Page:Essays on the Chinese Language (1889).djvu/89

Rh the year 1292 appeared the "Ku-chin-yun-hui-chü-yao" (舉姚), which was apparently a new edition of the above. The "Yun-hui-chü-yao" has been ascribed to Huang Kung-shao (黃公紹), of Shao-wu in Fuhkeen. This man, however, is more frequently quoted as the author of the "Yun-hui" simply, the "Yun-hui-chü-yao" being assigned to Hsiung Chung. In the "Yun-hui" the 107 rhyme-classes of Liu Yuan are adopted, and the characters are arranged under them according to the Sanskrit initials. But in thus giving the orthography of characters the book is said to abound in errors, and the confusion in this respect which has since existed is traced by some to the "Yun-hui." This dictionary was based on Liu Yuan's edition of the "Li-pu-yun-liao," but it gives 12,652 characters, being many more than any previous edition of the "Li-pu-yun-liao" had given. For some time the "Yun-hui" had a show of popularity among the professional students, but it afterwards fell into utter disuse. It has been condemned as a faulty, slovenly work, much inferior to its predecessors.

In the early part of the 14th century appeared a notable treatise, the "Yun-fu-ch'un-yü" (韻府羣玉), Jewels from the Treasury of Words. This was the joint work of two brothers surnamed Yin (陰), natives of Hsin-wu in Kiangsi. Their names were Shi-fu (時夫) al. Ching-hsien (勁弦) al. Shi-yü(時遇), and Chung-fu (中夫) al. Fu-ch'un (復春) al. Yu-ta (幼達). They belonged to a family distinguished for devotion to literary pursuits, and they inherited a considerable amount of etymological learning. The first edition of the "Yun-fu," finished in 1307, appeared about 1314, but as there was a great gap in the work, and as it was in other respects very defective, it had not much success. It was not until 1590 that a new and complete edition was brought out by another great scholar, Wang Yuan-chen (王元貞) al. Mêng-ch'i (孟起). He added words omitted in the original edition, and gave the spelling according to the "Li-pu-yun-liao." As thus published, the " Yun-fu" is a copious dictionary of terms