Pearl in the Palm
Encyclopedia
The Pearl in the Palm is a bilingual glossary between the Chinese language
and Tangut
which transcribes the pronunciation of Chinese words into Tangut characters, and the pronunciation of Tangut characters into Chinese characters. It is a very important source for Tangut historical phonology
and was the primary source before the publication of monolingual Tangut dictionaries.
unearthed a number of texts and artefacts in Ejin Banner
, Inner Mongolia, including the Pearl in the Palm and transported them back to St. Petersburg, Russia. There, Aleksei Ivanovich Ivanov
, professor at Saint Petersburg State University
, who was aware of its value, added them to his collection.
In 1912, Chinese scholars Luo Zhenyu
and Feng Ge visited Ivanov upon learning about the work in his possession, and was given access to nine pages, which they photocopied for study. In 1922 Luo Zhenyu met Ivanov again, in Tianjin. It was only then he would only have access to the full text, then ordered his son to make a full copy.
The U.S. scholar Luc Kwanten visit to the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, and was able to photograph the whole of "The Pearl in the Palm". In 1982, the book finally saw the light of day when the photographed version was published in the United States.
format. The preface is identical content written in both Chinese and Tangut. From tha sentence: "How can you mix with foreigners without learning foreign words, How can you be counted amongst the Han without learning Han words," it is clear that the book aimed to facilitate the Tanguts and the Chinese to learn each other's languages.
The book contains words 414 CPC, according to three powers are divided into nine categories: celestial bodies, celestial images, sky changes, terrestrial bodies, terrestrial images, terrestrial use, human body, human phase, human matters. One category is the most extensive content: personnel issues accounts for half of all the content.
Each entry contains four elements: from right to left, these are 1)Tangut phonetics in Chinese, 2)Tangut script, 3)Chinese script, and 4)Chinese phonetics in Tangut. The book is important in understanding and interpretation of the now dead Tangut language.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Tangut
Tangut language
Tangut is an ancient northeastern Tibeto-Burman language once spoken in the Western Xia Dynasty, also known as the Tangut Empire. It is classified by some linguists as one of the Qiangic languages, which also include Qiang and rGyalrong, among others...
which transcribes the pronunciation of Chinese words into Tangut characters, and the pronunciation of Tangut characters into Chinese characters. It is a very important source for Tangut historical phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
and was the primary source before the publication of monolingual Tangut dictionaries.
Discovery
In 1909, the Russian explorer Pyotr KozlovPyotr Kozlov
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov was a Russian and Soviet traveler and explorer who continued the studies of Nikolai Przhevalsky in Mongolia and Tibet.Although prepared by his parents for military career, Kozlov chose to join Przhevalsky's expedition. After his mentor's death, Kozlov continued travelling in...
unearthed a number of texts and artefacts in Ejin Banner
Ejin Banner
Ejin Banner is a banner of Inner Mongolia, China. It is under the administration of Alxa League.-Transportation:Eljin Banner is served by the Jiayuguan-Ceke and the Linhe-Ceke Railways.-References:*...
, Inner Mongolia, including the Pearl in the Palm and transported them back to St. Petersburg, Russia. There, Aleksei Ivanovich Ivanov
Aleksei Ivanovich Ivanov
Aleksei Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian Sinologist and Tangutologist. Ivanov entered Saint Petersburg University in 1897, where he studied Chinese and Manchu. After graduating in 1902 he went to China for further study for two years, and on his return in 1904 he went on a study tour of England,...
, professor at Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
, who was aware of its value, added them to his collection.
In 1912, Chinese scholars Luo Zhenyu
Luo Zhenyu
Luo Zhenyu , courtesy name: Shuyun was a Chinese classical scholar, philologist, epigrapher, antiquarian and Qing loyalist.-Biography:...
and Feng Ge visited Ivanov upon learning about the work in his possession, and was given access to nine pages, which they photocopied for study. In 1922 Luo Zhenyu met Ivanov again, in Tianjin. It was only then he would only have access to the full text, then ordered his son to make a full copy.
The U.S. scholar Luc Kwanten visit to the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, and was able to photograph the whole of "The Pearl in the Palm". In 1982, the book finally saw the light of day when the photographed version was published in the United States.
Content and style
The original manuscript consists of 37 xylograph folios in concertinaConcertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
format. The preface is identical content written in both Chinese and Tangut. From tha sentence: "How can you mix with foreigners without learning foreign words, How can you be counted amongst the Han without learning Han words," it is clear that the book aimed to facilitate the Tanguts and the Chinese to learn each other's languages.
The book contains words 414 CPC, according to three powers are divided into nine categories: celestial bodies, celestial images, sky changes, terrestrial bodies, terrestrial images, terrestrial use, human body, human phase, human matters. One category is the most extensive content: personnel issues accounts for half of all the content.
Each entry contains four elements: from right to left, these are 1)Tangut phonetics in Chinese, 2)Tangut script, 3)Chinese script, and 4)Chinese phonetics in Tangut. The book is important in understanding and interpretation of the now dead Tangut language.