Lin-yi (臨沂) in Shantung, and his life extended from 581 to 645. The notes which he added to his edition of the "Han-shu" are very useful to the student of the early language apart from their value otherwise. To him also native scholars are indebted for a good edition of the old "Chih-chiu-chang" (急就章), to which he contributed a valuable commentary.[1]
In 675, as has been stated, Sun Ch‘iang, another great student of the language, produced his edition of the "Yü-pien." This is the earliest one known at present, and the only edition which has authority. The full title of the work as we have it now is "Ta-kuang-i-hui-yü-pien" (大廣益會玉篇), but this is seldom used.[2]
A commentary on the "Ch‘ie-yun" of Luh Fa-yen was composed in 677 by Ch‘ang-sun Noh-yen (長孫訥言); and in the same year Kuo Chih-hsüan, as stated above, brought out his edition of the "Ch‘ie-yun." This was republished in 751 by Sun Mien (孫愐) and others, with the title "T‘ang-yun." The new editors added to the original work and corrected its errors, but they do not seem to have made any great changes. The pronunciations of the characters were retained, and all the arrangements of the "Ch‘ie-yun." This last, however, had received many additions and undergone many modifications since the date of its first publication, and the "T‘ang-yun" apparently reduced these to order. Sun Mien and his associates used a large number of books—classics, histories, and travels—beside the writings of their predecessors on sounds and characters, in the preparation of their work, which occupied them several years. It has been said that this dictionary was the first treatise in which attention was directed to the differences between modern and ancient sounds, that is, perhaps, the first in which this was done systematically. The book itself, however, became extinct long ago, and it is known only by notices of it in other treatises. It has been added that not only the "T‘ang-yun" but also all other treatises on rhymes or finals produced before the end of this dynasty have long ago perished.[3]
