清代中葉之形音義關係論及其發展

Abstract

本文以清代中葉訓詁學界最具代表性之學者為研究對象，考察其於訓詁理論之建立與實踐之具體內涵。一切論述，俱以其著作中所涉及相關材料進行爬梳、研討與申論，務求從其時代背景與學術環境，客觀而深入地探索其思考脈絡，以得其確切要義。 立場上，不以今日之學術條件為唯一繩準，基於回歸清代中葉時代之思想、理念，以討論諸訓詁學者之相關研究，意不在泥古、崇古，而在還學術之真。其是非固可以今日之科學方法與學術標準進行衡評，然若不能得其確切內容，今日諸多評斷與論述，或仍處於以今律古之境地。 在內容上，涉及之理論探究包涵：「形音義關係論」、「轉語」、「雙聲疊韻之字」、「假借」與「轉注互訓」等五大議題。「形音義關係論」為「體」，係後四者之原理依據；故「轉語」、「雙聲疊韻之字」、「假借」與「轉注互訓」四者為「用」，乃清代訓詁理論之具體呈現。本文於此進行深究，勾勒出其理論體系與架構，而後從其著作中援引例證說明，以見其理論與實踐之關係。此乃本文之主體，亦為訓詁學最為重要之內容。 「形音義關係論」為清代訓詁學最具理論意義之議題，此期重要訓詁學者證成文字形、音、義之關係，建設一套完密之訓詁學原理，為後來之理論與實踐提供學理之依據。循此而論，本文依序闡述清代中葉學者對於「轉語」、「雙聲疊韻之字」、「假借」與「轉注互訓」之內涵及其在訓詁學史之意義。清代中葉學者「轉語」、「雙聲疊韻之字」之研究，與現代同源詞之研究有深刻之關係，為現代訓詁學研究者提供極具參考價值之成果，其中又以「雙聲疊韻之字」研究，最具學術特色；「假借」乃古籍閱讀最大之障礙，清人於此，深造所得，且形成一套研究經典假借之系統；「轉注互訓」之研究，為文字學史上聚訟之處，本文另闢討論視角，從訓詁學之角度探究「轉注互訓」說之理論內涵與學術意義，以為戴震、段玉裁之「轉注互訓」，實其訓詁學體系最重要之目的。 本文之結論，多有異於近現代學者之研究成果，非欲以唐突前人，乃就學術論學術，一切論述，皆有所本。蓋學術之真諦，乃在求真、求實，此亦本文所奉以為圭臬之準則。

This dissertation deals with the exegetical theory and practice of the most representative scholars of the exegetical studies movement in the mid-Qing era by looking closely at their theoretical endeavors and practice in this field. All discussion will be made by presenting and discussing material taken from their works in order to view their efforts in terms of the historical background and scholarly environment of their times so that we may investigate their intellectual context objectively and in-depth. In terms of my own academic stance, when discussing research related to exegetical studies, I propose not taking present academic norms as the gold standard of discussion. Instead, I prefer to try to place myself in the shoes, as it were, of scholars of the mid-Qing era in terms of how they thought and their own scholarly ideals. My intent is not a “return” to antiquity or an idealization of the past, but to discover the truth about such scholarship. The accuracy of such scholarship can no doubt be critiqued by current scientific methods and academic standards. But if we are unable to have an accurate understanding of such scholarship in its own terms, much of the modern pronouncements and discourse about this scholarship will run the risk of falling into the trap of treating the past in terms of the present. In terms of content, theoretical discussion will cover the following five topics that were central to exegetical studies during the Qing: the relation between written characters, pronunciation, and meaning; “derivative cognates” (轉語); characters with coupled initials and rhymes (雙聲疊韻之字); phonetic loans (假借); and exegesis using derivative cognates (轉注互訓). The first of these topics, the relation between characters, pronunciation, and meaning, will serve as the “essence” (體) , the basis for discussing the remaining four topics, which in turn act as its “function” (用). These topics will be first discussed thoroughly in order to sketch a theoretical system and framework. Subsequently, we will provide examples from individual works to see how theory was put into practice. The above, then, make up the subject of this dissertation as well as being the most important topics in exegetical studies. Discussion of the relation between character, pronunciation and meaning was the most theoretical issue during the Qing dynasty. Influential scholars during this period investigated the relation between the three elements and developed a complete set of exegetical principles that served as the basis for latter efforts in the areas of both theory and practice. Based on studies in this area, we will go on to discuss what was involved in each of the other four topics and their historical significance for the field of exegetical studies. There is, for instance, a strong relation between Qing dynasty scholars’ work in the areas of “derivative cognates”, “characters with coupled consonants or rhymes”, “phonetic loans”, and “exegesis using derivative cognates” and the modern research on cognates. Indeed, the work of these scholars provided many exceedingly useful points of reference for modern academics. Likewise, research on characters with coupled consonants or rhymes is characterized by the highest level of scholarship. Phonetic loans, for their part, pose one of the greatest difficulties when reading ancient works, and work in this area on the part of Qing era scholars resulted in the creation of a system for dealing with phonetic loans in texts. Exegesis using derivative cognates, on the other hand, has historically been one of the thorniest issues in the study of Chinese paleography. We offer a different approach to this issue by looking at its theoretical aspects from the perspective of exegetical studies. In so doing, we show the work of Dai Zhen and Duan Yucai in this area to be the most important task of their exegetical system. Many of my conclusions are at odds with those of modern scholars. My intent is not to contradict earlier scholars, but rather discuss scholarship on its own terms so that each argument has a basis. Scholarship is the pursuit of truth and fact and that is the spirit in which this dissertation was written.