說「至」和「晉」的關係

On the Relationship between the Graphs Zhi 至and Jin 晉

顏世鉉(YEN Shih-hsuan)

《饒宗頤國學院院刊》 6期 (2019/08) Pp. 331-346

摘要

本文討論「晉」和「至」的關係，主要根據卜辭與戰國楚簡來分析文字構形與探索它們所表示的語言的關係。首先，分析二字的構形本義：「晉」象兩支箭矢射中鵠的之形，戰國楚系文字「箭」與「晉」皆从兩支箭矢之形，「晉」字所从的「箭」有表音作用。「至」象一支箭矢射中鵠的之形，根據卜辭「矢眾」、「雉眾」、「����眾」音近相通而同指一詞的現象，可知「矢」與「至」有音近關係，由此可推斷「至」所从的「矢」也有表音作用。其次，說明「晉」和「至」的關係：「晉」从「箭」聲而「至」从「矢」聲，根據卜辭「矢眾」、「雉眾」、「箭眾」音近相通而同指一詞，可知「箭」聲、「矢」聲語音相近，由此可以推斷「晉」和「至」有音近關係，又「晉」和「至」應是同源甚至同為一字，本義象箭矢射到鵠的，後來才分化為二字，「至」表示「到達」義，而「晉」被借作「薦」，表示「進」義。

關鍵字

文字學 ； 上古音 ； 至 ； 晉

並列摘要

This article discusses the relationship between two Chinese characters zhi 至and jin 晉. Based mainly on materials from oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty and the Warring States Chu bamboo manuscripts, my analysis focuses on the graphic structure of the characters in question and the meanings they represented. First, I examine the original graphic meaning of the characters: Jin was initially a pictogram depicting two arrows hitting a target. In the Chu script, both jian 箭 (arrow) and jin contain the image of two arrows, and the ＂arrow＂ radical in the graph jin also functions as a phonetic element. Zhi was originally a pictogram depicting an arrow hitting a target. Given that the phrases shizhong 矢眾, zhizhong 雉眾, and zhizhong ����眾 were homophonous and interchangeable in oracle bone inscriptions and referred to the same word, this proves shi and zhi were near homophones, and the arrow (shi 矢) in the graph zhi was also the phonetic element. Secondly, I investigate the relationship between jin and zhi. Jin contains the arrow (jian) as the phonetic element, again based on the same fact that the phrases shizhong 矢眾, zhizhong 雉眾, and zhizhong ����眾 were homophonous and interchangeable in oracle bone inscriptions. From this we can duduce that jian and shi were a pair of near-homophones while jin and zhi were also near-homophones. Etymologically speaking, jin and zhi represented the same word: both of their graphic forms represent arrows hitting a target. It was not until later that these two graphs diverged into two different words: Zhi denotes ＂to arrive,＂ while jin was used as a rebus for jian 薦, meaning ＂to present.＂

並列關鍵字

Paleography ； Old Chinese phonology ； zhi 至 ； jin 晉