Longkan Shoujian
Encyclopedia
Longkan Shoujian is a Chinese dictionary
compiled during the Liao Dynasty
by the monk Xingjun (行均). Completed in 997
, the work had originally been entitled Longkan Shoujing (龍龕手鏡 [鑑 and 鏡 are synonyms]), but had its title changed owing to naming taboo
when it was later printed by the Song
publishers. (Emperor Taizu
's grandfather had the name 敬, a homophone of 鏡.) The earliest surviving edition of the work is an incomplete Korean
one, reprinted in China in 1985.
Longkan Shoujian was one the many Buddhist
yinyishu (音義書 "dictionary of pronunciations and meanings") produced in ancient China, which were meant to aid the study of Buddhist scriptures. However, the work stands out in two aspects. Firstly, its method of collation
is innovative. While Chinese dictionaries before Shoujian collate character
s either graphically (by radical
) or phonetically (by tone
and rime
), the work employs both methods: the radicals, which number 242 (including the "radical" zai (雜 "miscellaneous"), where are found characters difficult to be analyzed graphically), are grouped by tone into four groups (each group occupies one juan (卷) or fascicle); the characters under each radical are in turn grouped by tone. Secondly, it collects more than 26,000 characters with a huge proportion of variant characters. Many of these variants are not recorded in any other works.
The characters in it are divided, in terms of orthography, into "standard" (正 zheng), "vulgar" (俗 su), "contemporary" (今 jin), "archaic" (古 gu) and "alternative" (或作 huozuo), a classification more elaborated than that used in Ganlu Zishu
. The pronunciations of characters in it are indicated by either homophone or fanqie
spelling. For some characters, only the pronunciations are given, not the meanings.
While being criticized for its unorthodox collation and collection by the Qing
philologists, it is hailed by Pan (1980) as an essential guide for deciphering the Dunhuang manuscripts
, which contains a large amount of "vulgar" characters.
Chinese dictionary
Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for Chinese, and this article will introduce some of the most important...
compiled during the Liao Dynasty
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...
by the monk Xingjun (行均). Completed in 997
997
Year 997 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* First documented reference to the City of Gdańsk....
, the work had originally been entitled Longkan Shoujing (龍龕手鏡 [鑑 and 鏡 are synonyms]), but had its title changed owing to naming taboo
Naming taboo
Naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...
when it was later printed by the Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
publishers. (Emperor Taizu
Emperor Taizu of Song
Emperor Tàizǔ , born Zhao Kuangyin , was the founder of the Song Dynasty of China, reigning from 960 to 976.-Ancestry and early life:...
's grandfather had the name 敬, a homophone of 鏡.) The earliest surviving edition of the work is an incomplete Korean
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
one, reprinted in China in 1985.
Longkan Shoujian was one the many Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
yinyishu (音義書 "dictionary of pronunciations and meanings") produced in ancient China, which were meant to aid the study of Buddhist scriptures. However, the work stands out in two aspects. Firstly, its method of collation
Collation
Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. One common type of collation is called alphabetization, though collation is not limited to ordering letters of the alphabet...
is innovative. While Chinese dictionaries before Shoujian collate character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s either graphically (by radical
Radical (Chinese character)
A Chinese radical is a component of a Chinese character. The term may variously refer to the original semantic element of a character, or to any semantic element, or, loosely, to any element whatever its origin or purpose...
) or phonetically (by tone
Tone name
In the Chinese and Vietnamese languages, tone names are the names given to the tones these languages use.*In Chinese, tone names are given in terms of the four tones, namely level , rising , departing , and entering , as well as dark and light , and high and low .* Standard Vietnamese has six...
and rime
Syllable rime
In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. It is the part of the syllable used in poetic rhyme, and the part that is lengthened or stressed when a person elongates or stresses a word in speech.The rime is usually the...
), the work employs both methods: the radicals, which number 242 (including the "radical" zai (雜 "miscellaneous"), where are found characters difficult to be analyzed graphically), are grouped by tone into four groups (each group occupies one juan (卷) or fascicle); the characters under each radical are in turn grouped by tone. Secondly, it collects more than 26,000 characters with a huge proportion of variant characters. Many of these variants are not recorded in any other works.
The characters in it are divided, in terms of orthography, into "standard" (正 zheng), "vulgar" (俗 su), "contemporary" (今 jin), "archaic" (古 gu) and "alternative" (或作 huozuo), a classification more elaborated than that used in Ganlu Zishu
Ganlu Zishu
Ganlu Zishu is a Chinese orthography dictionary of the Tang Dynasty. The first surviving orthographical dictionary for the regular script, it was authored by Yan Yuansun , a descendant of the famous scholar Yan Shigu. It is roughly based on Yan Shigu's work Ziyang , now surviving only in fragments...
. The pronunciations of characters in it are indicated by either homophone or fanqie
Fanqiè
In Chinese phonology, fanqie is a method to indicate the pronunciation of a character by using two other characters.-The Origin:...
spelling. For some characters, only the pronunciations are given, not the meanings.
While being criticized for its unorthodox collation and collection by the Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
philologists, it is hailed by Pan (1980) as an essential guide for deciphering the Dunhuang manuscripts
Dunhuang manuscripts
The Dunhuang manuscripts is a cache of important religious and secular documents discovered in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China during the early 20th century. Dating from the 5th to early 11th centuries, the manuscripts include works ranging from history and mathematics to folk songs and dance...
, which contains a large amount of "vulgar" characters.