Abstract
This paper examines the phenomenon of genre transformation in the history of Chinese lexicography, with a particular focus on the early lexicon Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 (100 ad) and the later Shuowen jiezi wuyin yunpu 說文解字五音韻譜 (1178–1181 ad). The latter may be explained as an attempt based on medieval phonology to reorganize the information system of the former in order to facilitate its use. By comparing the two lexica, together with other rhyme books, this paper reconfirms that Shuowen jiezi wuyin yunpu adopts the fanqie 反切 notations and the phonological system of Xu Xuan’s 徐鉉 (917–992) Shuowen jiezi and rearranges its entries accordingly, yielding an order sometimes similar to that of Xu Kai’s 徐鍇 (920–974) Shuowen jiezi zhuan yunpu 說文解字篆韻譜, but distinct from two other works — Jiyun 集韻 (1037–1039) and Leipian 類篇 (1039–1066). Building on this comparison, this article develops a theoretical framework for phonologization and examines how competing models of phonologization influenced one another, thereby shaping and reshaping the trajectory of philological scholarship in the late-imperial period.
Keywords
Shuowen jiezi, Shuowen jiezi wuyin yunpu, Li Tao, Xu Xuan, Xu Kai, genre transformation, phonologization, character books, rhyme books
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