“匪”“非”关系辨析兼及读音问题

On the Relationship between“fei”(匪)and“fei”(非)and the Pronunciation Confusion

通过比照出土文献与传世文献用字差异,从古书注解以及其他典籍引文等材料分析,可知主要集中于《诗经》《易经》等先秦早期典籍中的“匪”,并不是“非”的借字,它记录的是一个独立的虚词。“匪”“非”为同源词,二者音近义同,“匪”不宜视为通“非”,故不从“非”读平声,而读上声。这一用法的“匪”具有典雅性,现代汉语书面语中仍保留于“受益匪浅”“匪夷所思”等词中。

By comparing the differences in the use of characters between unearthed literature and passed down literature,and analyzing materials such as annotations on ancient books and citations from other classics,it can be concluded that“fei”(匪)mainly concentrated in early pre-Qin classics like The Book of Songs and The Book of Changes.It is not a phonetic loan character for“fei”(非),but an independent function word.“fei”(匪)and“fei”(非)are cognate words,and the two have similar sounds and meanings.“fei”(匪)should not be considered as a phonetic loan character for“fei”(非)and its tone should be falling-rising,but not flat as“fei”(非).The usage of“fei”(匪)as a negative adverb has cultural significance,so it is still retained in modern written Chinese with words such as“huoyifeiqian”(获益匪浅)and“feiyisuosi”(匪夷所思).