Chinese Phonology and Palaeography

Feeling inadequate! That’s a good and a bad thing at the same time. Good. Because you will then try to equip yourself. Bad. You don’t have the confidence in what you are writing especially when you are doing a Phd.

One area of my thesis is Yijing. When I told some Chinese studies experts that my thesis is about Yijing. They all look stunned. Maybe what they said in their mind is that 唔知死! (Don’t know that death is!) And then when I told them I wanted to compare it with Pauline theology and read them from a pastoral and experiential perspective. Then they turned speechless! Maybe they thought: are you out of your mind. Are you ignorant or simply naive or what?

Now there is a chance to back up my background for doing a related study of Yijing research: old Chinese phonology and palaeography in Oxford. What a good opportunity and it is all sponsored.
But is phonology and what is palaeography, if you don’t know (just like me). Look up in wiki! which I have already linked up. The studies in these two areas are also related to philology.

羅一17詮釋一文送出

終於把〈羅一17作為社會文本之跨文化語言詮釋〉（英文）一文發電郵送出。全文一萬六千字左右，有否有錯那肯定是免不了的。但把稿子先送出好主辦當局方便辦事。下周要出發參加在牛津進行的Old Chinese Phonology & Palaeography，去之前這幾天還可以回到論文尚欠第二章的債。牛津回來，就要往第五和第七章作修改和補充的工夫了。

寫文章，英文說來說去，還是個大挑戰！

呂氏春秋卷六：十二音律

音律

黃鐘生林鐘，林鐘生太蔟，太蔟生南呂，南呂生姑洗，姑洗生應鐘，應鐘生蕤賓，蕤賓生大呂，大呂生夷則，夷則生夾鐘，夾鐘生無射，無射生仲呂。三分所 生，益之一分以上生；三分所生，去其一分以下生。黃鐘、大呂、太蔟、夾鐘、姑洗、仲呂、蕤賓為上，林鐘、夷則、南呂、無射、應鐘為下。

大聖至理之世，天地之氣，合而生風，日至則月鐘其風，以生十二律。仲冬日短至，則生黃鐘。季冬生大呂。孟春生太蔟。仲春生夾鐘。季春生姑洗。孟夏生仲呂。仲夏日長至，則生蕤賓。季夏生林鐘。孟秋生夷則。仲秋生南呂。季秋生無射。孟冬生應鐘。天地之風氣正，則十二律定矣。

讀呂氏春秋，赫然發現，原來早在呂氏春秋中已記載十二音律，這即是說在秦以前應該中國便已對十二音律有理解，曾是後知後覺。

讓我驚訝的是還有以下幾點：

（一）所謂「三分所 生，益之一分以上生；三分所生，去其一分以下生。」我聯想鋼琴黑白鍵的關係，若以音切分成三均等音階，所謂益之一分，即指鋼琴之白鍵，去其一分則即指黑鍵。當然，以「三分」之益與去來計算，未必純然準確，但無疑是古人的一種標示之法。

（二）有了第（一）點，下半句說「黃鐘、大呂、太蔟、夾鐘、姑洗、仲呂、蕤賓為上，林鐘、夷則、南呂、無射、應鐘為下」就非常明白了，所謂「上」者，即七個白鍵，「下」者，即五個黑鍵。

有趣的是，為甚麼無論中西，皆發現十二音律？是發現，而非發明也！這一來，十二音律該是音的定律，是本在我們的聽覺世界中的了。奇妙！

呂不韋之作，還進一步把十二音律和十二個月連上關係，不過對他而言，由「仲冬」至「仲夏」為七個音律，「季夏」至「孟冬」為五個音律，前者是由陰轉陽，後者是由陽轉陰，差不多是把一年分成對半的陰陽相對的情形，以今天的鋼琴鍵而言，則是黑鍵白鍵是陰陽相對，一上一下。是Major 和 Minor的關係呀！