The Chinese Dialects of Han Time According to Fang Yen

Description

This study of the Chinese dialects of Han time will treat some fundamental problems concerning the dialect material found in one extensive source, Fang yen, which, though generally well known, has not, till now, been methodically and thoroughly studied. One of the reasons for this reluctance among scholars of Chinese to use a source so important for the knowledge of the history of the Chinese language as Fang yen is probably the uncertainty concerning problems of its authorship and its authenticity in general. The question about the value of a collection of dialect words such as Fang yen and the possibility of using it as a source of synchronous information on the language and dialects of a given time hinge mainly on one other question. This question is whether we possess here the work of one man, reflecting a stage of language at one time and thereby throwing new light on dialects and standard language in comparison with literature or whether it is merely an amalgamation of philological notes culled from various sources, referring to various times, reflecting consequently the different viewpoints and explanations of the original no tat or of each individual item of information included in Fang yen.