The "Urh-ya," of which mention has been made above, is with good reason supposed to have been much enlarged and otherwise improved during this period. But little or nothing seems to be known with certainty about the fortunes of this book until we come to the Chin dynasty.
Among the writers on subjects connected with the language in the early part of this period was Ssŭ-ma Hsiang-ju (司馬相如), of the second century B.C. This man, more famed for his success with song and lyre than for his literary accomplishments, was a native of what is now Ch'êng-tu in Ssŭchuan. He composed a work called the "Fan-Chiang" (凡將), a short treatise which has been praised for not giving the same character twice for explanation. This work, published about B.C. 130, was based on the "Ts'ang-chie-pien," and in it Ssŭ-ma used the style of writing introduced in that work, but he also added new characters. Nearly ninety years afterwards there appeared the "Chi-chiu-chang" (急就章) by Shi Yu (史游), an official in the reign of Yuan Ti (B.C. 48 to 32). This was followed in the next reign by the "Yuan-shang-pien" (元尙篇) of Li Chang (李長). These also were written in the Small Seal character, and were also apparently based on the "Ts'ang-chie-pien." The "Chi-chiu," or Ready Finder, soon became popular among scholars, and was for a long time used as a text-book. It was often reprinted and edited with annotations by distinguished scholars, such as Ts'ao Shou (曹壽) and Yen Shi-ku (顏師古). It appears to have been written in an easy style, and to have abounded in old phrases, sounds, and characters. The above three treatises are of importance, however, mainly on account of the use made of them by the compilers of the "Fang-yen" and "Shuo-wên."[1]
About this period, the first century B.C., we find that the characters in the "Ts'ang-chie-pien" had in some places become nearly obsolete, that is, few could read them correctly and understand their meaning. It was only among the men of Ch'i, part
- ↑ "Han-shu," chap. xxx.; "Wên-hsin-t'ung-k'ao," chap. clxxxix.; " Shuo-wên," Pref.; 日知錄, chap. xxi.; 續博物志, chap. iv.
