Page:Essays on the Chinese Language (1889).djvu/53

Rh way, and often by one word. The pairs of characters thus represented as like in sound are occasionally interesting to observe. Thus, for example, the character now called wêng (翁) is given as like kung (公) in sound, and this helps us to understand why these two characters are found to be interchanged. It was this same editor who in the name of the book changed Kuang to Po in order to avoid using the name of the Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty. In addition to the "Po-ya," Chang I wrote also the "P'i Ts'ang" (埤蒼), in three chuan; the "San-ts'ang-hsün-ku" (三蒼訓詁), in three chuan; and two other treatises, all on subjects connected with the language. He is said to have been a good scholar in this branch of knowledge, and he is often quoted, but most of his writings seem to have been lost long ago.

The period of the Three Kingdoms was succeeded by that of the Chin (晉) dynasty, which lasted from 265 to 419. In this period the first name to be mentioned is that of Wei Chao (韋昭), who was famous as a scholar and commentator. He edited the "Shi-ming," and greatly enlarged the original work, specially adding to it terms relating to government and state affairs generally.

Another distinguished student of the language about the same time was Sun Yen (孫炎). This scholar is better known by his other name, Shu-jan (叔然), which he had to use on the accession of Chin Wu-ti, who also had the name Yen. Sun was a native of Lê-an (樂安), in the present province of Shantung, and was born in the latter part of the Han period. Hence he is variously described as of the Han, Wei (San-Kuo) and Chin dynasties. He was a follower of the teachings of Chêng Kang-ch'êng, who spent the last years of his life at his native place, also in Shantung. Sun, who was celebrated among his contemporaries for his great learning, was the author of several treatises on the old classics. Among them was one on the "Urh-ya," in six chuan, and called "Urh-ya-yin-i" (爾雅音義). In this he seems to have used the fan-ch'ie spelling, and some