《释名》性质新论

A New Comment on the Nature of Shi Ming

《释名》是一部性质颇有争议的著作,概括起来主要有5种观点:训诂著作说;声训著作说;词源学或语源学著作说;理据著作说;百科全书或语文百科综合词典说。这些观点都抓住了《释名》某些方面的特点,具有不同程度的合理性,但是又都没有抓住《释名》的实质,定性均有欠准确、欠科学之处。我们在评判各种观点的基础上认为,《释名》是以声训推源为主要方式,以义训、形训和直陈等为辅助方式,以揭示词的理据为目的的词汇类编。

Shi Ming is a work of great controversy. To summarize, there are five main viewpoints, that is, views on Xungu; views on Shengxun; views on etymology; views on motivation; views on encyclopedia or comprehensive Chinese language encyclopedia. All these opinions capture some features of Shi Ming and are reasonable to some degree, however, they are incapable of seizing its true nature, and the qualitative study is less accurate and scientific. In this sense, we hold that Shi Ming, by taking Shengxun deduction as the main method, and Yixun, Xingxun and frank indication as supplementary methods, is in essence vocabulary compilation aimed at lexical motivation.