Abstract
In the oracle bones, the character "han" (函) had two types of usages, as a place name, and as a quiver or sheath, as for carrying weapons. In bronze inscriptions, it also had two types of usages, as a personal name, and in place of "xian" (陷) (to sink, to submerge). Scholars since the Qing have noted this usage of "han" (函) for "xian" (陷) in bronze inscriptions, and have inferred from this that in the "Zi Kung" (〈祭公〉) chapter of the Yi Zhou shu (《佚周書》) the character "xian" (險) (dangerous) could be substituting for "xian" (陷) (to sink). Bernhard Karlgren (高本漢), however, opposes this view. In this paper, using evidence of word usage in the other sources, I demonstrate that the xian (險) used in the "Zi Kung" (〈祭公〉) chapter and elsewhere, and han in the Chu Yu (〈楚語〉), can be read as standing for themselves rather than substituting for another character.
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