Abstract
Tang Lan’s argument that the structure of the character you ( ) is similar to the character zhou 胄 is accurate. From recently unearthed documents of the Warring States period, as well as from the entry for zhou in the Shuowen 說文 that, citing the Sima fa 司馬法, gives geyou as an alternative way of writing zhou, we can conclude that you 由 is equivalent to zhou. In the oracle bone inscriptions, we can also find examples in which the character you is used in place of zhou. In oracle bone inscriptions related to disease, we often see the expression “Wei you you” 隹ㄓ由 and “Bu wei you you” 不隹ㄓ由. The Japanese scholar Shirakawa Shizuka 白川靜 once argued that “this usage of you ( ) is virtually identical in meaning to hai 害 ‘harm.’” In this article, I propose that in oracle bones related to disease, the word you should be interpreted as similar in usage to the character “ ” in the expression “Xun wang (you)” 旬亡 (憂). Hence you 由 should perhaps be read as you 憂. In the oracle bones, in addition to names of people and places, the word is at times used to mean “through.” Qiu Xigui has pointed out that in bronze inscriptions of the Shiue quan zun ( 犬尊) the usage is similar to that of the oracle bones. In this article, I draw attention to two passages in support of this argument. There remain, however, passages in which the meaning of the term remains unclear.
Keywords
you (由), zhou (胄), Shiue quan zun ( 犬尊)
Cite
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.
