后起字“炮”历时替换考

Research on the Diachronic Evolution of Later Graph Pao(炮)

“砲”“礮”“炮”是一组历史上存在竞争、替换关系的异体字。其中后起字“炮”可靠的始见年代约在元初,原本特指投掷型爆炸火器,而并非指管型火器。“炮”与“砲”“礮”在明代中期以前存在字形与词义方面的明确分工。后起字“炮”原本是一个军事领域的用字,行用范围不广。直到明代中期以后,“炮竹”等词流行开来,“炮”这个字才真正在民间有了深厚的社会基础,并开始向指称管型火器的军事用语方面反向渗透。由于该字造字理据更具合理性,在晚清时就已经有了和“砲”字并驾齐驱之势。至20世纪中期时,“炮”字在实际应用中已占据优势地位,并最终取代了“砲”与“礮”这两个异体。

Pao(炮,砲,礮)is a group of variant characters with diachronic evolution in history.A reliable beginning time of later graph Pao(炮)is about the early Yuan(元)Dynasty.This word is originally referred to as a throwing explosive weapon not cannon which is widely used in the later generations.There are clear distinctions among the variant characters Pao(炮,砲,礮)in the graphic form and lexical meaning.Later graph Pao(炮)was used only in the military field.Until the mid-term of the Ming(明)Dynasty,Later graph Pao(炮)really had a profound social foundation in the folk and was used to refer to cannon.Because of better lexical motivation of graphic form,Pao(炮)got the same position of Pao(砲)in the late Qing(清)Dynasty.Pao(炮)had dominant position in the practical application of characters and eventually replaced of the variant characters Pao(砲,酸).