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Pianya 駢雅

Oct 14, 2010 © Ulrich Theobald

Pianya 駢雅 "Correct couplets" is a glossary of bisyllablic words written during the late Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) by Zhu Mouhan 朱謀㙔 (1552-1624), courtesy name Mingfu 明父 or Yuyi 鬱儀, style Haiyue 海岳. Zhu wrote numerous scholarly books, of which a commentary on the Shuijingzhu 水經注 is the most famous.

In bibliographies, the Pianya belongs to the category of books of "lesser learning" (Xiaoxue 小學), often translated as "lexicography". The book was completed in 1587. It imitates the chapters of the classical glossary Erya 爾雅 and basically deals with two types of words. The first are word groups, the second designations of objects, plants and animals.

Quotation 1. Examples from the Pianya 駢雅
蔘綏、恒慨、羞繹、漭沆、紛母、洸潒、厖鴻、恢台、莽䍚、聊浪、昧莫、瀾汗、盤礡、敞罔、沆瀁、䆸䆖、酆琅、扈扈、實實,廣大也。 Huge, broad, colossal, far-flung, overwhelming, shoreless, unfathomable, gigantic, boundless, immense, straggly, abundant, magnificient, extensive, sweeping, capacious, loud sound, ample, spacious, [all this] means "broad and wide".
巍嶢、陮隗、崝嶸、業峨、贅顤、崝嶮、魁堆、㟪嶉、陗{扌𠩓}、嶢峥、巑岏、埽霓、屹崪、崴嵬、茗邈、𡹭𡸣、岝峉,高也。 Majestic, lofty, eminent, steep, big-headed, precipitous, "troll's lair", mountain range, slopes, perilous, sharp-pointed, "rainbow sweeper", cliffy, towering, "tea shrubs far away", abrupt, mountainous - [all this] means "high".
鬱熙、融裔、淋離、镽𨲭、餑䭒、姌嫋、倰儯、䧒隑、僥僺、镺𨱵、悠悠,長也。 "Long-sounding", "free from inhibition"", steady", "[to end a] long meal", "tall and slender", "a long [journey]", "long [stairs]", "oblong", "lengthy", "remote in time" - [all this] means "long".

The earliest surviving print is included in Zhang Haipeng's 張海鵬 (1755-1816) series Jieyueshanfang huichao 借月山房彙鈔. Wei Maolin 魏茂林 (b. 1772) wrote a commentary, Pianya xunzuan 駢雅訓纂, and divided the 7 juan of the Pianya into 16. For each entry, Wei added a commentary based on a vast treasury of primary sources, as well as the pronunciation for the characters. A print of this commentary was produced in 1845 by the Youbuwei Studio 有不為齋.

Sources:
Chen Qi 陳崎 (1992). "Pianya 駢雅", in Zhou Gucheng 周谷城, ed. Zhongguo xueshu mingzhu tiyao 中國學術名著提要, Vol. Yuyan wenzi 語言文字卷 (Shanghai: Fudan daxue chubanshe), 168.
Guo Qinna 郭芹納 et al., ed. (1990). Jianming gu Hanyu zhishi cidian 簡明古漢語知識辭典 (Xia'an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe), 101.
Huang Jinxu 黃今許 (1991). "Pianya, Pianya xunzuan ji qi zuozhe 《駢雅》、《駢雅訓纂》及其作者", Longyan Shizhuan xuebao 龍岩師專學報, 1991 (7).
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文郁, ed. (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 1, 653.
Wang Yanfang 王艷芳, Wang Feihua 王飛華, Yang Li 楊莉 (2001). "Pianya ji qi zuozhe Zhu Mouhan 《駢雅》及其作者朱謀㙔", Xinan Minzu daxue chubanshe (Zhexue shehui kexue ban) 西南民族學院學報(哲學社會科學版), 2001 (12).
Xiao Huilan 肖惠蘭 (1998). "Pianya tanzong 《駢雅》探綜", Wenxian 文獻, 1998 (7).
Yao Guowang 姚國旺, ed. (1997). "Pianya 駢雅", in Men Kui 門巋, Zhang Yanjin 張燕瑾, ed. Zhonghua guocui da cidian 中華國粹大辭典 (Xianggang: Guoji wenhua chuban gongsi), 712.
Zhou Zumo 周祖謨 (1988). "Pianya 駢雅", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Yuyan wenzi 語言•文字, p. 307. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.