先秦度量单位“尺”“寸”用字考

A Textual Research on the Chinese Measure Words "Foot" and "Inch" before the Pre-Qin Dynasty

本文归纳了出土先秦文献中与度量词"尺"和"寸"相关的材料,考察了不同文字形体的音义以及这些书面形式与秦汉"尺"、"寸"之间的联系,确认"尺"、"寸"文字构形都与人体部位没有关系。秦汉的"尺"字是"乇"字的变形分化,"寸"字是"尊"字截除式分化,都符合文字演变的规律。

This is a textual research on the Chinese measure words ＂foot＂ and ＂inch＂ in the unearthed documents written before the Pre-Qin Dynasty.It analyzes the different sounds and meanings of different forms of these two Chinese words and gives a comparison with those in the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty.It concludes that the configuration of these two words has nothing to do with the human body.The word ＂foot＂ in the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty derived from the word ＂乇＂,while ＂inch＂ derived from the word ＂尊＂,which accord with the evolutionary rule of Chinese characters.