a human[-shaped] tally, and of a marshy district uses a dragon[-shaped] tally; [keepers of] gates and passes use a bamboo tally, customs officers use a seal-tally, highway officers use a flag-tally. The character depicts [the act of] fitting together. Analysis depicts a tally, i.e. it is the primary form of ji£ | ?P . However, the bone form clearly depicts a kneeling person, not a tally. Since 'f1 is not after all the primary form of ji£ j f p , this also calls into question whether it is pronounced likejM • The identity of J J requires investigation. I have been unable to find a hard and fast solution, but I would like to offer the following three possibilities. 270 1. ^ is me primary form of ji 'to kneel.' This contains ji 2 J phonetic, and one could suggest that the sixth heavenly stem ji 2 / is a stylized form of $ (for a well-known example of the stylization of a graph that is commonly used as a rebus, cf. zhen H / ^ < ding ^ / /fjf !). Bothji 2J and f occur in characters to do with kneeling, e.g. ?d Tcnee'andji ^ 'to kneel.' Karlgren classifies j i ^ gt < *ga' under ji k t ' < *ka'phonetic (GSR 953y), but if j i is phonetic, then what is the function of the gi ^ gt < *gar element? Either ji 2J or gt ^ would make a good phonetic, but one hardly likes to say that here we have a character consisting of two phonetics and no signific. SW (14b. 10a) analyses the ji L J element as signific, but this is based on Xu Shen's understanding of j i 2J as representing 'something curled up in hiding' ( Duan Yucai (SWDZ 14b.2b) explains the SW definition of j i ^ , changju , i.e. to sit with the legs spread out like a ji 'winnowing basket.' This would provide a way of accounting for the cji ^ element as signific. The problem with this proposal is that already in bones and bronzes j i Jt is written with ji C J : (JGWB 16872) (O/NJWB 1851/2367) If '2 were only the stylized form of ^ when used as a rebus for the sixth heavenly stem, then one would expect ji 3£ to be written with ^ . ^hat H is from ^ can be seen from (1) intermediary forms such as (Jiabian 2304, JGWB 455: zhen A ), ^ (Xubian 5.16.4, JGWB 864: djmj rilr , but this example used as zhen i | ); (2) the fact that the full form is sometimes used (in fact, at S.396.1-4 most of the occurrences of ding TJ fv are used in the sense of zhen | | ). ^Example from Qianbian 3.18.4. 271 2. \\ is the primary form of xi | ip 'knee.' This idea is put forward by Wen Shaofeng and Yuan Tingdong (1983:317). They were inspired by a Qing philologist, Yu Chang * t (1854-1910), who claimed that the SW radical f is the primary form of xi I^ P (see SWGL 7.4019a-b). This suggestion has quite a lot in its favour. Firstly, xi Jjjf1 sit < *sac is phonetically very close to ji£ ?P tset < *tssc. If Xu Shen was right in minking that \\ l % phonetically like ji^ f p , then this would support this identification. Secondly, one could claim that is phonetic, or at least a phonetic hint (since it may also be signific) in jf ^ / tptsik<*ts9c. This is all quite encouraging. It further seems likely that xi l | tp Toiee' and j i£ ^P 'joint' are etymologically related, since the knee is a joint. In some inscriptions, \\ is followed by a sacrificial victim, so it would appear to be a verb here denoting some method of disposing of a victim. One could propose that it is used for the word gje. ts'et < *ts'ac 'to cut.' Against this idea is the fact that ^ does not depict a person's knee, but a person kneeUng. In the Shang script, body parts are usually indicated by emphasizing the part of the body in question, e.g. iiin ^ / -/fL ( %\\ ) 'fundament,' and there is a graph ^ (see under I.l.iii.25) which seems to show the knee emphasized. There is no soft text evidence that xi was ever used as a verb 'to kneel,' for which etymologically unrelated words are used, such as j i and gui , though one could speculate that the word xi was used as a verb by the Shang. On the bone Jimbun 2283, the present element occurs twice, and in one occurrence it is written , with a line drawn round the knee as if to focus on it. One may compare zhou 'elbow' (JWJ 4.1507). Does this draw attention to the knee, or to the act of kneeling? The context does not help us, as it is used here as a sacrificial verb, so it is probably a rebus for something. 272 3. I is me phonetic element mpi i I t , and f£i Pit. According to SW, fei and pei both contain ji cL phonetic. This is clearly phonetically impossible. The bone and bronze forms of p£i fOrL contain, not ji 2* , but \"f (see iii.2556 in this Part). In this case then, it seems that ji 2J is corrupted from \"j 1 . In OBI there is also a graph %ft (see iii.880 in this Part), which I would like to identify as fei . As for fei , although the modern form is written with b_a HL> , the seal form (SW 4b. 15b) has ' P . It is curious that these three characters should all be phonetically so close (they are all in OC wei rhyme and all have a labial initial), and all have the ^ element in common. Since the you j§} 'wine vessel,' nix 'woman' and r6u 'meat' elements are clearly signific, it seems quite likely that the \\ element should be phonetic. There are two other characters in SW that belong in this same phonetic group which Xu Shen analyses as containing ji C J phonetic. These are pi -bi 1 b i ' (SW 13b. l ib) , which one may hypothesize as coming from something like * b r a l ? 2 , and fei~bi S J p'uj ~ b i (SW l ib . 15a, not in GSR). I shall now discuss them. Xu Shen defines this character as hui x w i a ' < * x W 9 l ? 'to ruin' (note the paronomastic intent), and this meaning is attested in Shu.Yaodian (Tongjian 1.324) in the phrase (= ) ^ ttj , which Karlgren translates as \"He neglects my orders, he ruins his kin\" (1950:3 f l l , see also Gloss 1238). SW also gives the textually unattested variant w-r , which Xu Shen claims contains pei abbreviated phonetic, though it seems rather obvious that it contains pli phonetic (this variant helps to confirm the *-r- cluster, as pli 4^ p'e rj < * p ' r s l then makes a better phonetic than the simple element fei puj < * p e l would). ^Foi the two modern readings, of which the first is irregular, see GSR 1237a'. 2The * - r - is reconstructed in order to account for the front vowel in EMC. See Pulleyblank 1984:26. 273 1 In the bronze script there is a graph consisting of Ui j £ . and \"j1 : ( 5Z> £ % O/NJWB 1209/1503: 'not in SW). Since it only occurs as a person's name, there is no contextual support for identifying this graph as bi i(L>. On the other hand, there is no bronze graph consisting of tji i- and j i competing for this identification. These facts are too tenuous to constitute evidence, but they may perhaps serve a corroborative role when combined with superior evidence. Duan Yucai (SWDZ 13b.34a) says thatbi i-Zj is probably the same word as pi )f!t p i < *pVeP, defined in SW (9b.5a) as beng m 'to collapse,' and pei~fu W> p'aj -p'ut, defined in SW (ibid.) as bengsheng Rfl % 'the sound of collapsing,' with the sound gloss'read like f£i~bi \\ p'uj h, buj h ~pi h < *p'ats, bets^prets' (this probably implies a pronunciation for Xu Shen's time of something like *p'9js). The j i ^ element in hi -*rL may be corrupted from I . £ , SW puts this character under fei signific and defines it as bj£ ^i] 'to separate.' There are no textual examples of it in this meaning. The Guangyun gives the additional meaning 'an owl-like bird.' It occurs with this meaning, in the variant writing o , in the ShanhaijingXishanjing, in the binome dufdi j# t£j 1 (compare how the ha element in fei ffi-> is corrupted from ). Assuming that the SW definition is correct, this would mean that the j i H-« element would indeed have to be phonetic. This seems very strange, because the fei ^ element would apparently make a much better phonetic than the j i element. On the other hand, if the j i S» element were signific, what area of meaning could it possibly represent? The only meanings of ji 2J are 'oneself and 'sixth heavenly stem,' neither of which seems to relate to the meaning 'separate,' (though these are of course both rebus meanings-it is not known what the graph depicts). Either as phonetic or signific, the ji iSee Yuan Ke 1985:22. He says (ibid:42) that it is pronounced fii $r l i . 274 ^ element in this character is mysterious, and suggests that it is in fact a corruption of some other graphically similar element. Shen Jianshi (1960:451) notes that in one of the & _ Wang Renxu Qieyun manuscripts the character is written Q, > as if from yd (a variant writing of 'p ). In Long Yuchun (1968) it is under wei )%j rhyme written g^ , , with the definition 'owl-like bird,' and given the alternative reading b i h . If fei is signific in fgi , then perhaps this word was originally simply written # , and )> was later added as an elucidating phonetic, and became corrupted intoji C J . The word ji I £ J has both a different initial and a different final from the above mentioned words (pli JUL , f£i WJ , fe_i-£.(L , b_L ^\"2J , fii ), which between themselves show a high level of phonetic similarity, so I feel very doubtful that ji C J is phonetic in any of them. For ggi IL there is proof that it originally contained } , while fj|i still contains \"P in the seal form. I feel inclined therefore to regard the above characters as reflecting the true original pronunciation of \\ , and the role of \\ in ji $h I «Jp as signific rather than phonetic. At least, the evidence seems to be weighted against \\ being phonetic in jf &f . Since a huiyi ^ interpretation of this character is possible, I think that this interpretation should be adopted. If the phonetic element in the above characters really were ji 2J , one would expect more phonetic variety, e.g. a labial initial with a zhi rhyme final, or a velar initial with a wei ^fi$L rhyme final. Instead, in these characters that appear to contain j i L> phonetic, we find two groups that are phonetically very consistent within themselves: a *Pal type and a *Ka-y type. This is probably the strongest argument for recognizing that the j i 2/ element in these characters is a graphic collapse of two originally distinct elements. If this theory is correct, then what word does represent? Its use as a radical suggests that it means 'to kneel.' I have been unable to find a word with this sort of 275 pronunciation and this sort of meaning, but I hope at least to have shown that the identity of this element is problematical. 276 Section i: Real Life 277 265 j | JGWB 1065: xiong %J S.44.1xl22 JWJ 8.2801: xiong % SW la.4a: %%. , & £ f ^ 4 . ^ * , & k , & . - © JU Tr: Z M % means 'the person in charge of the sacrifice, the one who proffers the words [i.e. says the prayers].' It consists of shi 'altar,' ren 'person,' and kou 'mouth.' One source says that it comes from djn %J abbreviated. The Yijing says: \"Dui is mouth...is shaman.\"1 Analysis JGWB and JWJ both include ^ as a variant of xiong ^ / /Li . However, I think by now my exposition of graphic analysis will have led us to be surprised at, or at least to question, such a claim, and when we look into the matter we find that, while not completely clear-cut, there are cogent grounds for distinguishing these two graphs, the chief of which is context: their OBI contexts are demonstrably quite different. Sun Haibo himself (the author of JGWB) notes under the form jf| that 'xiong % is used as z h u % • ' Their pronunciation is so different that I hardly need give reconstructions to demonstrate the impossibility of this. Other scholars have recognized I a s a v a r i a n t o f z M f J / ^ (e.g. Long Yuchun 1968b:250), and this is certainly a more realistic approach. I would say that $ shows a person kneeling in prayer (hence the emphasis on the 'mouth' element), and that \"1\"$ is an augmented form with the addition of an altar before the supplicant. I have found only three examples where \\ definitely has to be interpreted as xiong , due to its being followed by a heavenly stem: ! H Y 5l/shuo/8 md52/shuoM. 278 ^\\ I % % Houbian 1.7.10 $ • / £ T Shiduo 1.423 (ap. S.553.41) $ $ I % ZJ Shiduo 2.294 (ap. S.44.4) If it is not considered too bold, I would suggest that these are 'spelling' mistakes. They are not the free variants that L i Xiaoding implies. Where then do all the J| in JGWB come from that are not marked by Sun Haibo as standing for zhji ? Upon checking, we find that they are in fact all used as the name of a diviner (see S.569), so there is no evidence that these graphs stand for xiong . We even find the graphs t and 7 occurring in the same inscription: ••• I I f t .» J £ 1 # • (Jingjin40S0) ... ^ as far as Xiong Xin. There are several inscriptions at S.44.1 reading ' |> as far as such-and-such an ancestor,' and this obviously parallels them. I have not translated the graph ^ , since its meaning is yet to be demonstrated. Further evidence for distinguishing ^ from ^ , is the fact that the graph TJJ[ is always written with a kneeling figure, never a standing one. Usage As a sacrificial verb, H appears to take an animal as its direct object and an ancestor as its indirect object. The animal is often not mentioned, but the fact that it does sometimes occur shows that the ancestor must be the indirect object, even in those cases Unfortunately I do not have access to this collection. According to S, this inscription is the same as Ninghu 1.214, where however the graph for xiong is written in the normal fashion. Since this is a traced collection, it is not entirely reliable. 279 where it is not overtly marked with yj. \"5\" 'to.' If one interprets $ as zhii 4%, to invoke,' then the animal would have to be re-interpreted as one step further down the hierarchy of obliquity from indirect object, i.e. 'invoke using such-and-such an animal.' This usage has been demonstrated by Chow Kwok-ching (1982) for what he calls 'Type A' verbs, e.g. gao 'announce' and Qjji 'seek' (the latter translated by Chow as 'invoke'). Some examples are: r ^ ^ F : ^ £ T + • (NanbeLMing 531) We should make an announcement to Father Ting (with) one ox. L ^ T i f f • (BucilAA) On the next ting-hai day, we should invoke to Ting (with) two oxen. (Chow 1982:193, his translations) Some of the $ inscriptions are very similar to this. Although Chow does not discuss the verb \\ , it does occur in one of his example sentences, where he transcribes it as zhu , and translates it as if it were a Type A verb: (Cuibian 148) If we announce the flood (lit. that the water entered...) to Shang Chia and pray to T'ai I (with) two oxen [sic: read 'one ox'], the king will receive assistance. (Chow 1982:232, his translation) 280 'Pray to' is also syntactically very similar to 'announce,' since in OBI grammar the direct object would be the thing prayed for or the matter announced. As Chow (1982:197) puts it, in the pattern 'Verb + Object Goal/Object Patient + (yi \"f ) + Object Beneficiary,' the objects of Type A verbs are Object Goals (e.g. nian f^\" 'harvest'), while the objects of Type B verbs are Object Patients (i.e. sacrificial victims). If one interprets \\ as zhii , then Chow's Type A concept enables one to interpret the syntactic roles of the various arguments that are dependent on it. However, none of the inscriptions at S.44.1 preclude a Type B analysis, since the direct object (i.e. the thing invoked or prayed for) is never mentioned. Thus one could still analyse \\ as a method of sacrifice taking the sacrificial victim as its direct object. If % and f \\ represented the same word, then one would expect them to occur in similar contexts. However, this does not seem to be the case. Whereas \\ is usually followed by objects (direct and indirect, or otherwise depending on one's interpretation), this is never the case with T $ (see S.44.4-45.1). is sometimes followed by the verb yong 'to use (in sacrifice),' and that is all; this could perhaps be interpreted as 'to sacrifice with prayers.' On the basis of the inscriptional context, one cannot do otherwise than say that \\ and T$ have a different usage, f \\ is clearly the bone graph corresponding to zhu , so there is no reason not to interpret it as 'pray' or 'invoke' in the inscriptions, but it is possible that % is used as a phonetic loan for some other word. In the Guangyun, zhu is included in a series of words that are all defined as duan l f i / r 'to cut.' In his Guangya shuzheng, Wang Niansun quotes two passages from Chunqiu commentaries, \" %% ^ \" (HY 487/Ai 14/1 Gongyang) and \" / ? £ | | v X_ ^ \" (HY 485/Ai 13/3 Guliang), and notes that the authors of these commentaries both gloss zlnj. ffij as duan li?)p. As for the first passage, I feel that this is ambiguous, since zhu here could easily be interpreted in its common usage as zhou 'to curse' 281 (now written ), as one can see from the wider context, in which it paralleles sang II art-, : 4 Jt . * When Yan Hui died, the Master said: \"Alas! Heaven has bereft me!\"1 When Zi Lu died, the Master said: \"Alas! Heaven has cursed me!\" The second passage however is more convincing: Woo was a barbarian State, where they cut their hair short and tattooed their bodies.2 If we intepret j [ as meaning something like 'cut,' this would fit into the OBI context, eg-jj ~~ 4\" . (Cuibian 339) Cut up one ox. I am unable to suggest what word it might be being used for. 283 f JGWB 1112: gui ^ 1This sentence is also found in Analects XI.8, so I have taken my translation from Waley 1971:154. The next sentence, about Zi Lu's death, is not found in Analects. translation from Legge 1861.5.1:81. 282 S.45.4x20 JWJ 9.2903: gui SW 9,15a: t , A » A l . ^ A , & Tr: Gui $L: that to which a person gui Jfp 'returns' is called gui . It consists of r£n 'person' with the depiction of a spirit's head. The yin influence of spirits is harmful, [hence] the si 'secretive' element, the old form contains shi *I» . Analysis I originally assumed that ^ , somehow, depicted a spirit. However, my experience with graphic analysis has led me to think this over. There are many questions involved: How does it depict a spirit? Why is it kneeling? Why is the head represented by the © element? How does one explain the variant f ^ in which the spirit appears to be kneeling before an altar?2 Al l these questions make me feel unhappy with the usual explanation that the graph depicts a spirit. My own suggestion is that its use for 'spirit' is a phonetic loan, and that it is actually the primary form of gui jfjrL 'to kneel.' Although Karlgren assigns the wei JZ> phonetic series to the gs rhyme (GSR 29), Wang L i (1937a:134) and Tang Zuofan (1982) assign it to the wei rhyme (the same rhyme as gui ). Unfortunately there is no rhyming evidence from the Shijing for this phonetic series, but Zhu Junsheng (11.28b) puts it in his hi i * . rhyme (which comprises zhi nB } zhi %. , wei ^rtjc and wji. ), and provides some early rhyming evidence which 1This variant is included by both JGWB and JWJ, and is justified on the grounds that it is componentially the same as the SW old form. 2Although the shi / J \\ element here could be considered purely as signific, note that the kneeling figure is always facing it. Compare zhu 1% iffij. 283 supports the classification as v/gi ^^k. rhyme. There are three occurrences of wei j^ , in the Shujing where it may be considered as intended to rhyme.1 In all three cases, the rhyme word is from the O C wei * . 9 i rhyme (wei , wei , wei ). All three occurrences are in chapters not considered authentic.2 There is a fourth case,3 also from a spurious chapter (Bi ming), where wei A is probably intended to form a hedge rhyme with a word in the O C zhi *-Qf rhyme (shi ). Although these cases are all from spurious chapters (something which in itself is significant), the fact that the rhyming is consistent is highly noteworthy. Whenever these documents were composed, they indicate that, at some time, in some dialect, the word w_£i JZJ was considered to rhyme with words from the OC wei ^nk. rhyme. Since wei jfL and other words in this phonetic series are generally in the E M C zM rhyme, one would expect them to come from O C gg \"fl^ *-al or zhi *-aj rhyme. For an E M C zhi 5L rhyme word to come from the O C w_ei 4ft rhyme is quite unusual, so it is strange that Wang L i (1937a: 137-8) offers no evidence in support of his classification of the wei /G- series as OC wei rhyme. The above evidence does not of course prove that wei /e. was in the wei rhyme for the Shang, but it does at least open up the possibility. I think that the character wei fB- was also probably originally intended to write the word gui 'kneel.' The seal form M consists of w_£i phonetic and the kneeling figure ^ as signific. This is not the SW (9b. 10a) analysis, but it seems to make good sense. ^hey are in the chapters Da Yu mo (Tongjian 3.517-524), Zhouguan (Tongjian 40.404-415), and/«« Ya (Tongjian 45.55-62). is also found in Xunzi.Jiebi (HY 81/21/54), with zM instead of jy£i , where it is introduced as a quotation from an unknown work called the Daojing IS- >--^ . I discovered this information in Hui Songya (1792). I am grateful to Gary Arbuckle for introducing me to this work. Mr. Arbuckle was kind enough to lend me his own photocopy of this book, which was not in the library. Hui Songya is unable to come up with convincing sources for the other rhymed phrases. ^Tongjian 44.331-346. 284 My suggestion accounts for the role of the kneeling figure element, and the addition of the altar may be accounted for by the fact that this is a commonly knelt-before object (alternatively it may simply have the same role that it has in characters like shen 'spirit,' i.e. indicating things connected with spirits). As for the head element, this looks like the independent graph tijn EB / 03 'field.' However, I suspect that this may be a case of homography, and what we really have here is the primary form of gui ^ (which SW lb.21a gives as the old form of gui g 'basket,' also written -see GSR 540a, i, j 1), acting as phonetic. The same basket may be seen in the graph yi ^ / ^ , which is the primary form of djti Jf*, 'to carry on the head.' Clearly the person is not carrying a field on his head. Although there are many homographous elements in the modem script (e.g. the radical, standing for both 'moon ' and 'meat'), the idea that there may be homography in the bone script has not yet been faced. Because it is an early stage of the » script, I think perhaps people have tended to assume that homography had not yet developed in it, but maybe this assumption needs rethinking. Note also the following Shang bronze cartouche: J (O/NJWB Fulu 1.15a/1.128) L i Xiaoding (JWJ 9.2907) identifies the graph inside the y i f£ cartouche as chou ®8L, and Hopkins (1929:566) suggests that the \\ element is a fuller form of gui f / If they are correct, then we see here the gui ^ basket on the head depicted more fully, quite distinct from ti£n H3 /93 . In the first cartouche that I have cited, which is the commonest form, the element that seems somewhat like a curling tail is really, I think, a i A l l three characters are given the reading in the Guangyun. See Shen 1960:202. 285 kneeling leg. In the second example, the body of the 'devil' is more like rin \\ I k . In the third example, the body is vaguely animal-like, but this is the only such example. SW (9a. 16a) has the head of gui ^ as a separate character (D , which the Guangyun reads ylh *$) t7] put (Shen 1960:489). However, there is no independent evidence for this character. Xu Shen sees it in the two characters wei -|L and y_iL 'type of monkey.' But the bone form of wei consists of gui $j phonetic holding a stick as signific (see I.l.ii.293), while yu $0 was presumably originally a simple drawing of an animal and should not be analysed into parts like this. I regard Xu Shen's 'devil's head' radical as spurious. There is more evidence for the existence of gui 'basket,' as it occurs as the top element in gui j | , 'valuable' (SW 6b.9b), where it acts as phonetic. Usage The graph may be understood as being used in the meaning that gui has in soft texts. For example, the expression guimeng yit, may be understood as 'dream in which spirits appear.' Guo Moruo suggests that gul here stands for wei 'frightening,' but the graph for w £ i / |z. already exists in OBI. I think a literal intepretation is preferable. 309 H JGWB 656: jf |p S.50.3x72 JWJ 5.1749: ji §p S W 5 b . 2 a : $ ? , tp & . Al | , f f 286 Tr: Jf f \"p means 'to go to eat.' It consists of M 1 l l 'the fragrance of grain' signific andji£ *p phonetic. Analysis The graph shows a person kneeling before a food vessel, thus suggesting the idea is not the primary form of j i£ f P , as Xu Shen thought, it cannot be phonetic in the way that Xu Shen says it is. However, as I have already mentioned, it has been suggested that \"P is the primary form of xi ^P s i t < * sac 'knee,' in which case it could easily be phonetic in j£ &P t s i k < *tsac. However, there are still problems attached to this. Kneeling was, I assume, the usual Shang position for eating, and this explains why we also have the kneeling figure in the next three graphs that I examine. Usage Name of a sacrifice. Otherwise obscure. L i Xiaoding says that in some cases it may mean jiu to go to. 311 i&k J G W B 1103: oing tftp (= xiang ^ ) S.51.1x91 J W J 5.1773: xjing ^ JThe Guangyun actually gives this character four readings: k i p , pik, p i p , and xiaarj. SW (5b.2a) says 'also read like xiang ,' but does not say what the usual reading is. The reading xtaan. is probably based on the assumption that it is phonetic in xiang xtaar], which is doubtful. It does however seem to be the phonetic in ^ k i a p ~ p i p and * t t' ej k, so the first three readings are probably nearer the truth. The actual reading of this element is something of a problem. 287 JWJ 9.2885: gjng l/tp S W 5 b . 4 b : f : Jtf k M £ , Jk%? . ^ * f . Tr: Xiang ^ refers to the people in the districts having a symposium. It consists of shi ^ 'food' and xiang / W 'district.' Xiang vtf is also phonetic. Analysis The graph shows two people kneeling, facing each other over a food vessel, and gives rise to both the characters qing and xiang \"*\\ . It is hard to decide whether this is the primary form of xiang \\%) 'to face' or xiang ^ 'to feast. I think maybe the bone graph $J[ (JGWB 1102), which just shows two people facing each other, is the primary form of xiang KS) 'to face,' and that it is incorporated as phonetic in xiang &w / 'to feast,' while at the same time suggesting the feasters. According to SW (5b.2a), M t is also read like xiang ^3 . However, I think this reading must be a guess based on its occurrence m xiang , where it is really the 71 element that is phonetic. Duan Yucai (SWDZ 5b.3a) notes that bi e. is phonetic in bi fc>% (SW 4a.22b). In spite of the various problems attached to the analysis of the present graph, I think it is fairly clear that the two kneeling figures are intended to suggest people feasting, and kneeling would be the usual position for this activity. Usage Probably in the meaning 'offer a feast to the ancestors,' just as xiang \\ is used in bronzes. 312 I f 288 S.51.3xl7 313 | | JGWB 657: jl S.51.3x72 JWJ 5.1751: ji S W 5 b . 2 a : ^ , M l , & ¥ • & It * : * A SWDZ 5b.3b: This is the same pronunciation and meaning as ji (SW 2a.7b). In the present text of the Lunyu, ji e7u is written gi . Tr: Ji i?5b means 'breakfast.' It consists of M ts. 'the fragrance of grain' signific and ji phonetic. The Lunyu says: \"[The meat that he eats] must at the very most not be enough to make his breath smell of meat rather than of rice.\"1 Analysis The usual meaning of ji in soft texts is as a marker of the past tense 'already (having done such-and-such).' The graph is generally explained by comparing it with j i t?]3 : whereas ji shows somebody who is about to eat, ji shows somebody who has already eaten, with his mouth turned away from the food vessel. If we interpret the ^ element as kou 0 / 1 2 'mouth' on its side, then although the body of the figure sometimes faces the food vessel, the mouth is always turned away. At the same time it is possible that % serves as j i phonetic , which is homophonous with j i §3b k 4-jh.2 This graph shows a person with the mouth open, and SW (8b. 12a) defines it as !Waley 1938:149 (X.8). 2Professor Pulleyblank has suggested to me another analysis, namely that ji ^L. could be a phonetic which has had A added to it in order to give a graphic contrast with j i There is indeed something curiously interactive between the graphs and meanings of these two words. 289 •^L % % ' c n o k e - ' N o t e however that in f \\ \\ , a variant of xiang $k I jtf, we seem to find the mouths facing both towards and away from the a. food vessel. Perhaps in this case the scribes were simply interpreting the element as a representation of the head, and did not see it as a mouth facing in a particular direction. It would seem odd for people to be facing away from the food at a feast. As in the last two graphs, kneeling is once again the usual position for eating. Usage Seems to be some sort of sacrifice. 317 '% JGWB 1077: cl >$l S.52.1x4 318 :1£P JGWB: various unidentified (e.g. 3469, 3473, 3378) S.52.2x7 JWJ 8.2829: ci swsb.iib: Xt, I A xi. A AL . M' , M ft ... f , SWDZ 8b.26b: In the alternative form, k£n is phonetic. Tr: Xian ' / ^ means 'covetous saliva.' It consists of qian A , 'to yawn' and shut 'water.'... : xian ^X- is also written with kan n/iu . >/A_ is the zhduwen form of xian . • 29G Analysis The present graph has been identified as ci > ^ , but it is very hard to reconcile what the graph appears to depict with any of the meanings of ci >fc (e.g. 'secondary,1 'to stay') or any of the meanings in this phonetic series (see GSR 555). It is because of this that I prefer to identify it, or at least the first form, with the SW character xidn >^ 'saliva,' which is graphically similar to the seal form of ci , = ^ . (The second form has a hand in front of the face, and looks more as if the person is feeding himself rather than drooling, so I am chary about treating it as a variant of the first form). The bronze form of ci is like the seal form, e.g. (O/NJWB 1178/1457) The bronze forms of ci >^ all have two short horizontal or near-horizontal strokes in them, and since this relates to the meaning 'secondary,' it would make sense to assume that the graph has always had £r ^ - 'two' in it as signific, which the present bone graph clearly does not. The Guangyun gives s'jL as a variant of xian ^ 'spittle, saliva,' and there are several expressions in which 'mouth-watering' is used as a figure for intense desire. Neither >A\\, nor >*£ is in GSR, which only has xian ^ 'covet, desire' (GSR 207). The Kangxi dictionary has , with a note that the Jiyun says it is the primary form of xian 'Ik , but by an oversight does not give the seal form or mention that it is in SW. In fact, the Jiyun gives the following five forms: '$k . The OC initial is problematical (an *1- type?), but one can at least see from the E M C values that the noun xian >>C zian 'drivel' and the verb xian HL ziann 'to drool after' are etymologic ally related. The addition of the yang % 'sheep' element to mark off the verb is mysterious. 291 Perhaps it is intended to stand as a typically coveted object, or the food over which one drools, though in the absence of any evidence I can only offer this as a tentative hypothesis. Another meaning of xian is 'surplus' (GSR 207, Gloss 559). The Mao commentary to the Shijing line \\13 3) ^ (HY 45/193/8) \"In the four quarters there is affluence\" glosses xian ~JJL as yu . Note that yji has shi ^ 'food' signific, implying the idea of surplus or left over food, so perhaps in xian >X. the 'sheep' is intended to represent food in general. I assume that, as with the Chinese of Zhou times, the kneeling-sitting posture was the one in which the Shang took their food. Thus the kneeling posture in the present graph suggests that the person is drooling before taking a meal. If we do not interpret the graph thus, then it is hard to explain why the person should be kneeling. Usage A place name (see Qi wenxin 19851), and perhaps also a person's name. 393 $ JGWB 13042: hui 3 S.60.4xl JWJ 11.3363: M h am grateful to Professor Takashima for drawing my attention to this article. 2JGWB includes here a graph n •/) (Ninghu 2.52). S.389.2 has this as a separate graph. It seems to be a person's name. Izf ^ 3This modern reading is based on the EMC reading xwaj\\ The Guangyun does not give this reading, but the Tangyun reading recorded in SW is 3?L ft tn . The character is normally read mM, and is then the name of a place or a star (GSR 53 lp). 292 SW lla.26a:;)# , « S Ab . M ^ , £ f : * & > t ^ SWDZ lla.36b: [Changes the 'old form' to , i.e. with 'hands' added, since this is the form found in the Shujing and the Wenxuan. He notes that in the Liji it is written $J[ .] Tr:Hui means 'to wash the face.' It consists of shui 'water' signific and wei i »> g phonetic. Wfl- : the old form has xie | [ 'head.' Analysis The graph clearly shows a person kneeling over a basin washing his or her face. The depiction of the hair suggests that this is also being washed, while the descending hand suggests that some other person is helping in the ablution. If it were the kneeling person's other hand, one would expect it to be joined to the body, as in j i ^ I ~Rj . The SW character hui is a phonetic compound, but the old form it gives, , is probably descended from the bone graph. It preserves the 'kneeling person' and introduces a \\» oc •* S 'water' element, but the basin has disappeared. The form wft, to which Duan emends it preserves the two hands, but has still lost the basin. Luo Zhenyu quotes Wu Dacheng's suspicion that the SW (9a.3a) character mei is also an old form of hui >A~ . Graphically and phonetically this seems quite plausible, but the SW definition mei qian fl'J 'before dawn'1 does not seem to have any relation to face washing. Further, if the element yu «< is phonetic (SW llb.2a: ~T 3p -fc77 wit 2) as Xu Shen claims, then this is very curious. If mM^S is indeed another old form of hui y%- , then one must assume that the <« element is not the same as the independent character yji , but a corruption of something else. The bronze forms given at O/NJWB 1188/1474 for mei suggest that it comes from a xu ;x 'beard'-like element, so the apparent yue ^ is really a person's head, and the apparent chuan ^' 1 is really a person's beard: 4 am grateful to Professor Takashima for suggesting this translation to me. 2This is the Tangyun reading. The Guangyun reading is the same. 293 The addition of the xu. element imphes washing the facial hair. As L i Xiaoding notes, fa the first five examples at OJWB 1188 are all followed by the word pin JSE . 'basin' in their inscriptions, so the reading huipan ^ 'basin for washing the face' is quite natural. The three forms I have given above preserve the 'basin' element, but there are also a couple of forms in which it is omitted ( l i : and \\5!= ), and the xji y \\ element is written (K , so these two forms are indeed very much like the SW character mei «*1 . In the present graph then, kneeling is simply the usual posture in which one would wash one's face from a basin. 671 JGWB 1037: jian S. 108.2x5 JWJ 8.2715: jian 1£ SW 8,18a: g , K& T A . JUL »L , *£ % % : * * £ 12 Tr: Jian means 'to look down.' It consists of w£> 'to lie down' signific and kan J\"*\" abbreviated phonetic. \"|[ : the old form of jian has yjn [as phonetic]. Analysis 294 The seal form of jian IEL appears to contain xue 'blood' (though the character is now standardized with min J22. 'vessel'). In view of the difficulty of relating 'blood' to the character's meaning, Xu Shen opts to explain it as an abbreviated phonetic, and is rather lucky in finding the character kin jnfa (SW 5a.21b: 'congealed sheep's blood') which makes quite a reasonable phonetic. However, this is highly improbable, and a glance at the inscriptional forms shows the right analysis. As Tang Lan correctly states, the graph shows a person looking at his reflection in a basin of water ( -** A- JL [sic: the person is actually kneeling] ^ ^ , \\ ^ %j %: \"Jf^ ). The bone graph consists quite simply of min $2. 'basin' and jian jfj 'to look.' Tang suggests that ji |n IL is also phonetic, and it is indeed quite possible that it was a phonetic hint, though the subsequent evolution of the graph has obscured this. In ancient times, basins of water were used as mirrors. Cf. the ShujingJiugao line: k \"J\" k^- , \"j\" jia. \"men should not mirror themselves in water, they should mirror themselves in the people.\"1 Thus the primary meaning of the character is 'to mirror, to inspect,' and the noun jian 'mirror' is clearly related. Only one of the bone forms has a dot in the basin to represent the water (Yicun 932, according to S and JWJ, but not according to JGWB 2 ) , but in the bronze form (O/NJWB 1121/1381), half the examples have a dash in the basin to represent the water. This evolved to become identical with xu£ jgx. 'blood' in the seal form. In the bronze form we also find that the eye of the person has in most cases become separated from the person's body as ch6n , e.g. lTongjian 30/515-523. Translation from Karlgren 1950:45 (fl 12). 2It is hard to tell from the rubbing whether there really is a dot in the basin or not. Shang Chengzuo, the author of Yicun, transcribes the graph without a dot in the basin. 295 The graph for chen E . is like mji / @ stood on end, so this development is easy to understand. Another feature of the bronze form is that the kneeling person becomes a standing person. This is continued in the seal form, but in the modern form &~ the 'person' is corrupted into a non-element (i.e. an uninterpretable, opaque squiggle). Thus the kneeling figure here represents the posture in which one would look at oneself in a basin-mirror. Usage It seems to be a person's name and a place name. 1857 (h. $ | JGWB 936: 'fT (notinSW) S.274.3x26 JWJ 7.2489: (notinSW) SW7b.4a: (fa , $ & . M -fr yfc T . T n A n means jing 'peaceful.' It consists of nu 'woman' under mian 'roof.' Analysis The graph shows a kneeling figure inside a house. It occurs mainly as the name of a prince, and so does the graph an f^ j / (S.274.4), so perhaps it may be identified as a variant thereof. The only difference is that in the graph $ \\ , the kneeling person is specified as female. Furthermore, according to Shima's transcription (which is not always reliable), the name is written both % 'f^ and in the inscription Zhuihe 94, 296 and, like the present graph, | g | also has a variant in which the figure is surrounded by short vertical dashes. Perhaps the graph is intended to represent the idea of someone staying (being 'fixed') at home (another meaning of an -5C is 'to fix, to install'). At any rate, the kneeling figure represents the usual posture one would be in when staying inside the house. Compare the graph kcju. f $ l / tL> 'robber,' where the figure is standing and represents an intruder. The reason why an 'JJc became fixed with the specifically female figure inside is perhaps because women are more closely associated with the home. Usage It occurs mainly as the name of a prince. Otherwise it is usually a place name. JGWB 937: J (not in SW) 'means the same as bjn % ' Not in JWJ SW6b.8b:jft , % f . f|\\ : £ ju . Tr:Bjn \\ 'guest' means 'the place of respecting.'1 It consists of hM yi. 'shell' signific [i.e. representing something treasured] and bjn 3? phonetic, (R! is the old form. Analysis S.274.4xl7 h am grateful to Professor Takashima for suggesting this translation to me, which helps to account for the significance of the 'roof element: it represents the place where the respect is shown. 297 The graph shows a person kneeling inside a house, with a foot underneath (except in the one form Liulu.zhong 77, where the foot is at the side of the person1). Sun Haibo cautiously says that the present graph 'has the same meaning as bjn \\ ' (for which the usual bone form is (j\\ ). He does not go so far as to say that it is actually a variant thereof, but I think it is fairly safe to do so. In OBI, bjn ft is used as a verb 'to treat as guest (to welcome, entertain).' The present graph may be analysed as representing a person who has travelled to a house and is now staying there. The foot suggests the journey, while the kneeling figure suggests the staying. We see then the crucial role played by the foot in this graph. Without the foot, I think the graph would have been a variant of an. f^l / . The foot suggests that the person does not normally live there, but has travelled thither, i.e. is a guest. In the variant ^ - f^fl (S.275.1, JGWB 917), the figure is portrayed as specifically female. It is also possible that the kneeling figure represents, not the guest, but the person who welcomes the guest, in which case the kneeUng posture would be a sign of respect. Usage It occurs in the name Zi Bin ^ , which is also written with the graph ($\\ (but never with $1 or ^ ) , which are the usual forms of bjn \"ft in the meaning 'treat as guest'). and are also both used in the meaning 'treat as guest,' but they are much rarer than the forms 1^1 and (p . Takashima (1988:31, n.8) refers to an idea of KeighUey's (1983:25 and 42-43, n.17) that (j\\ without the foot element and ^ with it may be different in meaning, but points out that there are problems in trying to maintain the distinction. 1The rubbing is not very clear, so I have had to rely on the tracing made of it by the author, Hu Houxuan. 298 > 2028 ^ Not in JGWB S.301.1xl0 (See JWJ 7.2463) Analysis L i Xiaoding objects to Luo Zhenyu's inclusion of the present graph as a variant of , because the latter shows a person lying on a mat, whereas the present graph shows a person kneeling on a mat. This objection is perfectly valid. Further, as he notes, although the usage of the present graph is obscure, it is clearly different from that of \\ i ~ f i l l , which is used to mean 'stay overnight.' Although the present graph has not been identified, it seems reasonable to assume that its primary meaning is something like 'sit.' Usage Obscure. It occurs between the names of ancestors. Takashima (1973:70 #13) suggests the tentative translation \"Take seat (in a row of ancestral altar?),' but notes (p.362, n.8) that there is no real justification for this meaning. 299 Section ii: Symbolic 300 264 $ JGWB 801: yi tL S.42.3x239 JWJ 6.2165: yi S W 6 b . l 0 a : § J ^ . M Q , & £ - t * I $ £ # £ ' K & 13 . H ... SWDZ 6b.22a: D is pronounced w£i and means fengyu f$ 'territory.' T/n Y i t£> means ® 'city-state.' It consists of jv£i Q (according to the system of the former kings, cities varied in size according to the rank [of the lord who governed them])* and ji£ V 'tally.' Analysis O is not w£i 0 , but ding T , which is the primary form of cheng , and represents a square city-wall, while the kneeling figure represents one of the city's inhabitants. The inhabitants of an ancient Chinese city-state were the subjects of the ruler of the city, and the kneeling position expresses this subjection. The city-wall is joined to the top of the figure in such a way as to suggest the head. The graph ding D is usually fairly small anyway, but in the present graph it has to be written small in order not to be out of proportion with the figure. Usage It is used mostly in its original meaning 'city,' but sometimes also seems to be the name of a person. 1 Since this sentence divides the two parts of the analysis of the character, I have interpreted it as a footnote on the first part of the anlysis, . I think it is intended to explain why the Q element is so small in this character, i.e. instead of its usual envelopping size, which would give us . Xu Shen is saying that it is small here to indicate the fact that cities varied in size. 301 299 $ Not in JGWB S.46.2x6 Not in JWJ sw 9 , i4b: ® , k % »l . M £ % , Ik & % , jgi B . [ ^ ] . . . . | j : * £ % * . Tr: Ji f£j means 'to restrain oneself [see Serruys 1984:718].' It consists of ying JjL 'sheep' abbreviated, b_ao_ ^3, 'to enclose' abbreviated, and kou rZ 'mouth.' 'Enclose the mouth' represents the idea of 'cautious speaking.' The 'sheep' element has the same £ ¥ £ significance as it does in yi -jfc 'righteous,' shan 'good,' and mei 'beautiful.' .... ^ : in the old form, the'sheep'element is not abbreviated. SW9,15a : t 74 , /§ M £_ Tr: Jing ^ r , 'respectful' means £u \"0 'reverential.' It consists of p_u_ ^ 'to tap' and ji ^ 'restrained.' Analysis Although JGWB and JWJ do not have this graph, it is so similar to the bronze form of ji % (O/NJWB 1226/1525) that I think it probably is the same graph: 302 My pronunciation of ji ^ is based on the Tangyun reading recorded in SW, E> \"ft \"t# 1 (I have assigned a third tone due to the voiceless initial, as this is the development of rusheng that one finds in the Zhongyuan yinyun). There are no textual examples of ji ^ . Duan Yucai (SWDZ 9a.3a) suggests that it is the same word which in the classics is written j! j£ orji I think however that ji is simply an earlier form of jing This is supported by the fact that in bronzes ji ^ is used in the same sense as jing ^fc, (see O/NJWB 1226-7/1525-6), and in fact Karlgren (GSR 813b, c) recognizes it as jing $t • It shows a person kneeling in respect, and the 'sheep' element is perhaps a phonetic hint, though the rhymes differ (jing ^ k i a j n . h < * k a n s , y£ng % j i a a n g < *-yan.). The 'mouth' and hand holding a stick' elements which were added later may be interpreted as indicating the word jing 'to warn, admonish,' later written or % (GSR 813h, i,j). NJWB 1526 says that on the bronze axe ^ ^ ^ (not in OJWB), jing %/L is used for jing , in the phrase 'in order to warn his multitude.' Incidentally, in spite of Duan Yucai's injunction not to confuse ji with the now homographous g6u 'S) , which in the seal form consists of do. f f 'grass' signific on top of ju 9^ phonetic, the Kangxi dictionary has only the latter, and lists a stylized form of the SW old form of ji ^) as a variant. This seems rather a gross oversight when one considers that the seal forms are quite distinct. Usage It is not used in its original meaning in OBI, where it is the name of a spirit who is prayed to for rain, but it is used in its original meaning in bronzes, so this clinches the identification. 1 The Guangyun reading f& 7*7 -tf) gives the same E M C pronunciation: k i k . 303 304 ^ JGWB 1090: Mg ^ S.46.3xl66 (incomplete record) JWJ 9.2867: ling -4s JWJ 2.355: ming 4fi S W 9 a . l 2 a : ^ , f£ fa & . ^ A , f . Tr: Ling ^ means 'to issue orders.' It consists of ji A [which may be interpreted here as 'to muster'] and jM T5 'a tally [i.e. a sign of authority].' SW 2a.9a: ^ , At. &. M E , U. ^ . SWDZ 2a.l8a: Ling ^ is also phonetic. Tr: Ming 1^ 5 means 'to send [e.g. on a mission].' It consists of kou tz 'mouth' and ling \"4^ 'to order.' Analysis L i Xiaoding describes the graph as a mouth sending down orders to a kneeling person, and I think the interpretation of ^ as the upside-down form of kou d / 2 i s tenable. L i refers to yu£ , seal form , which shows a mouth blowing into a set of panpipes. The three small 'mouth' elements represent the holes of the panpipes. Compare the bone graph M ^11 (JGWB 258) which shows the mouth and panpipes, plus M phonetic. In OBI, ling never has kou & added to form ming ^p\", and in bronzes, although both graphs exist, ling is often used for ming . It seems likely then that they are etymologically related. 304 Usage It is used as a verb 'to order,' e.g. the king ordering military leaders to go and do battle, or Di ^ the supreme god ordering rain or wind, etc. 329 . fy, S.52.3x686 (excluding collocations with fji ^ ) 330 »)> S.56.2x23 331 ft}). S.56.3x3 332 H}, S.56.3xl 2147 S.324.3x3 2148 S.324.3xl 2174 4$ k S.325.4x2 JGWB 207: (all the above forms) y i 1457 ^ S.224.3x8 JGWB 4606 (unidentified) JWJ 2.583: (including ^ ) yji >f£p SW 2b.l0b:fef , >f£_ i & . >CC ^ , /A §p • $(l : * £ #9 AH , SWDZ 2b. 17a: [According to this text, xi£ ^ \"p is also phonetic] The form only occurs in the Zhouli. Tr: Yji A&tf means 'to drive a horse.' It consists of chi A 'trotting' and xis. ^ \"p 'releasing' [i.e. stopping and releasing the horse from the cart]. : the old form of yji. consists of y6u 'hand' and ma ^ 'horse.' Analysis 305 The analysis of the present graph depends very much on the determination of its original meaning, which requires some unravelling. The basic meaning of the word yji may be thought of as 'to drive.' This may be applied to driving a chariot or horse, or driving away an enemy tribe or a baleful influence (for the meaning 'drive a horse,' a special form consisting of 'horse' and 'hand' was also devised). These usages are all attested in OBI. In spite of the many variants (which I would all accept except no. 2174), one can see that the basic structure of this graph is a phonetic compound, consisting of wu. phonetic and the 'kneeling figure' signific. However, it is very hard to relate this signific to the meaning 'drive' or 'drive away.' It seems strange to have a kneeling figure as signific in a character having such an active, aggressive meaning. One must always bear in mind that the graph may have been designed to represent some other meaning, and that its usual OBI usage is a phonetic loan. The addition of various radicals, such as chi \\ , pu ^ and shi 7f> , which clearly relate to the actual usage of the graph (chi ^ suggests motion, pu_ >L suggests driving away, and shi suggests religious significance, i.e. exorcism), could perhaps be seen as an indication that the kneeling figure signific was not felt to be relevant enough. The character yji lif has other meanings, such as 'to wait on, an attendant,' and the Kangxi dictionary gives quite a few classical citations for this sort of meaning. Such meanings would be more consistent with the kneeling person signific than the meaning 'drive.' Another meaning of yji is 'to meet, to welcome,'1 and Wen You (JWJ 2.585) takes this as the primary meaning: i $ S'l % J L , *t gJi $L J L . £ j L , fij ^ ^ ^ofessor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me that this connects yji Avtf n+ah with the word family to which y j n g . lO? rjiaj rj \"to meet,' niaj n h 'go to meet, receive' (GSR 699d) and ni ^ rjiaj k 'go against...go to meet, receive' (GSR 788c) belong. 306 ^ depicts a person kneeling in welcome. ^ is a road. Welcoming [someone] on the road, this is [the meaning of] yji ^P. The Zheng Xuan commentary to the Shijing line \" f ft 4lpi-,\"l says that yji here means ying 'to welcome.' When you welcome a guest, he stays, hence the addition of zhi jk. 'to stop.' When a guest stays, then one offers him a drink, hence [yu ] also comes to mean jin 'to proffer' and shi ^ 'to wait on.' To be precise, one should say that [the character yji -?ifp ] consists of xing and zhi signifies, with wji phonetic... The definition y i 'to welcome' is the primary meaning-other definitions are later meanings. L i Xiaoding agrees with Wen You's analysis, and my study of the role of the ^ element in the bone graphs also prompts me to accept it. Usage By far the commonest usage in OBI is in the specialized meaning 'to drive away baleful influences,' i.e. to exorcize. The variant is used to mean 'drive a horse,' as in the well-known inscription Jing hua 3, which I have already quoted in this thesis (under 1.6.1124). I have also found one instance in which the graph $h may be interpreted as 'drive a horse': 1 M A hundred carriages meet her.\" HY 3/12/1. 307 (Houbian 2.6.1) Bingchen-day cracking, tested: It should be Ting who goes out at X i 1 to drive the horse. 'Exorcize the horse' would also make sense, but there is no other evidence that the Shang exorcized animals. There is only evidence that they exorcized human beings. There are some inscriptions concerning whether 'rn£ % ' will die (S.221.3), but this term is also used in OBI to refer to a group of people, probably a unit in the army. A more convincing example is the following: f * h , i : % # £ &V f £ ? $. . (Wenlu 312, ap.S.222.1) Jiawu-day cracking, the king: The horse has-some-kind-of-sickness (?), perhaps (we should) exorcize (it) at Father Jia's yi-temple. The interpretation of xun 2f here is problematic, but the graph that I have transcribed could perhaps refer to a disease of horses. JWJ 10.3043 has it as M ^ 'to canter,' but I do not think that it is permissible to identify £ A / $ directly as lfe f\\ . 335 $ JGWB 362: fu S.56.3xl33 *I am indebted to Professor Takashima for suggesting the interpretation of xi £ here as a place name. I originally translated it as 'go out at night,' but for this meaning the word order really should be 9 £tt .. 308 JWJ 3.923: f£ & SW3b.9a: /? , & . M ,• M ? . f , | ft . SWDZ 3b. 19a: The hand holds the tally in order to govern. Tr.Fj i l i - means chi 'to govern.' It consists of y£u_ 2— 'hand' and ji£ I 1 'tally.' Jie' I represents the ji6 'regulation'of affairs. Analysis As usual, Xu Shen is misled by his understanding of ji£ I as j i £ f p 'tally.' The bone graph shows a hand pressing down on the back of a kneeling person. This illustrates the meaning 'to subjugate.' The symbolism of the kneeling figure is thus particularly clear in this graph. It may be contrasted with jf 'to reach,' which shows a hand grabbing at a standing person, and has no connotations of inferiority or subjugation. These two graphs constitute a minimal pair which highlights nicely the symbolism of L 'to move,' which also contains the boat element. However, he offers no textual examples, and I suspect that he is simply guessing. U s a g e As a noun, which may be understood as 'subjugated person>POW, captive.' They are frequently used as sacrificial victims. 340 ^ JGWB 1091:zhuin S.57.3xl8 JWJ 9.2873: zlvuin DE> SW9a.l2b:ft > , ^ ? . H JUL tft . Iffl SWDZ 9a.32b: Que H^l means that the pronunciation is unknown. Xu Xuan gives the pronunciation zhuan on the basis of other characters containing this element. 310 Tr: Zhuan £{L consists of two ji£ *p . The character xun ^ contains it. Meaning and pronunciation unknown. Analysis The graph shows two people kneeling, one behind the other. Perhaps it is the primary form of the word now generally written xun , for which Karlgren gives the meanings 'to withdraw, docile' (GSR 434e). The character xun ^ also occurs in this sense (GSR 433a: 'humble, yield'). Ding Shan defines the meaning of the present bone graph as fuc6ng 'to follow obediently' or xunshiin 'tame,1 and says that this can all be summed up in the three characters bji ling r£n A_ 'not lord it over people.' He also compares it with similar graphs, which is very illuminating from the point of view of graphic analaysis. For example, cong >l\\ /kk shows one person following another. The figures are both standing, so this suggests a physical, active sort of following. This meaning is amply testified in the numerous £ kk ~% inscriptions, e.g. £ kk >Jt 'the king will follow Zhi Guo,' £ M j £ ^ 'the king will follow Wang Cheng.' This contrasts with b_si (bei r\\ ), where the two people are standing back to back. Conceivably, the idea of 'facing' could have been expressed by * M , but we do not find such a graph. Instead we find xiang [\\ I ft (xiang f^) ), in which the two parties are kneeling. The only graph in which we find figures facing each other is f l ^ M / 'to fight.' When people face each other in a standing position, this is evidendy not a sign of peace, but of confrontation (literally!). This is underlined by the addition of tousled hair and interlocked fists. Note also that there is no graph *j><( -it would seem that the kneeling figure is too symbolic of yielding to be used to represent such a bushun ^ meaning as 'turn one's back on.' The above graphic analysis allows us to conclude that xun j i , in contrast to c6ng , represents a more passive act of following, not so much following as yielding, and this is precisely the sort of meaning that we find in soft texts for xun ^ ~ l 2£ • It is 311 interesting in this connection that Whincup (1986:4) characterizes the symbolism of the xun | t trigram as \"kneel in submission,\" and many of the line readings under the corresponding hexagram mention kneeling.' I am not certain if in the graph c6ng ^ the right hand figure is intended to be following the left-hand figure, or whether the graph just represents the idea of people following in procession, without any implication that the left-hand figure is the leader. In the present case, if represented a leader and his follower, one might expect the graph to be written * . I think therefore that $ Ji just represents the idea of two kneeling figures in succession, with the kneeling stance used to connote submission. Since fji $ / \"ja. and the rare doubled form (S.57.2x3) are both used as sacrificial victims, it seems possible that they represent the same word. One might wonder then if \\ % represents the same word as \\ . I do not think so, because ^ is used mostly as a sacrificial verb, while ^ is used mostly as a person's name. Since also occurs occasionally as a sacrificial victim, could it then be a variant of ? Again I do not think so, because ^ and]?J^ never occur as a person's name. Further, finds a direct descendant in the seal character > 1 , while it has no descendant. Usage The OBI usage is somewhat unrevealing. In most examples it seems to be a person's name. In a few inscriptions, it seems to be a sacrificial victim. The context suggests that it is not used for zhuan 'food offering,' but is some kind of living victim. At any rate, the OBI usage of t?Gj gives no insight into its original meaning. Graphic analysis is particularly crucial in cases like these, of which there are quite a few, since many graphs only ever occur as phonetic loans in OBI, so one has no chance to see their original meaning in action. We are thus able to formulate preliminary hypotheses while awaiting further evidence. What I try to do in such cases is link the graphic design 312 with some later known meaning, either of the graph itself or some other graph in which it occurs as phonetic. 341 . ^ JGWB 1101: =yi 1J3 ) and yjn £ f S.57.3x52 JWJ 9.2869: [same as JGWB] S W 9 a . l 2 b : ^ , 4$ j & . M £ £p - f ^ J % ) X ^ • Tr: Y i i$ means an. 'to press.' It consists of yin £p turned round. ^ 3 : the vulgar form has shou *^ * 'hand' added. SW9a.l2b : f , ^ jk. 41 & . A l A , ? . ft ... Tr:Ym P^ 'seal' is the symbol [of office] held by an administrator. It consists of zhua 'hand' and ji£ 13 'tally.' Analysis The bone graph shows a hand pressing down on a kneeling person. It was probably a general word for 'press down,' but the graph only symbolizes one aspect of this general meaning: that of suppressing people. The descending hand is written ^ or \" , but I do not think this distinction is graphemic. JGWB and JWJ both treat the form ^ as a variant of fu. $ / |SL (see graph 335 in this section), but I think they made a wrong decision there. ^ is the usual form in which the descending hand is represented, and I think is just a variant. The ascending hand, in contrast, is always written > or ^ , never * \\ . The descending hand is nearly always written ^ , hardly ever ^ . 313 There are quite a number of characters in which the two vary, e.g. sh6u rjjg_ is written 1^ or ^ (JGWB 539), and xing i j | u s u a l l y ^ but sometimes ^ (JGWB 317). There are also cases where A varies with ^ , e.g. yji. >Jt is written (JGWB J> 1377) and ^ (JGWB 5663; JWJ 11.3465 includes both), and there is a graph written or (JGWB 840). However, such cases are quite rare. Generally, from their use as elements in other graphs, one can see that the ascending and descending hand elements have different symbolisms: while the ascending hand generally symbolizes 'receiving' or offering up,' the descending hand generally symbolizes 'passing down' or 'pressing down.' In sh6u , the descending hand passes down while the ascending hand receives. Turning back now to SW, we find that there are two characters, yjn ij? ( £p ) and yi 3^ ( ) , which are clearly specializations of the same original graph, as Luo Zhenyu pointed out. The basic meaning of yjn tp is 'a seal' (noun), while the basic meaning of yj 4^P is 'to press down' (verb). These two words are in corresponding OC rhymes (zhen ^ and zhi i f respectively1), and are clearly etymologically related. Duan Yucai (SWDZ 9a.33b) describes the phonetic relationship thus: %~ ® P^ , ,4 t JL ® P 'yjn 6p is the slow pronunciation and yj i)3 is the quick pronunciation.' This describes the auditory impression created by the final nasal versus the final stop. Usage It could be interpreted as 'suppress,' though I find the inscriptions rather ambiguous. One use of yj 4^P that is very clear however is as a conjunction, exactly like the classical conjunction yj ^Uj1 'or.' Considering the paucity of xuci in OBI, the occurrence of this connective is quite interesting. This is the graph that L i Xueqin Although yi 4tp ? i k is in the Guangyun zhi rhyme, it rhymes in the Shijing in the zhi rhyme. 314 (1980:40) transcribes as fu Q_ in an article where he maintains that fu. \"£L and zhi are particles expressing positive and negative questions. Qiu Xigui (1988) corrects this to yi , and interprets it as a clause- or sentence-final question particle, but I think it can still be understood as meaning 'or,' as it does in classical Chinese, e.g. rX f% V : % I 9 Z % # p • * t ^ • (Yibian445) Wuxu-day cracking: Perhaps next ji-day overcast or clear? [Verification:]No clouds were seen. ^ : 4 f itf ty . (Cuibian 1241) Tested: Exorcize the Lady, or should not do it?1 710 £ JGWB 1399: wen S. 114.2x30 nffl JWJ 12.3525: we S W 1 2 a . 8 a : ^ , * t fifl J & . M 5 , PI ¥ . : 4 i ^ I . SWDZ 12a. 17b: Ting » i * ? means 'to listen' and w6n fB-J means 'to hear.' Tr: W6n flt\\ means 'to hear of.' It consists of gr ? 'ear' signific and men f T phonetic.'^®' : the old form has hun & [phonetic]. 4 am grateful to Professor Takashima for drawing my attention to Qiu's article, where these inscriptions are cited as Heji 20988 and 802. The precise interpretation of zhi is uncertain, though it also seems to be a kind of question particle. 315 Analysis Tang Lan identifies the present graph with the bronze graph ^ (O/NJWB 1534/1955), which evolves into the seal element ff^ , and claims that this is the original pictograph for wen \\%\\ 'to hear.' The present character w6n l#J is a phonetic compound replacement. Yu Xingwu and Long Yuchun present further evidence to support Tang, and the case is quite conclusive. O/NJWB identifies ^ as hun because SW (12b.2a) gives it as the zhduwen form of that character, and indeed it is usually used in the sense of hun 'relatives by marriage' in bronzes. However there are also examples of it being used in the meaning 'to hear' (e.g. ^ ), and this is the graph's original meaning. Although the identity of the graph is thus beyond doubt, there is some disagreement over its interpretation. According to Yu Xingwu, it depicts a person kneeling and listening intently for foreign alarms while covering his face with his hand ( V-A 4\" ft) ID t^f -? IS- #r ^ )• The emphasis on the 'ear' element is understandable (compare jian I |L and wang ^ / j £ , with the emphasis on the eye), but why is the face with the hand in front also depicted? Yu's explanation seems to suggest that it shows the trepidation with which one listens for news of foreign alarums and excursions. L i Xiaoding gives a slighdy different interpretation, saying that the person is in fact cupping his hand to his ear as a sign of listening intentiy ( |<. / . t?P V*A ). However, the hand is definitely before the mouth, not cupped to the ear. Since jian ^ I 'to see' simply has 'eye' on 'person,' one wonders why w6n 1^ 'to hear' could not simply be depicted as 'ear' on 'person,' thus: ^ (there is such a graph, but I have identified it as ting Hit- 'to listen'-see I.l.ii.715). In my opinion, the best explanation is that of Dong Zuobin (JWJ 12.3532-4), who notes that the character wen l^fl has two related meanings: wenzhi &l 'perceive by hearing,' and daw6n 1^ . iSjfj 'to cause to hear>to inform, bring news,' and he says that the bone graph represents the latter meaning, i.e. a messenger delivering news. The kneeling position is 316 thus a sign of inferiority or respect. This interpretation also explains why the mouth is drawn in-this shows the messenger delivering his message. As for the hand before the mouth, Dong interprets this as a further sign of respect, shielding the superior to whom one reports the message from one's spitde. Dong's explanation accounts naturally for all the elements in this graph. However, I feel it is necessary for me to add a note here on his claim that win ^ can mean dawen ^ &i 'to notify, inform.' (I have not actually found this binome in any dictionary, but I guess this is what Dong means), and that this was the original meaning of the word. Several dictionaries I have consulted give one of the meanings of wen ?%\\ as 'to report, inform' etc. (e.g. Dai Kan-Wa Jiten 9.215: kikaseru. tsugeshiraseru. moshiageru: Cihai: d l t l t . chuand& 4% i J t ), and Wang L i (1985.3: 1190) says that it has the speciaHzed meaning 'fjrL J l fjf? 1^ 'to cause the emperor to hear.' Al l this suggests that w6n could be used in a causative sense 'to cause to hear' (and this use of a verb in classical Chinese certainly would not be surprising), thus supporting the idea that the bone graph shows a person delivering a report. However, in most of the examples I have seen, w6n is not followed by an object, so it is best interpreted as 'to hear' used in a passive sense 'to be heard.' Thus Wang Li's example ft ft ^ l^fl (Shiji.Bao Ren An shu) may be best understood as 'when the letter concerning L i Ling's defeat was heard (by the emperor).' When wen is used as a transitive verb, it generally means 'to hear,' and when used intransitively it means 'to be heard.' It is very hard to find unambiguous examples of wen ^ used transitively with the meaning 'to cause to hear.' In the following example, from Liji.Shaoyi (HY17/1), it seems to mean 'to cause to be heard' rather than'to cause to hear': \"I, so and so, earnestly wish my name to be reported to the officer of communication.\" (Legge 1885.4:68 f 1) 317 It seems clear that wenming \\%\\ $L here cannot mean 'hear the name.' Wang Fuzhi (1933:17. la) says that wen here should be read in the departing tone wen, and means tongmfng ^ 'communicate one's name.' According to the Guangyun, w6n ^ in the level tone means zhisheng ^ 'to hear,' and in the departing tone means mingdd 4 l i 'fame.' Wang Renxu (ap. Long Yuchen 1968) only has it in the level tone, and defines it as you zhi ^ 'to perceive.' Karlgren (GSR 441f) defines the level tone reading as 'to hear' and the departing tone reading as 'to be heard; fame,' and Lu Deming's glosses in general support this (see Pan Chonggui 1983.2:1660). It seems to me that wen never had the meaning 'cause to hear.' Its basic meaning was 'to hear,' and in the qusheng reading it meant 'to be heard' or 'fame, reputation.' In the Liji passage quoted above, we do not have wen 'to hear' used causatively as 'to cause to hear,' but wen 1?^ used causatively as 'to cause to be heard.' I conclude then that the bone graph, although it depicts a messenger delivering a report, does not illustrate the meaning 'to report,' which is not attested in OBI and only rather ambiguously attested in soft texts, but illustrates the nominal meaning '(a thing heard:) a report, news,' which is attested in OBI (but not, as far as I know, in soft texts, where the nominal usage of wen f$ means 'fame, reputation'). I have also considered the possibility that w6n in OBI means 'messenger,' but the context suggests that the meaning 'message' is the correct interpretation.1 Usage According to Dong, in the I ft inscriptions, w6n ^ means 'news, report.' This seems like a reasonable interpretation. Its precise meaning in other inscriptions is hard to gauge. There are also some inscriptions that talk about seeking rain by burning (jiao ) w6n . Yu Xingwu interprets w6n 1^-1 here as hun , 4 am grateful to Mr. Sun Jingtao of Peking University for discussing the usage of wen in classical Chinese with me. 318 referring to some kind of female slave. In the ^ \\%\\ inscriptions, he interprets w6n f%[ as standing for mfn~hun ^ 'suffering, distress' (GSR 457s). The formulaic parallelism with other OBI 'disaster' graphs makes this interpretation look quite cogent. In one fragment (Fuyin.wen 45) we find ^ \\$ I ^ f%\\ , which would make good sense if read as xi hun j^j\" 'yesterday at dusk,' but with no other context it is hard to be sure. Takashima (1988:14) notes that the bronze graph that evolves from the present bone graph is not used (in those inscriptions where the context is unambiguous) in the sense of 'dusk,' and he also notes that there is a bone ancestor for the character hun >^ (S.358.1, JGWB 810, JWJ 7.2191) which is definitely used in the sense of 'dusk,' so it would probably be better to intepret the above inscription as 'yesterday (there was) a report.' One can see now that the reason SW gives as the zhduwen form of hun , rather than of hun & , is because it was used in the sense of 'marriage relations,' not in the sense of 'dusk.' For dusk, the character has always been © The graphic correspondent of hun % does not occur in bronzes (O/NJWB 881/1088 lists ^ 2 as hun % , from the vessel , even though it is used here as hun ^ © !). ^ JGWB 1098: if (not in SW) 800 S.136.2x7 JWJ 12.3671: b i ^ r According to SW (12b.2a), the reason why marriage is called hun is that the bridegroom collects the bride at dusk (cf. Yili.Shihunli, Steele 1917.1:22 ^ 8a mentions that men precede the bridegroom's chariot bearing torches, which suggests that it is evening). If this is true, then one wonders why the word for 'marriage' in bronzes is not written with hun ^ . 2For a detailed study of this bronze graph, see Takashima 1988:11-14 (graph 2c). 319 SW 12b. 10a: , 1^. JUL-*', Tr: Bj. means 'maid' or 'favourite.' It consists of nji 'woman' signific and pi ^ phonetic. Analysis The bone graph consists of gj£ ^? 'concubine' and ji£ 'kneeling figure,' not of nji 'woman' and pi phonetic, so JGWB's transcription as the non-character r^~P is to be preferred over the identification as hi • The context shows that it is used the same way as gj& I^T , i.e. as a sacrificial victim,1 so I think it is best to regard m it simply as a variant of gj£ ^ , with the kneeling figure added to emphasize the lowly status of these poor women who were used in human sacrifice.2 The theory of graphic analysis suggests that the graph (see I.l.ii.801) is not likely to be a variant of the present graph, but a different grapheme, since \\ and), have conflicting uses, ff only occurs in two inscriptions, but in both is clearly a verb (though I cannot specify its precise meaning). Usage It is a sacrificial victim. Apart from being offered to female ancestors (perhaps to provide them with serving maids in the after-life), both m£ and 5p are also offered to the He ^ 'Yellow River.' As is well known, the offering of 'brides' to the Yellow River was an ancient custom in China. The classical story concerning this is the one about Ximen Bao putting an end to the custom in Wei during the Warring States period (Shiji.Ch.126: Huaji zhuari). note that, as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, while gj£ ~fj=- could refer to the wife of an ancestor, P^ does not seem to be so used. 2This sort of sacrifice should be distinguished from the practice of burying living subordinates with their dead masters (xun ), which could apply to people of high status. 320 1721 $ \\ Not in JGWB S.253.3x2 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of bli $ / |L 'shell,' which is probably phonetic, and the kneeling figure, which is probably signific. Phonetically, it could represent the word b_M , which like b_M H may be classified as ji rhyme.1 Karlgren defines it as 'to bow in obeisance, to bow one's thanks' (GSR 328). This would fit into the OBI context, and would also explain the role of the kneeling figure: I t 1 B ^ i$ . (Jingjin 4364) When kneeling in homage to the sun, we will not meet with (rain). to a * l i t . (NanbeLNan 1.170) When kneeling in homage to the sun, we will perhaps meet with (rain). I have filled in the word 'rain' on the basis of a common OBI formula. Although it is impossible to prove that the present graph represents the same word as bai ^ , the OBI context and graphic analysis combine to allow this as a possibility. however it should be noted, as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, that in EMC bJU. £ f pe r j h is in the guai ^ rhyme, while b£i Jjl paj h is in the tM ^ rhyme (cf. b_M ba i is in the guai ^L. rhyme] so they were not homophonous. 321 2330 }\\f S.360.3xl3 2331 hi JGWB 1105:pi S.360.4xl5 JWJ 9.2891: pi SW 9a. 13a: T r . f i means 'law.' It consists of j i£ *f 'tally' and xin 'bitter': this represents the regulation of crime. [Xu Shen here understands ji£ y as ji6 f P 'to regulate,' and he was also aware that xin occurs as signific in characters to do with crime and punishment, though he did not know why.] It also contains kou *2L 'mouth-this represents the person who applies the law. Analysis In Shang China, law probably meant punishment, and the graph depicts a person kneeling with the instrument of punishment at his back (xin ^ / % depicts a tool that was used for tattooing the foreheads of criminals). In one of the examples (Jiabian 10461) there is also a small square, thus: . (Only JGWB transcribes it correctly: JWJ mis-transcribes the square as kou u , while S omits it altogether.) In the bronze form, this element is usually a circle. Of the 18/29 examples at O/NJWB 1216/1514, three examples 1 JGWB also gives an example (Jiabian 3238), but according to Qu Wanli's kaoshi the belongs with a separate graph RT (usually identified as shi ^Q. 'stone,' though Qu does not accept this). 322 (two from the two f rfj ^ Jf vessels and one from ) have a dot inside the circle, one has a mouth-like form ( % • ), and only one example has nothing: /\"•f ( f^->h%.). Thus although this element looks like 'mouth' in the seal form (which is perhaps what led L i Xiaoding to mis-transcribe the bone graph), originally it is actually a circle (which happens to be squarish in the bone form due to the difficulty of carving such a small circle on bone). What is the significance of this circle? I would like to suggest that pi j l f is the primary form of bi Jb 'circular jade insignium' (GSR 853d). It is a phonetic compound, consisting of pi phonetic and a circle as signific.1 The circle then became an integral part of the character pi for , and a new character bj. , with yji i 'jade' signific, was created. This new character is already found in bronzes (O/NJWB 39/43), but notice that two of the examples on the >I £ i l a c k the circle, consisting simply of pi and yji £ , thus suggesting that it may still have been felt superfluous at that time to have both the circle and the jade signific together. Usage In the classics, pi is usually a verb 'to punish.' It can also mean 'to regulate,' and as a noun, read M, it means 'ruler, prince.' These meanings are probably all connected, and the variation in the phonation of the initial clearly points to some form of etymological derivation. Pi is also used for quite a variety of other words, which later came to be distinguished by the addition of various radicals (see GSR 853). Thus in interpreting the use of pi in OBI, one has quite a deal of latitude. For example, Chen Mengjia suggests that the OBI phrase ^ 3^ could mean bichen %r 'favourite ministers,' perhaps referring to a particular rank of official. One could also simply ^f . the suggestion of Hopkins (1929:572) that © in the bronze graph ying. ^ / (O/NJWB 1522/1941) represents, not the sun, but a bj. ^ * jade disc with its circular aperture in the middle. The graph would thus show a person raising up a jade disc. As Hopkins further notes, this suggestion helps to explain the frequent addition of the yu £ / j£: 'jade' element to this graph. Its meaning in bronzes is 'to extol,' i.e. to lift up verbally. 323 understand it as pichen 'regulating ministers,' or perhaps even 'law officers.' It is hard to know which, if any, is correct. The present graph also occurs as the name of a prince. It is hard to say whether it has the meaning 'punish' in any of the inscriptions. 324 Section iii: Phonetic (?) 325 880 § \\ Not in JGWB S.143.3xl Not in JWJ SW 12b.2b: ^ , EE -jr , a f . SWDZ 12b.5b: In the Taixuanjing it is written . 'Sheng ' should be edited out: this is a semantic compound, meaning 'taking a woman and coupling her to oneself.' Tr: Fei 'wife' means pi [ZE- 'mate.' It consists of nji \"^ C 'woman' signific and ji phonetic. Analysis According to SW, fei and p£i both contain ji 2^-> phonetic. However, the bone and bronze forms of p£i contain jj£ , not j i Hi (see next graph in this section). Note that the seal form of the phonetically similar word f6i f i t also contains ji£ \"P (the modern character is written with bji. , but this is wrong, and there is no way that b_a_ ^ could ever have been phonetic, though it may be a phonetization due to the role of the j i£ \" P element having been forgotten). It seems possible then that fei also originally contained jM \"P , notji H J . SW (4b. 15a) analyses fgi as a semantic compound, but it occurs to me that the three characters pei and fei perhaps all originally had # as phonetic. As far as SW i s concerned, ji£ 'P only occurs as phonetic in the character ji (SW 5b. 2a), and there is also the rare character ji6 iJJ (see Zhu Junsheng 1834:12.178b-179a), to which Xu Shen gives a huiyi % & analysis (SW 9b.3b). GSR does not give a phonetic series for this element. From his definitions of characters under his \"P radical (e.g. £ /tL , que ^ ), one can deduce that Xu Shen thought 1 was pronounced like ji£ , and 326 the Guangyun assigns it the same reading ). However, since Xu Shen did not even know what it originally depicted, one begins to doubt whether he knew its true reading either. It seems rather that he guessed it was read like ji£ &y . The evidence of M hj , p l i i L and f£i , if I have not misconstrued it, points to quite a different reading. L i Xiaoding (JWJ 12.3605), following Luo Zhenyu, recognizes the bone graph 1$ as i£iil>. Luo says: i t U J f t , ffl it> & *~ * % ^ 'this [graph] contains si ^- , and is perhaps the primary form of fgi He gives no explanation as to why he thinks this si makes the graph fei ^$->. He seems to regard Si ^- as a variant of zi ^ / , but is not clear himself on this issue (see JWJ 14.4360). L i Xiaoding (JWJ 14.4367) has the insight that si ^- depicts a foetus, as in the character bao Q , which SW (9a. 14b) analyses as depicting a pregnant person with an unformed child inside. I think L i is correct in saying that si ^- depicts a foetus. Karlgren (GSR 581) also accepts the identification of 5^ as fei , and gives the same analysis: \"The graph has 'woman' and 'child in womb.'\" Under bao \"fei (GSR 1113) he says: \"The graph was possibly the primary form of loao ffy 'womb'], and may have been a drawing of a foetus in the womb.\" Thus L i appears to be accepting that fei is a semantic compound of 'woman' and 'foetus' (though at JWJ 12.3606 he says that J is neither ji £ . nor si , so his thinking on this point is actually rather muddled). I suppose this is not too wild an idea, but I do not feel completely happy with it. JGWB 1418 also accepts J->>, as , saying that the bone form of this character contains si 6- instead of j i 2_> . Rong Geng is rather muddled, listing the bronze graph ^ £ in the position corresponding to the SW character ji (OJWB 1549), but identifying it as fei^rL (which he amends to , amending also the seal form to ), and listing the bronze graph for ji as M (OJWB 1536). NJWB (1958 and 1974) corrects this swap. I would prefer to follow Wang Xiang (JWJ 12.3605) in identifying as the old form of si • In bronzes, this surname is usually written shi 4ia. (O/NJWB 327 1550/1975). Luo Zhenyu (JWJ 12.3605) rightly criticizes the identification of 5 (j> as fei , since this graph should clearly be identified as ji . SW (12b.5a) defines this as a niizi -$V % 'woman's name,' and there is no doubt from the pronunciation of this character that it really does contain ji phonetic. Luo notes that it is actually a xing 'surname,'not a zi -r 'name.' L i (12.3606) agrees with Luo on these points, and adds that the original form of fei has not been found in bronzes (though to be consistent he ought to award this honour to \\l ). The bronze graph for ji 2& is always used as a proper name, but there are a couple of cases ( }%• A\\ and IP & jf ) ^ e r e \\l may most easily be understood as meaning 'wife, consort,' so this poses a problem for my reluctance to accept it as fgi However, even if \\[ is to be identified as fei i& , p_£i 1JL and f£i ffl-> still provide cogent evidence for the interpetation of # as phonetically something like *P8 l . In OBI, j i has not been found, while 02 occurs mostly in the name Ling Si 3S J# I Si -it (M). Unfortunately, the present graph occurs without context. The possibility that ^ is phonetic will be made clearer by the following reconstructions: lei it> p'u] b u j *D9l pei jScL . . h P 9] 2556 %\\ S.391.1x5 JGWB 1711: pii WL JGWB 2272 : xiiopii 'Y § < J 328 JWJ 14.4409: Ip (notinSW) SW14b.l7a: @ ^ , > | & A> . M £) , $ . SWDZ 14b.36b: The SW definition is the original meaning. Later, people used it for fej -kb. Tr: P&i means 'the colour of wine.' It consists of you j§ ['wine'] signific and j£ cL phonetic. Analysis L i Xiaoding does not recognize the present graph as p£i jj§c\\,, and indeed the seal form appears to contain j i cL rather than ji£ \"p . However, JGWB does recognize it as pM i i , with the note\" kk \"P ,\" i.e. 'contains j i£ f instead of j i rL» .' O/NJWB (1883/2404) recognizes a bronze graph consisting of the same elements as p£i , with the same note. Karlgren (GSR 514) also accepts this bronze graph as pM jj§C . He says \"the right part was probably originally a drawing of a kneeling person,\" and refers to the character xiang iXhl l»f 'to feast' (GSR 714c). His implication, I presume, is that, as xiang ^P shows people sitting down to dine, so p£i shows a person sitting down to wine, though he does not explain how this relates to the meaning of the character, for which he only gives the meanings 'counterpart, be the equal or counterpart of, to be worthy of,' ignoring the SW definition, which is unsubstantiated by texts. The SW definition is a little problematical, due to the polysemy of the word si ^ , but I think here it must mean 'colour' (as we talk of red, white and ros6). In literature, the expression jiuse usually means 'wine and women.' It can also refer to a bibulous complexion. However, neither of these uses seems appropriate to the SW definition. Karlgren (GSR 514a) gives the meaning of p£i as 'counterpart, be the equal or counterpart of; to be worthy of.' However, having examined the context of its usage in bronze inscriptions and early soft texts, I feel that this definition, though essentially correct, is misleading. Being a 329 counterpart does not necessarily imply being an equal, and the contexts I have examined show that p£i JU (L always describes the relationship of an inferior to a superior, as in the Shijing line: £. 0k ffi^- (HY 61/241/2) \"Heaven established for itself a counterpart.\"1 This refers to Heaven setting up the Zhou as successors to the Shang and Xia. The relationship between the Zhou and Heaven is clearly intended to be that of an inferior to a superior. In three of the eight bronze examples of p£i jScL< it is used as a verb, with huangtian JL 'August Heaven' as the object ( it , jfe $ , ^ ), and other examples have zong -jj; 'the ancestors' (|f, 7) jf- ), woyouzhou 4^ ^ 18 'the Zhou state' ( 4 ^ fffr ) and Wu Wang ^ j£, 'the king of Wu' ( * * * /Ja ) as the object-they all express the wish that the person who had the vessel cast will be worthy of the superior force that guides him. (On the vessel f t 2 it is used in the sense of 'wife.') The fact that p£i § of Heaven, but we never see Heaven described as the p£i of Zhou (which would sound presumptuous anyway). As I have already mentioned, according to SW, the characters fei -£.CLJ and rj£i both contain j i £J phonetic. The oddity of this has not escaped the notice of :See Karlgren's Gloss 825. 2The term djm %k is usually an old misnomer for gui ~ J|_ . but the present vessel is listed in NJWB p. 1365 (OJWB § 266) as a dun ?k , where this term is given as equivalent to (^ r ), which GSR 464g says is read chun when it means 'a kind of bell' and dun when it means 'a kind of sacrificial vessel,' in which usage it occurs on the 330 commentators, who generally solve the problem by saying that fgi ^.rL is a semantic compound character, and that pgi JlL contains fgi ilj abbreviated phonetic. As for the character fgi fit , which has jig ^ / f in the seal form, no one ever suspected that this element might be phonetic, so they accepted the SW (4b. 15b) semantic compound analysis. For example, the Xu Xuan commentary says: | ^ ^ »] ^ , \"^t 'meat should not be taken in excess, hence the character contains \"\"p [i.e. understood as ji£ 'to regulate, moderate'].' However, this involves a lot of casuistry, and things would be much simpler if we could recognize the ^ element as phonetic. Usage Obscure. 331 Part 2 This variation of the kneeling figure shows both hands drawn in, and occurs in graphs to do with supplication and offering. Although it is usually signific, I believe that in the graph sji ^ / )fL it is probably best explained as phonetic so, in order to adhere to my format, I have had to put this graph in a separate section by itself. After discussing the element ~3 itself, I shall divide the present part into the following two sections: i. Signific ii. Phonetic (?) 332 373 ^ JGWB 341: ji % S.58.4x33 JWJ 3.867: ji % sw3b.6b: 8, , # A i . 4 -f ^ Ar ft ^ . # . . . . i f f It • Tr: Ji ?L means chi 'to hold.' It depicts a hand holding and supporting something .... It is read like j i $ ^ . Analysis Xu Shen defines ji % as 'to hold,' but there are no textual examples to support this definition. He thinks it depicts a hand holding something. This is a very reasonable interpretation of the seal form, and is apparently corroborated by the character d6u 'to fight,' the seal form of which consists of two t^* facing each other. Thus it was natural that Xu Shen should see d6u 1^1 as showing the hands of two people brandishing sticks at each other. However, as we have seen, the bone form of ddu 1^ does not consist of t w o 1^ simply shows two people standing up engaged in a contest of good old-fashioned fisticuffs. The bone form of j i & , on the other hand, shows a person kneeling with the hands raised up. Since there are no soft text examples of ji , the SW identification of this character is by no means certain. I suspect that it may be a variant of zhit \\ I ,L since it occurs in some forms of zhj. f % //?JL , e.g. (Yibian 2214) (Qianbian 6.16.6) !See m.l.i.265 for this graph. 333 L i Xiaoding (JWJ 1.83), as well as JGWB (18), include this graph as zhji j f£ , , though Shima (S.59.2) separates it. It is hard to tell from the context whether it really is the same word, but intermediate forms, such as (Qianbian 4.18.8) and J (Yinxu 48) are very suggestive. On the bronze vessel ^ ^ we find zhji written thus: (NJWB 27; OJWB 28: 7ft, 'not in SW) If j i % is in fact a variant of zhji $ ~ T$ / , then this also makes the graph § 1 easier to analyse, as its role can be explained as phonetic. Another benefit of this identification of ji is that it can also be regarded as phonetic in s M f JL. SW (3b.7a) gives the seal form as |F£> , and says that chun ip 'well-cooked'(SW 5b.lib) is phonetic. It seems probable, as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me, that if there was a word chun d?w i n 'well-cooked,' then it was cognate to s M f& d?u w k, also meaning 'well-cooked.' In this case, the seal graph of s M could be analysed as standing for the word d?uwk 'well-cooked,' consisting of chun ^- signific and & phonetic-this would perhaps make it a zhuanzhu character, in Xu Shen's terminology. However, the following graph is identified in O/NJWB (352/445) as sjui % \\ : ft This bronze graph is used as a person's name, and has nji I 'woman' signific attached to it (it probably refers to the wife of the person who had this vessel cast). This graph does not contain chun ^ , but only S , which seems to depict some kind of building. I deduce from this that sM f & was originally the primary form of sM 334 w •gate-room' (GSR 1026c), with % acting as phonetic. Compare the following reconstructions: SM M , suwk1 *sakw shu %% d?uwk *dakw zhu fa tcuwk *takv The similarity of the finals favours the hypothesis that the above three characters all originally contained the same phonetic element. I therefore feel that Xu Shen's guess that & is pronounced like ji %% is wrong, and that it is rather a variant of zhu /^L . The present bone graph may be compared to the Egyptian graph j ^ which shows exactly the same thing, i.e. a person kneeling with the hands raised (Gardiner 1957:442, sign A4). It symbolizes supplication, and occurs as signific in the Egyptian word for 'adore.' It also has a standing variant j ^ , which occurs as signific in words meaning 'praise' and 'extol' (ibid:4A5, sign A30). I think the Shang graph may be interpreted as a person in the act of supplication or making an offering, and that this was what the act of praying meant to the Shang. Notice that there are two forms: ^ (e.g. Yibian 4697), in which the hands both face in the same direction, and ^ (e.g. Houbian 2.38.2), in which the hands face each other. In the second form, the hands facing each other are analogous to the independent graph gong , which may be interpreted as the primary form of g6ng Alfc 'to offer in worship' (see L i Xiaoding, JWJ 3.781-2). As a graph element, ^ A usually implies the idea of offering something up. The interpretation of j i ^ as a person making an offering also explains its role as signific very well in the graphs that I examine in this part. Offering up is naturally the Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me that s- alternating with EMC palatals is quite abnormal. However, tw o*o<|>cp Jjevov ouSev. The rhyme is the same, and it seems hard to explain the ^ element as signific. In the first draft of my thesis I suggested that su perhaps showed a person making an offering to the moon in the early hours of the morning, but I could find no evidence that the Shang had such a ceremony, so I decided in favour of the present xingsheng analysis. 335 action of an inferior to a superior, and that is why the person is kneeling. This fits in with the general symbolism of the kneeling figure in the Shang script. Note that ji % also occurs as signific in the bronze form of yang . e.g. -rv (O/NJWB 1522/1941) Hopkins (1929:572) analyses this graph as a person bearing aloft a bi ^ jade disc, as ministers did in ancient China when having an audience with the emperor. Usage It is used mostly as a proper noun (or perhaps meaning 'priest'?), but where it is a verb, the meaning zhu 'pray' makes reasonably good sense in the context: (KWan 47291) Renyin-day cracking, Que tested: Lady Hao give birth, not perhaps good (i.e. male). The king read the cracks and said: Pray, (for it will) not perhaps be good (i.e. male). Good (i.e. male) not auspicious. To.... Like this, then die. f M a % 4 t . # t* . (Kufang 1002) ^hima's quotation of this inscription (S.58.4) omits the graphs for vji and nM J®. 336 At the palace gate pray (with) food and drink, the king will not be regretful. ? £ r , t | : ft £ M i l f 2 ^ 3 (F/'cim 389) Jiazi-day cracking, Bin tested: Pray and seek rain to the Goddess E . The context of these inscriptions is admittedly too limited to be sure, but the fact that the interpretation fits in is mildly encouraging. In the last two inscriptions, ji JL could also perhaps be interpreted as a noun: 'The priest will feast and (offer) drink (to the ancestors)...,' 'The priest will seek rain....' ^Shima (S.58.4) transcribes this graph & , as if it were shai jfc,* , but it is actually written £ , which I think looks more like oju. 4< . These two graphs are sometimes hard to tell apart. 2Shang Chengzuo, the author of Yicun, puts this y i \"5\" into a different inscription, but I think it belongs here. 3Shima (S.58.4) transcribes with M f) I on the end, but the graph is actually yons yj I >^ , a diviner's name, and belongs to a different inscription on this shell. 337 Section i: Signific 338 3 7 6 ^ ' \\ J G W B 3 4 5 : ^ ^ S.59.1xl4 3 7 8 ^ (Qianbian 4.42.2) S.59.2xl JWJ 3.885 (376 only): hyl £ f t SW3b.7a: & . $ f& & , & % , IL X . f,| £ J* • SWDZ3b. 15a: I suspect the text should read 'ge_ i£ phonetic' Tr:Hua means 'to strike the heel.' It consists of j i 'to hold' and ge_ \\ 'spear.' It is read like hua1 Analysis The graph shows a kneeling person holding up a spear. If the SW reading is correct, then it seems likely, as Duan suspects, that the spear is phonetic. However, the way it is placed between the hands suggests that it may also contribute to the meaning in some way. L i Xiaoding includes ~ffi as a variant. According to the present theory of graphic analysis, this, though not impossible, should be unlikely. In all the intelligible inscriptions (S.39.2), is used as the name of a prince, so context provides us with no clues for distinguishing from ^ | , apart from the negative one that is never \"f \"fa used in the same meaning as , while ^ is never used as a personal name. The identity of thus remains very much in question. The dji element does not carry any implication of inferiority or submission, whereas the ^ element may, so they are basically incompatible, though as already noted there are some exceptions The kneeling modern colloquial reading for this character is huai but the Guangyun reading is 7rwar', as Professor Pulleyblank has pointed out to me. 339 figure with hands raised further symbolizes offering something up from an inferior position, so this decreases even more the possibility that is a variant of the present graph.1 In the bone and bronze inscriptions in which the present graph occurs, the interpretation 'offer up,' or more specifically 'give up>surrender,' often makes very good sense. I shall first cite all the bronze inscriptions in which hyjl is not a proper noun.2 f i 1 fa. . t 4 . \\\\ %> # -tfl, & - ¥ %, ... * * • » # ($ | , When the king was at Gan, on the evening of the si-day, the Marquis was given all the surrendered chen, (numbering)3 200 hundred families... % 4c # & . U t-X. « i £ • . I give you a lady's ;'«e-goblet, yi-weapons that have been surrendered (or 'offered up'?), and a carven jade belt (?) d . ^ ( A Jlft ft ) Among the barbarians of the various regions, there were none who did not surrender and visit the (Zhou) court.4 ^ote that my distinguishing them is based firstly on context and secondarily on graphic analysis. Graphic analysis must always be corroborated in this way, otherwise one is likely to run into what the Chinese call wangwenshengyi 2Except for the f S 2 example, as the vessel is a fake. I am grateful to Professor Takashima for making me aware of this. 3 M y parsing of the quantitative complement is based on the analysis of this structure in OBI in Takashima 1985. Although this article deals specifically with OBI, Professor Takashima has informed me that he thinks the structure is applicable to bronze inscriptions as well. 4 I am indebted to Shirakawa (KBTS 11.639, 17.176, and 50.355) for my basic interpretation of these inscriptions, though I differ from him on a number of points, especially in my understanding of hllil which he did not arrive at a consistent meaning for. 340 The interpretation of hui as 'offer up' or 'surrender' makes encouragingly good sense in these bronze inscriptions, so I shall now show how this meaning fits into the OBI context. < (Yicun 779) Tested: The Tan [alien tribe] will perhaps1 surrender. Tested: The Ji tribe will surrender. (Qianbian 5.12.5) Tested: The Ji tribe will not perhaps surrender. ...fjL Y . iE- A : & jS \"tft . (Houbian 2.26.17) ...hai-day cracking, the king tested: On yiyou-day, surrender/offer up (?). ijp h , £ - 0 : $p £ . (Qianbian 4.42.2) Guimao-day cracking, the king said: Duan will perhaps surrender. * : 4 40 * $ , 1 c X . K 6^. (Yufrian 5.10.6) 4 ft. Tested: I should not issue the call to attack the Lao [alien tribe], (for they will) surrender. S$ - and -sacrifice. Serruys (1974:25) has put forward the theory that ai -r% marks one of the inscriptions in a duhhen as being the less desirable alternative by making the possibility seem more remote. As far as one may deduce how the Shang probably felt about the alternatives in duizhen, his theory seems to work pretty well, though it is not watertight, and I do not think one should expect it to be. Rather than say that it marks the less desirable, I think it might be more accurate to say that it marks the alternative that the Shang thought was the less likely (whether really or through wishful thinking), and in most cases this was the less desirable. This is essentially the modification to Serruys' theory proposed by Takashima (1973:282), where he notes that \"there are many sentences in which the use of W seems to be better interpreted as expressing uncertain feeling of the diviners, rather than the theory of \"less desirable, less preferred \".\" So I do not think there is any need to suggest here, as one could, that the Tan were an ally to the Shang, fighting a Shang enemy, and so their surrender was undesirable from the Shang point of view. There is nothing in the context to warrant such an understanding, so it would be motivated entirely by one's perception of the role of ai, which is rather a slender point d'appui for such a detailed filling in of the background to this inscription. Perhaps the Shang would have liked the Tan to surrender (and the fact that they bothered to divine this suggests that they would have), but the possibility did not seem very strong to them. 341 % icX X — 1 ^ > ^ ••• (CwWon 1000) Perhaps offer up (consecrate?) ge-spear (numbering) one, xu-weapons (numbering) nine, there will be (divine aid?). I have quoted rather a large number of the inscriptions, because the meaning of huj. has not yet been established, so the burden of proof is on me. Due to the limited context, it is sometimes hard to decide whether to translate 'surrender' or 'offer up.' However, I think these are really just two aspects of the same basic meaning. 379 JGWB 18: z M %%j S.59.2xl4 JWJ 1.83: z M Analysis JGWB and JWJ both include the present graph as a variant of zhu f $ / y\\f^j 'to pray' (for which, see III.l.i.265), and I think the context supports this. It differs in that the head is not depicted, and both arms are shown, extended upwards in a beseeching fashion. The next two graphs in S, ^ (JGWB 3353 and 5761) and (JGWB 18) are also probably variants. The second form has a element added, which could be a mouth indicating the verbal nature of praying, or else perhaps a vessel containing offerings, though the former possibility seems the stronger. The first form is the most elaborate, since it also has a tongue sticking out of the head, thus suggesting the idea of uttering prayers. One may deduce from this graph the complex of actions that zhji 4/L signified: kneeling before an altar, making offerings, and uttering prayers. 342 382 ^ JGWB 342: yi S.59.2x209 JWJ 3.869: yi #X S W 3 b . 7 a : M , 4f, A . kk £ , % & i iff £ . f 0 : # ^ SWDZ 3b. 14b: SW does not contain yi , yi ^ or shi ^ . In Zhou times they were probably all three simply written Tr: Y i %R means zhong 4^ 'to plant.' It consists of Iii ^ 'clod of earth' and ji holding and planting it. The Shujing says: \"We plant millet.\"2 Analysis The graph shows a person kneeling, holding up a plant. The primary meaning of yi is 'to plant, to cultivate,' and the modern meaning of yi 'arts' is an extension of this, i.e. 'that which one cultivates > culture.' However, the bone graph does not seem to show a person planting a plant, but offering it up. Early bronze forms show the same thing: *I have omitted the character j | a, i f & , contains the same elements (NJWB 30; not in OJWB). 347 Usage Apart from the uses I have already described, context shows that it is also used to refer to a time of day. Tang Lan identifies the graph as ru£ %t 'to burn,' on the basis that it shows a person holding aloft a torch rather than a plant, and defines it as lighting up time' (i.e. the time when people began to light their lamps in the evening), though he fails to offer any evidence that the ancient Chinese had such a concept as lighting up time.' I think his definition may stand, but the thing being held aloft is clearly a plant. Since yj, in is phonetic in ruo ^ ^ , one should rather say that this usage is a phonetic loan. Yu Xingwu (JWJ 3.873) also proposes the following three uses, based on the claim that yj has a similar phonetic series togr ^ r1 1. Used for xian 'autumn hunt' 2. Used for m f^jfj 'the temple of one's father's tablet' 3. Used for gr iM 'near' However, I find his interpretations somewhat problematical. For example, in the rS iff. inscriptions (S.60.1), he interprets it as xian , but one would expect it to be a place name in this syntactic position. In the inscriptions he reads it as ni -T£$ but, as I have already explained, I feel that contextually the meaning 'crops' fits in better. In those inscriptions where he says it means sr lH. , which he interprets as 'near in time, soon,' it seems better to understand it as lighting up time.' iThis claim is supported by the bronze phrase ^ £ jfe. -tfcjC > which corresponds to the Shijing phrase %• ^ 8 iSl \"Be gentle to the distant ones and be kind to the near ones\" (HY 66/253/1). See O/NJWB 351/444. 348 383 JGWB 344: z£i %% S.60.3x4 (JWJ 3.877 only has , $ and as zM | & ) SW3b.7a:f » * y- . (Houbian 2.37.5) Dingyou-day cracking, Que tested: The Lord of Qi is feverish, he will not perhaps recover from his illness.1 ^or the interpretation of this phrase, see Takashima 1980. 354 Section ii: Phonetic (?) 355 &]j JGWB 848: s i 375 S.59.1xll JWJ 7.2283: s i ^ SW7a.lOb: ? £ , £ & j & . / ^ a , * : 3 f * J M * F > f r , Tr: S I J?t means 'early and reverent.' It consists of j i ^ 'to hold' and xi A 'evening': even though it is evening, one does not rest from holding one's duties-this is being early and reverent. II £1 : the old form of s i IK consists of rin 'person' and § [SW 3a.2a: the old form of dian {§ 'appearance of the tongue']. /[ 5 is another old form of s i , consisting of rgn and dian 0 . It occurs in the character §1 Analysis Xu Shen attempts to combine the meanings 'early' and 'reverent' in his definition, but I suspect that one is the primary meaning and the other a phonetic loan. Karlgren (GSR 1030) describes the 'reverent' meaning as a loan for s i ^ (which in turn is probably a loan-I suspect it is the primary character for xjl $0 'to embroider'). Furthermore, the xi 4 'crescent moon' element in s i fk suggests that the meaning is something to do with time (of night), so I would say that 'early in the morning' is the primary meaning. Xu Shen's analysis of the character as consisitng of ji %j and xi 4 is correct, but we need no longer follow his interpretation of their combination as signifying 'having affairs, not even resting at night,' though Luo Zhenyu's and Hu Guangwei's interpretation of the ji 3L element is clearly based on Xu Shen: they interpret it as representing the idea of zhfshi %% 'conducting affairs, having business.' Hu Guangwei further explains 356 the signficance of the 'moon' element thus: since the person is conducting business while the moon is still in the sky, this represents the idea 'early.' L i Xiaoding approves of this explanation, but I feel rather suspicious about it. As already mentioned, I think that ji ^ may be a variant of z M $ ~ f $ I \\% . The present graph would thus be a phonetic compound, with 'moon' as signific relating to the meaning 'early morning,' and placed between the hands of the ji ^ element as part of the graphic design. Usage L i Xiaoding finds one undoubted example of it meaning 'early,' where it contrasts with rnji ^ 'late' in another inscription on the same bone: < £ > < t t > ( i )••••• • Guimao-day (40th) tested:...wei-day continue Cha altar, perhaps will be early in the morning. S * Y • * i h ... * » t . ^ (Cuibian 370) Bingwu-day (43rd) cracking: Cha should have food set out for him1...zi-day perform i§4 sacrifice in the evening. Since these two inscriptions were divined on different days, they cannot strictiy be called a duizhen. However, their subject matter is clearly related, so it seems reasonable to interpret S i ffl, as 'morning' and mil ( ^ ) as 'evening.' Apart from this, it seems to be the name of an alien tribe. lMy translation of the verb as passive is based on an anomaly pointed out to me by Professor Takashima, that in the first inscription Cha appears to be deceased (though the inscription is really too laconic and fragmentary to be sure), so it would seem odd to interpret Cha as setting out food in the second inscription. It is better to interpret Cha as a topicalized object-beneficiary. 357 Part Three: In this variant of the kneeling figure, both the arms are shown. It does not occur as an independent graph, but is merely a structural variant that occurs in the graph zhi ¥i I and a few other graphs that are in turn based on this. Both the arms are drawn in in order to show that both the hands are in the manacle. In some cases the figure is drawn in a standing position. The reason why I have separated the present element from the ordinary kneeling figure \\ , is to draw attention to the fact that it is one of the few elements where both the arms are shown from the side. When the Shang wanted to portray element. They never evolved a frontal variant for the kneeling figure, but simply depicted both the arms from the side, in the same way in which the Egyptians did. 358 2439 JGWB 1256: zhi %% S.376.2x62 JWJ 10.3231: zhi i t SW 10b.5b: Tr: Z M means 'to catch criminals.' It consists of j i 1^ 'to hold' and ^ [defined at SW ibid, as 'that which is used to frighten people']; nig ^ is also phonetic.1 Analysis It is not at all certain from Xu Shen's definition of mg ^ what he thought it meant, but at any rate one can see from the bone graph that ^ represents some sort of manacle, a device for handcuffing people. I suppose this could be seen as an object which frightens people away from misbehaviour. Although the kneeling figure has been standardized as ji in the modern form, in the bone graph it is ^ , not . A person who has been manacled is clearly in a very inferior position, so the significance of the kneeling figure here is quite obvious. However, there is also a variant, which JGWB and JWJ both rightly include, in which the figure is standing. The element in this variant may be interpreted as intending simply to show human participation. Usage The primary meaning of zhi \"j^ /ty, was perhaps something like 'to hold fast' (GSR 685a defines it primarily as 'seize, hold, grasp, take') and the graph represents one *Cf. in this phonetic series we also have the character , which the Guangyun gives the following four readings: tciap, nep, tcip, dzip. The Qieyun (Long Yuchun 1968) only gives it the reading dzip, but has a character 2 ^ (which should presumably be written ) to which it gives the reading nep, and defines as huimfng $4? 'dark.' This character is also in the Guangyun. Nie ^ itself is given the reading n r i a p in the Guangyun. 359 particular semantic specialization, that is, the holding fast of criminals, and this is the usage that we see evidenced in OBI. When used as a verb in OBI, it may be understood as 'to manacle, to shackle,' or perhaps simply 'to capture.' When used as a noun, it may be understood as 'shackled/captured prisoner.' The verbal and nominal uses may have been morphologically distinguished (see Takashima 1984:63-65). 2443 JGWB 1257: yji 51 S.376.4xl5 JWJ 10.3235: yji I] SW 10b.5b: is, M vk n » k . M £ , u. a . -SWDZ 10b. 13a: I suspect that the last two definitions are extended meanings of yu rjej , which SW (6b.6a) defines as ^ 'to guard it.' Tr: Yu |^ _] means 'prison,' that which is used to detain criminals. It consists of ni& ^ 'that which is used to frighten people' and w^i 0 'a surround.' One source defines yu. IjCJ as chui It 'border.' Another source says that yur6n [jj means 'groom.' Analysis The bone graph shows a manacled person inside an enclosure, thus illustrating the meaning 'prison.' In one var iantJ there is a hand holding a stick behind the prisoner, thus suggesting that he is being maltreated (compare the bronze form of k6u , which I analyse at I. l.ii.1847). There is also a variant JJ in which only the manacle is left. This is the origin of the modern character. Whereas the previous graph had a variant in which 360 the figure was standing, in the present graph the figure is always kneeling. This could be coincidence, or due to graphic design. Usage As a noun it appears to mean 'prisoner,' and as a verb 'to imprison.' 361 4 Part 4 I have included the graph for nji $ / ^ £ here as being based on the kneeling figure \\ . It differs from in that both arms are drawn in, and they are shown as being crossed before the chest. Apart from a few graphs that have to do with specifically female functions, such as ni ^ / 'to suckle' and y i $5. / -S^j 'to give birth,' the female element always indicates either 'type of female' (e.g. wife, concubine, etc.) or 'specific female' (i.e. personal name of a woman). The second usage is seen particularly in the names of the Fu 'If? 'Ladies.' Chou Hung-hsiang (1970-71:373) says that these names \"appear to have functioned as female proper-names,\" but does not explore the issue. They are perhaps clan names, but Chen Mengjia (1956:493), on the basis that very few of the over sixty Fu names in OBI can be identified with known xing , concludes that these Fu names are not xing. but ming $2. (personal names). If this conclusion is correct, then they parallel the 'rin \\ +phonetic\" names that I posit (I.l.i.b). However, note that the character xing 'clan name' also has 'woman' signific. Professor Pulleyblank has suggested to me that the significance of this is in the practice of exogamy, as a woman's xing determined her marriage potential (i.e. she could only marry a man of a different xing). The use of the female element is thus quite straightforward and has no symbolism attached to it. In the present section , then, I shall only discuss the element itself. 362 792 ^ JGWB 1412: ml -^T ^ JGWB 1420: nnl ~ § S.133.3x381 JWJ 12.3587 JWJ 12.3611 JWJ 12.3713 & ,$ -ma* ^ used for wu ~% JWJ 1.191: ^ , Jfc underme i j / - § SW12b.la: ft A% k & • ^ $ • Z t H ^ -SWDZ 12b.la: It probably depicts her withdrawing and guarding herself ( | | T r : N i means 'woman.' It is a pictograph. This is Wang Yu's explanation. SW 12b.3a: $ , * fc & • M < £ : , * # - ? *4 • - 0 fL SWDZ 12b.6b: As a herder tends his oxen, so a mother tends her progeny. The Cangjiepian r?f Jtf) , ap. Guangyun, says that the two dots represent breasts. Tr: Mu ^ means inji 'to herd.' It is based on nu -^C , and shows her pregnant. One source says that it shows her suckling a child. SW I2b.l4b:1% , jl ^ m A . & ± -t ^ & ^ -fr *I have given Duan Yucai's emendation of the SW text (SWDZ 12b.14b) as the original is hard to make sense of. 363 Tr: Wu ^ is a stopping word [i.e. it expresses prohibition]. It consists of nji -^ C 'woman' and y i -— 'one.' When a woman is about to be violated, 'one' stops it, preventing the violation. SWlb.la: $ , n $L A * & • M V , -§ f • Tr: Mei means 'grass flourishingly rising up.' It consists of che ^ 'sprout' signific and mu phonetic. Analysis The graph for 'woman' portrays the object it represents in a kneeling position, and can therefore be considered to be derived from the kneeling figure element ^ . It is not hard to see how the idea of inferiority ~submissiveness plays a role in the Shang concept of 'woman.' It can easily be recognised that ^ is the origin of nji -^C , and is the origin of mu . 'Mother' is indicated by the addition of dots to represent the breasts, thus symbolising the idea of suckling children. The symbolism of the hands folded in front is more problematic. Duan's analysis of the seal form as showing a woman being 'drawn in and reserved' could perhaps be applied to the bone graph. L i Xiaoding however takes quite a different view. He interprets the crossed hands as hands that are busy in work, and the kneeling posture as showing that this work is done indoors, as opposed to a man's work, which is done in the fields. As L i expresses it: ^ 'the man ploughs and the woman weaves.' This is an interesting interpretation. Another interesting thing is that, in figurines of captives unearthed from the Shang site at Anyang, the male figures have their hands tied behind their backs, while the female figures have their hands tied in front of their bodies (see Shang Zhou kaogu, p.85). This was perhaps for reasons of modesty or self-defense. 364 Note also that in some graphs, the woman element is standing, thus: ^ (of the 2131 graphs in Shima's index S.592.3-7, 22 have a standing woman). From this it would seem that the 'arms crossed in front' is the most distinctive feature of the graph for 'woman,' with the kneeling posture being a usual but not essential secondary feature. As an independent graph, nji ^ is almost never written in the standing position (JGWB gives one example: Yibian 145). As already mentioned, $ is clearly the origin of rui \"^ T , and ^ of mu . However, in OBI, these two graphs are rather mixed up in their usage. Indeed, Shima does not attempt to separate them. This is curious, because ml n r t a < * n r a ? and mji ~^fc mow < *m8? do not appear to be etymologically related. It is highly unusual for a bone graph to stand for etymologically unrelated words of different pronunciations.2 It seems to me that, while j^* is often used for nut , ^ is never used for nji 3^ (although it is of course hard to know sometimes whether nji or mu is the appropriate interpretation in the Shang social context). Even in the graph for mgi ~^§t , in which mji is phonetic, mji is more often than not written ^ (see JGWB 41). Although it is highly unusual for a bone graph to stand for more than one word, it may be that in the present case could stand for both nji -^T and mji originally, but this ambiguity was felt to be undesirable so the graph ^ was developed and came to replace as the graph for 'mother.' In bronze inscriptions, the situation is much more stable. O/NJWB 1539/1961 records only two instances out of 68/85 of the use of nu -JC for my. : on the vessel t\\ 7=) fr ? which is a Shang vessel, and on the HI \\j) , where we also find the regular form ^ . In the case of mei (NJWB 61), we find two instances out of *As mentioned in the Introduction (under Corpus), 13 of these graphs actually contain 'jjV , a figure with the hands crossed behind the back. ^ 2It is of course quite common for a graph to stand for words that are etymologically related, e.g. related nouns and verbs, and for unrelated words of the same or similar pronunciation when used as a phonetic loan. 365 ten, on eight different vessels (OJWB 54 has one instance out of eight on six different vessels), containing nji - ^ C instead of mu \" f f i ( k and 'Jf ) . Note also that the modern character wji z$ 'do not' is simply mu ^ with a slight change in order to make it graphically distinct from the latter. In both OBI (e.g. Qianbian 1.9.7, Jinghua 7) and bronzes (e.g. , NJWB 2021, where it is also used to mean 'mother' in the same inscription!1), the graph for mji is used unaltered. This is phonetically rather curious, since rrul * § mow' < * m 9 ? and wji $ mua<*ma-y are in different OC rhymes and tones. Wu ^ is in fact homophonous with wji in E M C , and perhaps also in OC since, as Duan Yucai mentions, wji ^ is used for the prohibitive in the Shujing and Shijing. However, maybe these texts are not a reliable guide to the pronunciation used by the Shang. Takashima (1973:58-61) covers the phonological problem thoroughly, and concludes that, since the xiesheng series of mji ^ definitely points to OC zhi rhyme, wji ^ must also have been in this rhyme, and the phonological relationships between the four negatives M ^ ,iA$3 , wu ty and wj± ^ , which are there reconstructed, using L i Fang-kuei's, system as *pj9g (x ) , *pjat, *mj9t and *mj9gx respectively, also suggest the reconstruction of a schwa rather than an a. Professor Pulleyblank has informed me that it is likely that the pronunciation of wji $ only merged with that of wji through a sound shift, which must have taken place well before Han, and that a similar lowering of /s/ to /a/ occurred in some other words with labial initials, e.g. M bo ' , baw* and pou 2 %}\\ p 'ua ' , p 'aw'. He also notes wu mua ' , and that GSR (107) gives a reading muw (written rrngu in Karlgren's system) for wu $ in the name of a type of ritual hat I conclude then that the graph ^ was originally allowed to represent two words, nu' -^C and nnl ^ , but it was only due to its representing the latter word that it could ^ J W B 1592 gives its example from the yJ** ^(?L rtfr , which only has mu. \"^T negative. 2 The modern first tone reading of this character is irregular. as a 366 also be used as a rebus for yyjj, 3$t . The use of for both nji \"}C and nnl was probably just a graphic convention, and should not necessarily be interpreted as meaning that these two words were phonetically closer in the Shang language than later evidence suggests them to have been. 367 Part Five: Since this element has not yet been fully recognized, and occurs in a rather small number of graphs (about thirteen), I have decided to present all the graphs in which it occurs, even though some of them are unidentifiable, in order to lend as much weight as possible to its recognition as a signific element in its own right. Many people have confused it with nii ^ / 'woman.' L i Xiaoding however in several of his analyses, has recognized it for what it is: a depiction of a person with the hands tied behind the back. It would be very odd indeed if such a graph were used to represent the concept 'woman.' Having the arms behind the body is not a normal posture, and thus suggests that the figure depicted has had this posture forced upon him against his will. Shang figurines of slaves confirm that this posture represents enslavement (see Shang Zhou kaogu, p.85). I think it is useful here to compare the Egyptian ideogram' Jjfc , which also shows a man with the arms tied behind the back, and occurs as signific in words meaning 'rebel' and 'enemy' (see Gardiner 1957:443, sign A13). This way of portraying rebels and enemies is clearly intended to suggest that the Egyptians have been victorious over them, arid there may even be a hint of sympathetic magic in this. Another thing that has probably hindered the recognition of this element, is the fact that it has not been found independentiy. The nearest thing is the graph ^ , of which JGWB (4982) records three instances. Shima does not have this graph as a heading. The inscriptions read thus: 368 ... £ | : % i 1$ ft ! -t f * * * J . (NanbeiMing 523) ...ren-day tested: On xinhai-day, perform 1$ sacrifice and r6ng ceremony (starting) from Shang Jia, at the Great Temple . Jiaxu-day (11th) cracking: On yihai-day (12th) the king should perhaps jj^ at Da Yi's temple. Not adopted.1 X * %% z, % ft . (Xucun 1.17872) The king should at Zu Yi's temple ^ . The NanbeiMing 523 example is rather angular, and does not look very human-like, but the two Xucun 1.1787 examples, as Professor Takashima has pointed out to me, do look more human. Al l three contexts are very similar. Although one cannot tell the precise meaning, one can at least see that it is probably a verb. The graph is very similar to y i ^ ^ ' winus t n e hands [ ^ , and perhaps represents a decapitated person with the hands tied behind the back. However, the fact that the present element may not occur independently should not prevent us from deducing it from graphs in which it is a component (cf. the deduction of nf * I JL from I f ^ /AR. a n d ^ !*'\\%. ). Its non-occurrence in OBI could be accidental, rather than systematic. ^This is a post eventum phrase which I assume means that the suggestion contained in the divination was not followed. 2Wrongly given in JGWB as 1.1789. 369 Given that the element Jj\" does exist, the next problem is how to identify it. Even as a character component, it did not survive the subsequent corruptions of the bronze and seal scripts, so it is indeed hard to identify. I would like to suggest the following two possibilities: 1. Nu 'slave.' There is a great deal of graphic similarity between ^ and nji : both elements have a variant in which the figure is standing: * ^ and \"jf respectively. The important difference is that in nji ^j* the hands are crossed before the body, while in jjf the hands are crossed behind the body. One might consider that is the primary form of nji 4s~ 'slave' (though there is a graph that has already been so identified-see JWJ 12.36331), and that it acts as a phonetic hint in nji ^ . N u is usually understood as depicting a woman with her hands folded before her, rather than actually bound, and I think this is correct. Jji suggests that the hands are bound because that is what one would expect if they were in this unnatural position behind the back. Further, if one examines the graphs containing this element closely, one can see that it is not simply n£ ^ in reverse: the hands are generally crossed in a more obvious, less natural manner. At least, this is my impression. One should always bear in mind that what seems natural to oneself may have seemed perfectly natural to the Shang. 2. X un , in the meaning 'POW.' I offer this as the more plausible of the two possibilities. It seems conceivable that jfc may have evolved into xun , though the seal form + does not look very hopeful. SW (1 lb. 15a) defines xun as jifei ^ •^ jri 'to fly rapidly,' i.e. as if it were synonymous with xun , which SW (2b.3a) simply defines as j i 'rapid.' The reason why Xu Shen puts fei. into his definition of xun +L is that he analyses the graph as being based on fgi (the seal 1This graph occurs twice, as the name of a Fu \"(j? on Cuibian 1240 (S.144.1). 370 form is J| ), but this is pure guesswork. As for the intermediate forms, GSR 383e gives vjMf for xun \"Jl> from the Stone Drums,1 but in bronzes all one can find is xun V*TL , which is written, for example: (O/NJWB 2752/342) The )cun element here is rather more complex than either the bone graph ^ or the seal graph , having both a 'foot' element \"S> ~ o and a rope element \\ . L i Xiaoding (JWJ 3.745) finds one bone form of xun \"|TI having a rope element ( Xubian 3.31.5, which may be more accurately transcribed ), but neither S nor JGWB have this form. These then are the two suggestions I have for the identity of the element JrV . For some further remarks, see graph no.852 in this part. JSee Mattos 1973:417. 2OJWB does not have the first example. 371 597 ^ JGWB 1554: yi ^ S.100.1xl6 JWJ 13.3889: yi k . -rr SW 13a.l4b: t i L ] ft1 + f ^ & § i t ^ £ * ^ )fi It * 4 : l i # , A * , ft* , £ $ . *M, $ 4 SWDZ 13a.39a: Qi ^ should read mi ^ 'cloth cover'for covering offerings. Ji ^ ~ is not phonetic but pictographic: the top of the vessel is like a hog's snout. Tr: Y i ^ refers to the permanent vessels in the ancestral temple. The mi 7$ 'fine silk' element represents gi ^ 'black-mottled grey cloth.'1 The gong 'two hands' are holding [it]. The mi 7 ^ 'rice' element represents the contents of the vessel. The ji £i 'hog's head' element is phonetic. This is comparable to the jwe-goblet [the top of which resembles the beak of a flu^ /g: 'small bird']. According to the Zhouli there were six re-types of yi : the chicken yi, the bird yi, the yellow yi, the tiger yi, the we/-monkey yi, and the jia-vessel y i , 2 which were used in the libation ceremony. * | and are old forms of yi M . Analysis The reason why SW defines yi t||L as permanent vessel, is that this character is also used as a loan for a word meaning 'constant.' Y i ^ may simply be defined as 'ritual vessel.' The seal form is hopelessly corrupt. The bone and bronze forms simply show two hands offering up an object. The only uncertainty is over the nature of this ^ee SW 13a.7a for definition, and GSR 952z. 2See Biot 1851.1:472-474. 372 object. JGWB and all the scholars recorded in JWJ agree that it is a chicken, and L i Xiaoding himself adds that, in the bronze form e.g. ^ ^ & (O/NJWB 1672/2122) the 'rope' element shows that the chicken is trussed up to stop it from flying away, while the specks in front of the beak, which become mi in the seal form, represent drops of libation. Xu Zhongshu notes that bird-shaped libation vessels from the Shang have been found, and claims that y i ^ thus depicts offering a libation with a chicken-shaped vessel. The mention of jiyf ^ /%. (where y i is a loan for yi ^ ) in the Liji (HY14/14), and of jiyf 10. ^ | in the Zhouli, could be seen as supporting this. However, note that other types of yi ^ are mentioned in the Zhouli, and Shang vessels in the shape of various animals have been found, so why should the graph for yi M depict a chicken-shaped vessel in particular? L i Xiaoding refines Xu's analysis by saying that the reason why the yf ^ vessel was originally chicken-shaped is that the Shang used to sacrifice chickens. It is hard to find evidence of bird-sacrifice in OBI, though the graph y / ^f^_ (JGWB 30) suggests such a practice. By the time of the Zhou bronzes, in which the character y i ^ is extremely common, it already has the general meaning 'ritual vessel,' and one wonders if it ever referred to a chicken-shaped vessel in particular. It seems to me that the bird-shaped Shang vessels should be seen in the context of all the other animal-shaped vessels, and that they do not have any special relationship with bird-sacrifice. The graph for yi ^ does not show a bird-shaped vessel, but simply a bird, if indeed a bird it is, which is something I have my doubts about. When one examines the examples given in JGWB, one is surprised that the upper element does not look much like any of the OBI bird graphs 373 (compare JGWB 489 zhui & , 493 j i | , § , 521 ni£o_ j | , 522 feng /|§s, ). If the Shang wished to depict two hands offering a chicken, one wonders why they did not write something like: or $1 The most bird-like example is perhaps (Qianbian 5.1.3), but usually we find something more like: VI x1 y (Jiabian 3932) or fr'jf (Shiduo 2.158) I think what we actually have here is a person, not a bird, with the arms tied behind the back (this is made more explicit in the bronze forms by the addition of a rope round the wrists). I think the bar at or near the top represents that the head has been cut off. In some examples the foot is similar to the foot of a bird. The bone examples vary a great deal, which suggests that scribes were not always sure what the graph really depicted. The bronze graph is a lot more regular, and could be interpreted as a decapitated bird with its wings tied. The addition of dots to the left of the 'bird's' neck could be seen as representing blood. The graph is still rather different from the bronze forms of zhui ^ (Q/NJWB481/ 598) and nigo. .4 (O/NJWB 506/626), e.g. (respectively): 374 What I suspect happened is that the character yi M originally depicted a human offering, i t but was re-interpreted as a bird by the Zhou, who did not practice human sacrifice in a regular way like the Shang. The seal form shows a further re-interpretation as an offering of grain and cloth, with the top part of the 'bird' being distorted to j i ! i / £~ 'hog's head.' Finding the hog's head rather difficult to fit in with the offerings, Xu Shen interpreted it as phonetic (yi ^ j i < *1 aj 1 and ji i?- k i a j h <*ka t s 2 : the phonetic similarity does not seem very good), while Duan Yucai, thinking he knew better, claimed that it represented the shape of the vessel. The successive re-interpretations as to what was being offered, from human to other animal to non-animal, could be an interesting reflection of social evolution, though of course one should not read too much about an entire society into a single graph. Usage 1. As a ceremonial verb (precise meaning unknown). 2. The name of the west wind.3 803 ^ JGWB 1414: jiang % S.137.2xl(+ x2) JWJ 12.3591: § = jiang % *My reconstruction of intial *1- is based on the above mentioned Zhouli use of yi . The yi phonetic series shows dental contacts, and it also seems that stli ' pi < + aj is used for it in OBI in the meaning 'barbarian.' 2This reconstruction is based on the S W (9b. 16a) statement that this character is read like ji Wi • 3For a study of the names of the four directions and their associated winds, see Hu Houxuan 1956. 375 Analysis JGWB identifies $ , $ and Cf^ all as jiang (though admitting that is used to mean qiang |L , as the context makes clear), while Shima separates ~ £ as jiang and $ as 4$ (not in SW). Only L i Xiaoding separates all three. He identifies ^fjf as (12.3711) and ^ as jiang ^ , and in his discussion of jiang ^ he very astutely notices that the present graph does not contain nji $ / \"^C 'woman,' but , a person with the arms tied behind the back. He suspects that it is a variant of qiang , and the OBI context well supports this: ••• % t 'V ~L $ • (V7e«/u303) ...[offer in]1 the ^in-chamber to Xiao Y i three Qiang tribesmen. This usage contrasts quite clearly with that of if£ , which occurs in the name Fu Yang(?) , and is thus clearly a Lady's name. The use of ^ is also quite distinct, though not so clear. Thus is not a case of jiang J j | - used for qiang , as JGWB puts it. It is actually a variant of qiang 7t_> , showing the Qiang tribesman kneeling with his hands tied behind his back. One can begin to see now the advantages of recognising as a distinct element in OBI, rather than confusing it with nji $ / -^C as Shima does. 823 4* Not in JGWB, but cf. 1425 xi 4$ Ijhe inscription begins with an incomplete graph £> , which looks as if it might be gua J3, (gi ft ) 'bone.' It is hard to see how this would fit into the context, though it is known to be the name of a Period II diviner (see Keightley 1978:195 Table 6) In my translation I have assumed that there was an expression meaning 'to offer (in some way)' earlier in the sentence. 376 S. 138.lxl (Xubian 1.19.3) Not in JWJ Analysis The context of this graph is rather obscure, but another inscription on the same bone talks about 'offering Qiang,' so I think it can perhaps be recognised as a variant of xi $, / %. 'captive.' It shows a P O W kneeling with his hands tied behind his back, and a rope leading up from the neck which may also act as xi S phonetic. X i * is one of the few graphs in which we find variants with both the kneeling figure and d l ^ . While the use of the kneeling figure here is easy to explain, the use of d l A\" , which is in fact the element with which the modern character became standardized, is harder to account for. Perhaps it has the same role as in , where it can be intepreted as indicating an adult male. However, it is hard to find evidence to support this hypothesis. ^ 4' JGWB 1457: -* • (not in SW) 'some identify as xi £ ' Not in JWJ Analysis JGWB actually lists four examples, and only in the example Ninghu 1.186 are the hands crossed before the body instead of behind. This could be a scribal error, or it could even be a different grapheme. The context is too ambiguous to decide. The present graph is perhaps another variant of xi % . However, Guo Moruo (Cuibian 1268) identifies it S.138.1x2 377 as yao jj^L , and one might note in his favour that this is phonetically very close to yue 'to bind,' which differs only in being rusheng. 834 JGWB 1480, under / * Q (not in SW) S. 138.2x1 (Zhixu 148) Not in JWJ Analysis The other graph given in JGWB clearly has m i 'mother' underneath the you 'h element, so this must refer to some kind of woman. The present graph has two you ^ elements, and a person kneeling with the hands tied behind the back underneath. One may deduce that the you ^ elements are phonetic. The context is fragmentary, but could be interpreted as supporting the idea that the present graph refers to some kind of enemy alien: •ii is A ..fan, X ... IS ..(if we) attack , (we will) receive [divine aid]. If so, then the element is quite germane. S.142.2x14 JGWB 1436, with asm 4$ 378 JWJ 3.745: X M % % SW3a.6b:i4> , Rfl A . II f , * - $ .Yfc : £ * & & SWDZ 3a. 12b: % is the old form of xi © , and is here phonetic. Tr: Xun f means wen 'to question.' It consists of yj|n If 'speech' signific and xun ?L phonetic. : the old form of xun contains . Y is the form of yj£n %. that SW gives in the 'old form' of certain characters that contain this radical, e.g. shi ^ , m6u (second old form), xjn ^ (second old form), glo vile , and s6ng $ Ix, . The top part looks like xjn 'heart.' Xun 1^ s i n < * s s ns is OC zhen r\\ rhyme, and xi j?§ sej < * s a l is OC asi i rhyme. Analysis The scholars quoted by L i Xiaoding (Ye Yusen, Wang Xiang, Ding Shan, and Tang Lan), all identify the graph (Xubian 3.31.5), which Shima does not list (not even as a separate graph), as xun , and it is indeed very similar to the bronze graph (see O/NJWB 275/342). L i describes the graph as depicting a person with the hands tied behind the back and a mouth in front, thus illustrating the idea 'interrogate': ^ , tft II H 4& ^ • L i further includes the graph l u , which other scholars lump together with ni a f^* / ~io . This is very perceptive of him. Considering the consistency with which the nji $ and elements are kept apart in OBI, I think he must be right. Unfortunately, the OBI contexts of rji u ^ 3 and j ^ H are 1 Shijing rhyming does not provide reliable evidence for separating *8J from I am grateful to Professor Pulleyblank for informing me that he believes ai © is originally wei 'itfc- , not zhi $e rhyme, on the basis of the character xi (GSR 594g), a variant of xi >7^ » 'wash' (GSR 478j), and Tibetan bsil-ba 'wash.' 379 too limited to provide much support for differentiating them, but may be interpreted as 'to question' in the following inscription: i ^ © : ^ . 0 : * . . • & . (Qianbian 5303) The king questioned, saying: .\" (Then he) said: \"Auspicious. Offer up.\" On the other hand, one cannot help being reminded of the wang ru6 yue 3- j£ 0 'the king spake thus' formula that one finds in the Shujing, and this parallel would support an interpretation as rji ~ka .l The least on can say about jfr 0 is that it is definitely a verb. In the Shijing, xun is clearly a noun meaning T O W (see H Y 36/168/6, 39/178/4, and 61/241/8). The same usage is found in bronzes (e.g. -fit ^ ^ & ). I would suggest that the element Jj\" is the primary form of the word meaning 'POW,' and that xun J^B / 5\"H 'to question' is a phonetic compound in which is phonetic. I think this analysis is preferable to the idea that the graph actually depicts an act of interrogation. In the above mentioned odes, Karlgren tries to reconcile the actual usage of xun $K there with its usual meaning 'to question' by translating it as 'prisoners for the question,' but it may not be necessary to relate these two meanings. Notice further that the 'mouth' element is always behind the kneeling figure (except in the Xubian 3.31.5 graph). It is an oversight of Li's to claim that the mouth is in front. I cannot help feeling that the mouth element here is simply signific, and does not enter into a semantic compound relationship with the element. I further think it possible, as I have already mentioned, that the modern element xun 1^ may be the direct graphic descendant of $^ . 1But only if rri was actually standing for ru^ . Professor Pulleyblank has told me that he believes that the word rji could never be used in this syntactic position. 380 JGWB 4864 (unidentified) S.286.1xl (Yibian 8808) Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of men M / 'gate,' and the element in the middle I take to be a variant of y i <^ / | | , which shows a human sacrificial offering with the hands tied behind the back. It occurs entirely without context. It may be relevant to note here that one of the practices of the Shang was to bury beheaded guardsmen with watchdogs beneath the threshhold of new buildings in order to guard against intrusion by spirits (see Shang Zhou kaogu, p.70). The graph occurs without context. 2145 ^ JGWB 1414, under jiang Jf / 4c S.324.3xl (NanbeiMing 618) Not in JWJ Analysis The graph consists of chi ^ / \"f signific, which implies travelling, and ^ phonetic which, as we have seen, is a variant of qiang The context is very limited, but it occurs before bji *^ 'to walk,' so it probably does have something to do with travelling. It is certainly incorrect to regard it as a variant of jiang 4c. 381 2539 JGWB 3881 (unidentified) S.389.3xl JWJ 7.2417, under \\J> =x iM & SW7a.23b: § , A- ? # A*2J . M ^ & X . SWDZ 7a. 66b: Jjii rl9 represents a pit. Tr: Xian 63 means a small pit. It consists of r in A - 'person' on top of jiu ^1 'mortar.' [Under jiii. , SW 7a.23a, Xu Shen says that the ancients dug holes in the ground for mortars.] Analysis I disagree with the identification of ^ as xian 'pit,' as there seems to be no reason to interpret the element as representing a pit, but I do agree that the present graph, which contains the full pit-like element U , could be so identified. Yu Xingwu notes that it is very similar to the bronze form of xian LP on the Tf- (referred to at O/NJWB 950/1176 as ): and also to the xian ^ element in -k& (not in SW) on the % i£ (O/NJWB 1577/2003): Hi 382 The element inside the pit in these two examples is quite ini -like, and it seems quite reasonable to conclude that it is directly descended from the bone element , depicting a person with the hands tied behind the back. Notice how similar this is to the element in y_f / ^ . The present graph shows a person bound and thrown into a pit. The top bar possibly indicates decapitation. Numerous pits containing headless skeletons have been found at the Shang site at Anyang, so one can well imagine that the present graph depicts such a ritual practice. The inscription reads: s * r , x l : m H a * P I • • $ . (Yizhu 34) Bingshen-day cracking, the king tested: Should not specifically1 bury-bound-person-in-pit at the gate...[This] was adopted. Twelfth month. JGWB 4471 (unidentified) S.469.2x3 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph shows a person kneeling with the hands behind the back, probably suggesting that they are tied there, and a rope rising from the head. It could be a variant of xi \\ I $: 'captive.' The context shows it to be a sacrificial victim. iFor my understanding of this word, see Takashima 1973:389-392 and Chow Kwok-ching 1982:226. 383 ^ . ^ . \\ JGWB 1425: xi ^ | ; 1457: ^ / ^ (notinSW) 3021 S.469.2xll JWJ 10.3245, under xi Analysis L i Xiaoding is probably correct in including these graphs as xi % . JGWB 1425 mistakenly identifies the ^ element as nj. \"^C . The graph occurs as the name of a military leader. 3022 | 1 . | f . JGWB 5203 (unidentified) S.469.2x33 Not in JWJ Analysis The graph seems to show a x_u. He 'axe' cutting off the head of a xi £ 'captive.' In some examples, the severing is made quite explicit: (Tieyun 95.4) (Jiabian 2876) 384 The place where the head is cut seems to incorporate a QI / -like element, which could be a phonetic hint. Cf. j i t^lL 'to cut' (GSR 517p). This character occurs at SW 4b. 17a, where it is defined as 'to make an incision,' and in his commentary Duan Yucai (SWDZ 4b.44a), referring to the Zhouli, says that it was done in order to get blood for a rite. However, I can only speculate on this identification. The present graph is clearly used as a verb, but is also sometimes a noun referring to a type of sacrificial victim. u 3024 %L S.469.3x2 JGWB 1457, under ^ / ^ (not in SW) JGWB 3967 (unidentified) JWJ 10.3245, under xi | ^ / £ Analysis . 4 The present graph is the same as % (3021 in this Part), except that the head is depicted in detail. The second form has an extra element to the right of uncertain interpretation, but it occurs in the same context as the first form, so it undoubtedly represents the same word. They are used as nouns, and could perhaps be interpreted as 'captive.' 385 S U M M A R Y OF CHAPTER m My examination of the ^ element has attempted to show that, apart from simply depicting a person squatting, it is also used to indicate the idea of being in an inferior position. It was thus used in graphs denoting such ideas as reverence or submission. I have also attempted to show that this same basic idea likewise runs through the variants of this element, such as ^ , showing a person offering up from a position of submission, and ^ , showing a woman. Unfortunately, the identity of the \\ element as an independent character still remains very much a problem. The use of the \\ element contrasts markedly with that of the rgn \\ and d_& ^ elements, and an examination of its usage helps us to gain greater insight into the design of the early Chinese graphs. As stated in the Introduction, the focus of this thesis is on graph design, not graph function, and this is a point that should be borne in mind all the time. What I hope to have done is to have shown in some measure how the creators of the Chinese script set about designing graphs to represent words. I shall now give the general conclusions of the thesis. 386 CONCLUSIONS 1. There are three basic forms of the human figure in the Shang script. All other forms can be regarded as derivatives of these three forms. 2. The element ^ did not signify 'big,' but was chiefly used instead of ^ when the concept was felt to be most easily or most naturally depicted from the front, i.e. where the involvement of both arms and/or both legs was felt to be particularly important to expressing the concept (as in yi j$ / fa 'armpit'). This conclusion is supported by the fact that ^| with both arms drawn in is very rare, while * ^ with both legs drawn in is non-existent. \\ was used instead of \"j\\ when an additional element would have made it awkward to design the graph otherwise, e.g. jf ^ / %o (I.l.ii.114), zhi / (IU.3.2439). It was probably not until Zhou times that characters were created in which d i k signifies 'big.'1 3. The J> element was used in graphs denoting words to do with (a) kneeling; (b) actions typically performed in a kneeling position; (c) concepts in which kneeling could be *Of the 17 characters under the ^ radical at SW 10b.2b-3a, 7 are glossed j&L> , while 3 are defined with binomes containing ^ . 6 of these characters are given sound glosses by Xu Shen himself (7 in the Duan Yucai edition, where yin is also given a sound gloss). This concentration of sound glosses is unusually high, and means to say that Xu Shen could not be sure that his readers would know the readings of these characters. This suggests that they are dialect words, whose readings would only be known to the speakers of the dialects in which they occurred. Many of the graphs also lack textual examples. One of them, g&i -\"I , occurs in Fangyan (1/14/2), where it is said to be the word for 'big' in Eastern Qi between the sea and Mount Tai. Duan tries to give each of these words for 'big' a different flavour (as in English one has 'large, great' etc.), but seldom gives support for his interpretations. 387 used as a sign of inferiority, yielding, submission, subjection, etc. Even where it was felt necessary to indicate both sides of the body, \\ had precedence over ^\\ , e.g. in nj. / -jx; 'woman,' where it is necessary to depict both arms in order to show that they are crossed (the crossed arms being used to indicate female gender). 4. The commonest form of the human figure is the standing side-view ^ . It could be used in any graph that denoted any concept that was felt to have anything to do with human beings, and restrictions on its usage were determined by whether the other two elements were felt to be more appropriate. In the body of the thesis, I divided the part on \\ into several sections in order to show the range of this usage. It should be noted that the above defined uses are only strong tendencies, not inviolable rules. Ultimately of course it depended on the subjective judgement of the designers of the Shang script as to which element was used in a given graph. However, the general consistency of usage suggests that they did have some unconscious guidelines for the use of the three elements. 388 Bone Inscriptii Source Page cited Bingbian 1.17 90 Bingbian 1.18 91 Bingbian 124.15 93 Bingbian 175.1 109 Bingbian 247.1/2 128 Bingbian 284.4 259 Bingbian 302.1/2 94 Bingbian 340.3 129 Buci 244 279 Buci 770 97 Cuibian 1 45 Cuibian 2 45 Cuibian 4 163 Cuibian 148 279 Cuibian 339 281 Cuibian 370 356 Cuibian 511A 103 Cuibian 536 349 Cuibian 543 77 Cuibian 1000 341 Cuibian 1240 369 Cuibian 1241 314 Cuibian 1266 113 Cuibian 1267 113 Cuibian 1268 376 Cuibian 1292 11 Fuyin.wen 45 318 Fuyin.za 58 144 Houbian 1.7.10 278 Houbian 1.10.3 96 Houbian 1.19.6 185 Houbian 1.25.3 60 Houbian 1.31.5 121 Houbian 2.5.10 198 Houbian 2.6.1 306 Houbian 2.9.1 222 Houbian 2.9.7 222 Houbian 2.16.10 351 Houbian 2.18.8 259 Houbian 2.20.10 51 Houbian 2.26.17 340 Houbian 2.28.6 86 Houbian 2.31.9 45 Houbian 2.37.5 353 Houbian 2.38.2 334 Houbian 2.38.6 64 Cited or Referred to Jiabian 24 308 Jiabian 205 144 Jiabian 298 154 Jiabian 562 65 Jiabian 587 130 Jiabian 916 158 Jiabian 1046 321 Jiabian 1152 60 Jiabian 2040 142 Jiabian 2304 270 Jiabian 2695 348 Jiabian 2858 160 Jiabian 2876 383 Jiabian 3238 321 Jiabian 3343 14 Jiabian 3932 373 Jimbun 443 260 Jimbun 446 134 Jimbun 455 252 Jimbun 2283 271 Jimbun 2878 96 Jinghua3 112 177 Jinghua 6 147 Jinghua 7 365 Jinghua 10.9 91 Jingjin 1347 96 Jingjin 2104 93 Jingjin 4364 320 Jinzhang 124 33 Jinzhang 679 12 Kikko 1.24.5 309 Kikko 2.21.18 172 Kufang 283 109 Kufang 1002 335 Kufang 1506 257 Liulu.zhong 77 297 Liulu.shu 81 121 Nanbei.Ming 422 64 Nanbei.Ming 523 368 Nanbei.Ming 531 279 NanbeiMing 618 380 Nanbei.Nan 1.170 320 389 Bone Inscriptii Ninghu 1.186 376 Ninghu 1.214 278 Ninghu 2.52 291 Qianbian 1.9.7 365 Qianbian 3.18.4 270 Qianbian 4.15.4 149 Qianbian 4.18.3 13 Qianbian 4.18.8 333 Qianbian 4.27.2 164 Qianbian 4.42.2 340 Qianbian 4.47.5 155 Qianbian 5.1.3 373 Qianbian 5.5.5 257 Qianbian 5.10.7 183 Qianbian 5.12.5 340 Qianbian 5.17.4 186 Qianbian 5.20.2 160 Qianbian 5.25.1 162 Qianbian 5.30.3 379 Qianbian 5.38.3 12 Qianbian 6.16.1 344 Qianbian 6.16.2 350 Qianbian 6.16.6 332 Qianbian 6.19.8 14 Qianbian 6.46.6 200 Qianbian 6.55.5 241 Qianbian 7.1.3 68 Qianbian 7.1.4 77 Qianbian 7.24.2 121 Qianbian 7.36.2 220 Shiduo 1.415 84 Shiduo 1.416 222 Shiduo 1.423 278 Shiduo 2.76 222 Shiduo 2.158 373 Shiduo 2.294 278 Tieyi 6.9 45 Tieyun 95.4 383 Tieyun 127.1 37 Tieyun 231.4 160 Tongzuan 430 147 Tongzuan 431 189 Tongzuan 513 189 Waibian 34 92 Waibian 46 187 Cited or Referred to Wenlu 303 375 Wenlu 312 307 Xubian 1.19.3 376 Xubian 3.29.2 96 Xubian 3.29.4 96 Xubian 3.31.4 96 Xubian 3.31.5 370 378 Xubian 5.6.1 130 Xubian 5.10.6 340 Xubian 5.16.4 270 Xubian 5.25.6 63 Xubian 5.26.8 200 Xucun 1.637 78 Xucun 1.1069 61 Xucun 1.1787 368 Xucun 2.166 117 Xucun 2.450 48 Xucun 2.783 349 Xucun 2.846 13 Yechu 1.30.4 103 Yibian 32 240 Yibian 145 364 Yibian 187 11 Yibian 403 13 Yibian 445 . 314 Yibian 865 14 Yibian 947 103 Yibian 2214 332 Yibian 2340 142 Yibian 2833 200 Yibian 2908 259 Yibian 2924 257 Yibian 4293 111 Yibian 4540 248 Yibian 4697 334 Yibian 4729 335 Yibian 5394 61 Yibian 5405 112 Yibian 5582 73 Yibian 5839 108 Yibian 6481 61 Yibian 6528 343 Yibian 6684 14 Yibian 7119 144 Yibian 7797 126 Yibian 8786 158 Yibian 8808 380 Yibian 9067 253 390 Bone Inscriptions Cited or Referred to Yicun 153 241 Yicun 222 222 Yicun 389 336 Yicun 404 241 Yicun 577 12 Yicun 586 127 Yicun 645 45 Yicun 779 340 Yicun 886 45 Yicun 895 193 Yicun 932 294 Yingguo 1784 92 Yinxu48 333 Yinxu 651 186 Yinxu 1854 144 Yizhu 34 382 Yizhu524 73 Zhixu 37 45 Zhixu 148 377 Zhiyi 18 260 Zhuihe 58 252 Zhuihe 59 199 Zhuihe 94 295 Zhuihe 261 120 Zhuihe 302 343 Zongtu 20.2 257 Zongtu 22.4 80 Zongtu 24.7 45 391 Bronze Inscription Finding List The sources given in this list are (as far as possible) as in NJWB, which refers mostly to Luo Zhenyu's Sandai jijin wencun, and I have provided them for quick reference. However, this work gives only rubbings, with no transcription or analysis of the text, so I am also providing the number of each bronze in Qiu Dexiu's Shang-Zhou jinwen zongmu, which lists all the sources that each bronze is found in. There are a few that I have been unable to locate in that work, usually those for which NJWB refers to unpublished rubbings and photographs For these I give no source. Different sources sometimes give different names and slightly different graph counts for the same bronze, so I have decided generally to adhere to those given in NJWB. The abbreviations for the titles of collections are as follows: Cai Shouxian Cai Hou mu chutu yiwu H !l %k # % & X 1^ 'Wd, 1956. Compiled by Anhuisheng Wenwu Guanli Weiyuanhui and Anhusheng Bowuguan, edited by Zhongguo Kexueyuan Kaogu Yanjiusuo. Peking: Kexue Chubanshe. Dai Luo Zhenyu & ^ i , 1937. Sandai jijin wencun =- ^ %• & & jft . Reprinted 1968 Hong Kong: Longmen Shudian. 1970 Taibei: Minglun Chubanshe. ^ Jiao Liu Tizhi %'J ^U^a , 1935. Xiaojiao jingge jinshi wenzi /!* /f^L W> _____ !>-• 7a X. •?• . Reprinted 1972 Taibei: Yiwen Yinshuguan. Shan Shaanxisheng chutu Shang-Zhou qingtongqi ffc fa % _j±, )*| \"If ^ , 1979. Compiled by Shaanxisheng Kaogu Yanjiusuo, Shaanxisheng Wenwu Guanli Weiyuanhui, and Shaanxisheng Bowuguan. Peking: Wenwu Chubanshe. Shodo Shimonaka Yasaburo \"F + 38 -H- l^ f* , ed. Shodo zenshu. • Tokyo: Heibonsha. Reprinted, with revisions by Onoe Hachiro jf, _t /V et al., 1965 Tokyo: Heibonsha. Xuyin Wang Chen 3- M. , 1980. Xu Yinwencun W fe S-fa . Published in one volume with Luo Zhenyu's Yinwencun, Taibei: Tailian Guofeng Chubanshe. Yan Yan Yiping jfL~ W » 1983. Jinwen zongji Taibei: Yiwen Yinshuguan. Yi Yu Xingwu -f % %. , 1957. Shang-Zhou jinwen luyi $ ^ % Jf< . Peking: Zhongguo Kexueyuan Kaogu Yanjiusuo. Page Name No. of Graphs Source Q D X No. 41 51 £ $c 2 Dai 2.24 0591 g) i 1 Yi239 5595 392 3 4 3 49 10 *. # ft 17 57 ft $ 357 f t ^ A 6 ft t 34 58 48 63 4 403 66 65 67 7 ii 23 78 139 152 86 * * 69 87 390 88 82 £ a 93 & 4 173 93 if & * I 10 i It 403 98 # \\w I 143 101 403 24 39 Dai 16.11 4171 Xuyin 1.30 Dai 15.26 4040 Dai 17.4 7475 Dai 12.17 6393 Dai 17.20 7557 Dai 3.4 0842 Dai 18.23 8782 Jiao 3.17 1381 Dai 14.6 4797 Dai 4.45 1443 Dai 18.4 8031 Dai 6.38 2422 Dai 4.2 1258 Dai 9.37 3069 Dai 9.38 3072 Dai 4.27 1399 Dai 4.44 1442 Dai 1.53 7931 Dai 1.62 7964 Dai 1.66 8025 Dai 6.45 2545 Dai 4.45 1443 Dai 12.33 6455 Dai 4.45 1433 Dai 12.21 6417 Wenwu 1972.5:6 6091 393 105 65 139 18 140 2 180 9 # ^ £ I 38 % J , 77 24 187 ^4 J ^ 3 5 193 8 14 216 86 20 83 227 65 230 357 * | 186 36 231 4 236 £ >tt jft 6 * t # 122 >i ^ M i - 164 238 l l 13 263 2 4 i 110 270 ?5 ftt 12 Dai 18.4 8031 Wenwu 1980.8:14 9198 Dai 6.9 1977-8 Dai 6.43 2511 Kaogu 1979.2:119 2902 Wenwu 1965.11:46 2904 Dai 9.13 3003 Y i 157 2821 Dai 2.31 0498 Dai 2.49 0751 Dai 3.14 0966 Dai 5.30 1590 Dai 1.54 7942 Y i 601 8655 Yan 9.4040.7134 7941 Dai 11.37 5354 Dai 17.20 7557 Dai 11.38 5362 Dai 6.52 2891 Dai 3.3 0834 Dai 1.65 7985 Dai 12.33 6454 Dai 17.31 7603 Dai 15.32 3878 Dai 9.26 3042 Dai 18.21 5398 394 273 5 284 8 l i f 1 3 290 * >£ ft 2 293 I 4& & . 15 10 in £,n M 19 h9L jsa. Us #5 16 16 i 294 150 301 * « 1 34 302 ty Jj # 16 315 76 291 318 ^ ^ h% 497 322 31 108 7 45 143 327 37 IP # 1 37 329 122 68 124 51 Dai 6.29 2277 Dai 11.42 6182 Dai 11.39 6134 Dai 14.25 6940 Dai 2.16 0320 Dai 17.32 7608 Dai 17.4 7476 Dai 17.12 7517-8 Dai 17.8 7500 Dai 17.33 7616 Dai 12.32 6453 Dai 8.40 2890 Yi4 7928 Dai 4.42 1441 Dai 4.46 1445 Dai 8.33 2870-1 Dai 18.23 8783 Dai.11.24 5214 Dai 1.32 7900-4 Dai 12.34 6455 Dai 8.42 3343-4 Dai 8.43 2899 Dai 1.65 7985 Shan 3.138 7915 Wenwu 1979.4:90 3062 Shodo 1.48 5350 395 4. ^ fk 497 Dai 4.46 1445 92 Cai 38 7550 26 Dai 11.33 3341 37 Dai 8.42 3343-4 333 23 Dai 6.50 2794 & I 5 Dai 7.10 2296 335 185 Dai 6.56 5531 339 167 Yan 6.2686.4892 5361 ti a* fe 89 Dai 6.55 3012-3 toft & 284 Shan 2.24 7556 40 Yi274 6093 343 1 Dai 14.13 6506 3 Dai 6.16 2051 345 497 Dai 4.46 1445 289 Dai 4.40 1440 19 Jiao 7.43 2751 346 469 Wenwu 1979.1.13 1444 364 SI 4t /i£ % 3 Yi50 0558 J'lf £ 17 Yi272 6067-8 365 * t I 77 Dai 9.13 3003 182 Wenwu 1979.1:12 6456 116 Shan 2.100 1430 370 # £ ft 275 Renwen zazhi 1981.4 133 Dai 17.20 7554-5 372 7 Dai 6.39 2463 373 29 Dai 16.48 4611 10 Dai 7.21 2534 396 379 111 D a i l 7 . 1 9 ? 5 5 3 381 £ % 122 D a i L 6 5 7 9 g 5 T & ^ J . 20 Dai 10.17 3183 397 Index of Graphs Page No. Graph Identification 1.1 31 i 1 rin A, I.l.i.a 36 54 Y 37 61 * si % 39 75 *f.$ \\ 76 • * /aiang -ro 76a I 42 (93) f jing £J 115 % M it 43 292 ? gui $£. 44 1328 M DiQ »f 46 2635 ^ shu ^ S-48 2645 ^ | pi ^ 52 3143 ^\\ peng 4$$ 53 3340 T* xiong I.l.i.b 57 40 \\ ling |L 59 107 ^ 126 F 60 133 657 ^ mei $ , *JfL 62 789 1f can 63 2385 yi hf 66 2888 * #ft 67 2957 1ft Cheng 69 2959 2961 M 70 * I.l.ii 72 73 75 76 79 80 82 83 84 86 89 91 94 97 99 4 i 14 J 21 ^ 67 4\" 72 100 W 108 W 109 W 111 W H4 J3 293 ^ 439 f ' j* 655 ^ . ^ 661 y 690 ^' f 715 f 801 | j ting jL JJ1 ^ i t di & hi ^ ji &. xiu ^ c a i 5f-ji 0 yyii -^L xian -7L jian a 5/ wang ting f .. -ti-jie 2jr(?) 398 Index of Graphs 100 1847 m kou TC 138 2917 109 26 139 2922 110 132 wei 141 2925 112 2775 143 2926 113 2838 * & 2927 2840 * 2929 2930 I.l.iv 145 2931 115 9 10 niao sM 4 148 2932 ay. A , * r ftneng 4* 3t mi L4 I . l t V 151 81 C6ng 120 13 4 qian •y- 152 84 bing $ 121 1282 ^ nian 155 85 H Mi Jb 156 92 if hui f^^ L2 i 157 93 *f jing ^ 125 126 16 \\ 17 ^ shen ^ * k 159 94 95 ff \" zhong $ 19 ^ yun ^ 161 96 128 20 ^ •41 163 97 399 Index of Graphs 164 98 H 167 1280 % - * ^ ni i t 167 2885 ft L5 170 3 j shi f IA 174 1124 M ft LI 179 33 \\ 41 an 1 180 34 ^ ] A . wei Itfk. 36 | ] 182 38 u3[u ku_ 184 39 f chang -4 186 43 ^ gj -Jr 189 50 ^ xu H LI 192 2 \\ I.8.i 195 1347 pin 197 1348 Wi * !3,t± 198 1379 cl * 4ft 1362 199 1405 * § a * 264 1340 ni £ £ 203 205 ? j III. 1 235 206 * • * 269 256 I (jM)f III,l,i 277 265 I ZM 281 283 I ai 4|- 285 309 ji i f ai H 286 311 xiang ^IP huang i £ 287 312 « ' ] 6 s jiao. 313 ji ^ 289 317 xian 401 Index of Graphs 291 293 295 296 298 318 '% 393 & 671 t\\ 1857 f^l-f^l 1859 (JI• 2028 ^ xian (?) hui H jian 2B. an $•(?) bin 'I IILl.ii 300 264 I yd £ 301 303 299 304 I t jing ^c. ling 4 304 329 330 331 332 * M 2147 2148 J 2174 1457 1 yji $5L 307 335 M £ 309 340 zhu&n fit 312 341 yi #1> 314 710 win 89 318 800 * i p 320 1721 • I f 321 2330 pi ^ 233 III.1 .iii 325 880 f} 327 2556 m.2 JIL2 358 2439 359 2443 psi 332 373 % (ii) % m,2,i 338 376 H ] hua \\rl 378 f ' 341 379 n zM %% 342 382 yi 348 383 zM % 349 385 350 389 730 352 3211 ruo |# III.2.ii 355 375 sji zhi % A yji 402 Index of Graphs III.4 362 792 $ nji III.5 367 — * ^ 371 597 % 374 803 ^ 375 823 ^_ 376 824 $ T 377 834 ^ 852 £ u 380 1970 fa 2145 ^ 381 2539 382 3020 383 3021 *! xjjn 11 (?) yi gjang ^ xi | (?) xM ift xian £3 3022 vfpr * (? ) ft* w 384 3024 &• 4 403 LIST OF WORKS CITED Biot, Edouard, 1851. Le Tcheou-li, ou, Rites des Tcheou. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale. Reprint n.d. Taibei: Ch'eng Wen. 3 vols. Chang, Kwang-chih, 1968. The Archaeology of Ancient China. Rev. and enl. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chang, Tsung-tung, 1970. Der Kult der Shang-dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschriften: .... Eine palaographische Studiezur Religion im archaischen China. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. Chen L i ft ^ , 1875. Baihutong shuzheng fa fl Jit & 0$: • Reprint 1977 Taibei: Zhongguo Zixue Mingzhu Jicheng Bianyin Jijinhui. Chen Mengjia rl 'S< , 1956. Yinxu buci zongshu ii j$L r* $ JTJk . Peking: Kexue Chubanshe. Chiang Yee, 1938. Chinese Calligraphy. London: Methuen. Chou, Hung-hsiang, 1970-71. \"Fu-X ladies of the Shang dynasty.\" Monumenta Serica 29:346-390. Chow, Kwok-ching, 1982. \"Aspects of subordinative composite sentences in the Period I oracle bone inscriptions.\" University of British Columbia: Ph.D. dissertation. Ch'ii, T'ung-tsu, 1965. Law and Society in Traditional China. Paris: Mouton&Co. Creel, H.G. , 1937. The Birth of China. New York: Frederick Ungar. Dai Kan-WaJiten & , by Morohashi Tetsuji fi-ttf l|L> . Shanghai: Zhongya Shuju. Hopkins, L . C . , 1929. \"The human figure in archaic Chinese writing-A study in attitudes.\" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1929:557-579. Hu Houxuan tf[ J'f H , 1942. \"Yindai niansui chengwei kao ^ ty 4& f l ~$f .\" Zhongguo wenhua yanjiu huikan ty |f|] ^ /) \"4? |p 4-1! 2:1-29. Reprinted in Hu Houxuan, 1944. ^ , 1944. Jiaguxue Shangshi luncong chuji '? ^ ^ \"jfi ^ \" K ^ ^ - ^ 4 . Reprinted 1970 Hong Kong: Wenyoutang Shudian. , 1955. \"Yindai nongzuo shifei shuo fe AX %. ^ ^ # j . » L/^/ZI yan/iK & ^ ' # - J 1:97-106 , 1956. \"Shi Yindai qiunian yu sifang he sifangfeng de jisi ^ & W -% M. %iV.\" Fudan xuebao-Renwenkexue ft§.*tlL-k£&$ 1:49-86. , 1957. \"Shi 'yu yi ren' ' — >C '.\" Lishi yanjiu S £ ^ 1:75-78. , 1981. \"Chonglun 'yu yi ren' wenti $ ^4 • — A • Pe13] H Guwenzi yanjiu \"vfe\" >C L \\h % \"5>C . China: Dujinglou dingben |f 4$ . Kang Yin ^ , 1983. Guwenzixue xinlun ^ ? f Iff . Peking: Rongbaozhai '_3L? ^ . Karlgren, Bernhard, 1950. The Book of Documents. Reprinted from B M F E A 22 (1950). Goteborg: Elanders. 405 _, 1950a. The Book of Odes. Reprinted from B M F E A 16 (1944). Goteborg: Elanders. , 1957. Grammata Serica Recensa. Reprinted from B M F E A 29 (1957): 1-332. Reprinted 1972. Goteborg: Elanders. , 1964. Glosses on the Book of Odes. Reprinted from B M F E A 14 (1942), 16 (1944), and 18 (1946). Goteborg: Elanders. , 1970. Glosses on the Book of Documents. Reprinted from B M F E A 20 (1948) and 21 (1949). Goteborg: Elanders. Keightley, David N. 1969. \"Public work in ancient China: A study of forced labour in the Shang and Western Chou.\" Columbia University: Ph.D. dissertation. , 1978. Sources of Shang History: The oracle-bone inscriptions of bronze age China. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: California University Press. , 1983. \"Royal shamanism in the Shang: Archaic vestige or central reality?\" Paper for the workshop on Chinese divination and portent interpretation, Berkeley, June 20-July 1, 1983. Knechtges, David R., trans, and annot., 1982. The Honshu Biography of Yang Xiong (53 B.C.-A.D. 18). Occasional paper no.14, Center for Asian Studies, Arizona State University, May 1981. Legge, James, trans., 1861. The Ch'un Ts'ew with the Tso Chuen. Vol. 5 of The Chinese Classics. London: Triibner. , trans., 1885. LiKi. Vols. 17 and 18 of Max Miiller ed.,The Sacred Books of the East: The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism, parts 3 and 4. Oxford: OUP. Reprinted 1966 and 1968 Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Lau, D.C.,1982. Tao Te Ching. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. L i Xiaoding % % Si , 1965. Jiagu wenzi jishi f 'f ^ 4f . Taibei: Academia Sinica. LiXueqin -f % H?jj ,1980. \"Guanyu Duizu buci de yixie wenti %L \"f & iB. r- i ? — *t |»I 11 .\" Guwenziyanjiu >L 3:32-42. L i Xueqin et al., 1985. Yingguo suocang jiaguji Peking: Zhonghua Shuju. Lin Yin & f3 ,1974. Zhouli jinzhu jinyi HI \\% ^ f l ^ I f . Taibei: Commercial Press. Liu, Chungshee Hsien, 1932. \"The dog-ancestor story of the aboriginal tribes of southern China.\" Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 62:361-368. 406 LiuWeirnin %\\ % & ,1975. Zhongguo gudai nubi zhidu shi $ 8 \"fe ~$ rM ik- ^~ \" H o n § K o n g ; Longmen Shudian. Liu X i %}\\ 8P. , (fl. 200 A.D.). Shiming | | 4 • Reprint 1939 Changsha: Commercial Press. Long Yuchun 86. T , 1968. Tangxie quanben Wang Renxu kanmiu buque Qieyun jiaojian % ^ & 3-^ 9® H ff ffi fa W & % . Hong Kong: The Chinese University. , 1968a. Zhongguo wenzixue T 151 X- % T . Hong Kong: Chongji Shudian % % % % . Lu Deming. See Pan Chonggui 1983. MaDezhi , 1955. \"Yijiuwusannian Anyang Dasikongcun fajue baogao \"~~ * . % i L % $ f | * ^ £ ^ | £ $ £ ^ 9:25-90. Mao Zedong ,1957. Guanyu zhengque chuli renmin neibu maodun de wend . P e k i n g : Renmin Chubanshe. Mattos, G. L . , 1973. \"The stone drums of Ch'in.\" University of Washington: Ph.D. dissertation. (Published 1988 under the same title, Monumenta Serica Monograph Series XIX. Nettetal: Steyler Verlag. But I have been unable to get hold of the published version.) Monboddo, J.B., 1774. Origin and Progress of Language. Reprinted 1970 New York: Garland Publishers. 6 vols. Pan Chonggui i% % $ L , 1983. Jingdian shiwen yunbian $§L *J© . Taibei (?): Guozi Zhengli Xiaozu ®) ^ §F Jjg. | 4'J 5:395-410. , 1960. Guangyun shengxi I ?P £ . Peking: Wenzigaige Chubanshe. 408 ShiZhengyi 3& j £ — , chief ed., 1984. Minzu cidian fL 3& M $k . Chengdu: Sichuan Minzu Chubanshe. Shima Kunio & ^ S , 1958. Z/iifcyo fco*i%. $ ~& i i . Tokyo: Chu'6 Koronsha. , 1984. Jito % $L . Tokyo: Heibonsha. Steele, John, trans., 1917. The I-li, or, Book of etiquette and ceremonial. London: Probsthain and Co. 2 vols. Takashima, Kenichi, 1973. \"Negatives in the King Wu-ting bone inscriptions.\" University of Washington: Ph.D. dissertation. ,1980. \"Fu K6 no shippei ni kansuru ichi bokuji no shishaku ^ & l- fgl f*> - hit