“承”有“闻”义补说

Some Supplementary Remarks on the Word " cheng" Meaning "weng"(hearing)

“承”有“闻”义,时贤多已论及。据本人调查,此义大约产生于东汉后期,魏晋南北朝用例多见,并沿用到唐五代北宋。“承”与“闻”虽是同义词,但两者用法有别:“承”只能表“已然”,不能表“未然”。关于此义的得义之由,学界有“引申”说和“省缩”说两种意见。通过调查分析最初用例,以“引申”说符合实际。

The word 'cheng' (承) having the meaning of ' weng' (闻, hearing) has been substantially dealt with by many learned scholars. My investigation assures me that such a meaning began to sprout around the later half or the Eastern Han Dynasty; major examples were seen during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and lingered on until the Tang, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song. Synonymous as 'cheng' and 'weng' are with each other, the two differ in usage: 'cheng' is only used to express that which has happened' and not the opposite. There exist two opinions as to how the word has taken on the meaning mentioned above-the 'extension theory, ' and the 'abbreviation theory. ' Based on an investigation and analysis of some primary examples, this paper claims the former to be in accordance with the fact.