《墨子》“恶许”考辨

A Thorough Study of Wuxu(恶许) in Mozi(墨子)

自清代以来不少学者都认为《墨子》的"恶许"与"何许"同义、"许"是表示处所的词,这类观点也体现在辞书中。这个问题不仅关系到《墨子》的"恶许"怎样注释或解释才是正确的,而且涉及到表示处所的"所"出现变体"许"的时代以及表示处所的"许"与疑问代词组合的历史等一系列重要问题。事实是,《墨子》的"恶许"与"何许"的功能及构成方式都不相同,"恶许"就是见于上古汉语的"恶乎","许"是"乎(虖)"的借音字,而不是处所义的"许"。

Since the Qing period,an agreement,which can be found in some lexicographic works,has been reached that Wuxu(恶许)in Mozi(墨子)bears the same meaning of Hexu(何许)and Xu(许)is a locative word.This issue is closely related to the appropriate interpretation of Wuxu(恶许),and a series of questions such as the development of the variant Xu(许)from the locative Suo(所)and the diachronic combination of the locative Xu(许)and interrogative pronouns.Actually,there are significant differences in both function and development between Wuxu(恶许)in Mozi(墨子)and Hexu(何许).The fact is that Wuxu(恶许)was a variant of Wuhu(恶乎)in ancient Chinese,and the corresponding Xu(许)was a sound symbol of Hu(乎/虖)instead of a locative word.