“樂”本义辨正

On the Original Meaning of “Yue”

对于"樂"字的解释,自罗振玉否定许慎之说以后,各种观点层出不穷。许氏与罗氏的根本区别在于,许慎用金文,从鼓悬于簴的象形来解释"■"字,而罗振玉则用甲骨文,从琴瑟附于木来解释"■"字。两相比较可知,许氏的解说不仅符合"乐悬"实际,也与乐器发展历程、重要程度及文字发展阶段相吻合。罗氏的解释不仅不符合甲骨文含义,也与乐器发展时代不相对应。罗氏以后的学者也都存在各自的误区。

There have been many interpretations of the Chinese word“樂”（music） since Luo Zhenyu denied Xu Shen’ interpretation of this word. In fact, Xu Shen’ interpretation is fully correct and all the interpretations of Luo Zhenyu and other scholars are mistaken. The fundamental difference of Xu Shen and Luo Zhenyu lies in the fact that Xu Shen used the pictographic bronze character to explain the word“ ”, whereas Luo Zhenyu used an oracle bone inscription to explain the word“ ”. The comparison shows that Xu Shen＆#39;s interpretation is correct in that it accords the facts. Luo Zhenyu explanation disaccords the meaning of the oracle bone inscription and the evolution of the musical instruments. The interpretations of other scholars after Lu Zhenyu are problematic in various ways.