In Search of the Vernacular: Fan Yin's Yueyan and Other Lexicographic Sources on the Vernacular Language of the Qing Dynasty

The present dissertation focuses on the under-explored lexicographical sources on the vernacular language, with a particular focus on the last part of the Qing dynasty. The paper is divided into four chapters. The first part includes a terminological introduction to vernacular words and lexicographic compilations on the vernacular language, and it provides an outline of colloquial dictionaries in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The second chapter specifically outlines Fan Yin (1827-1897)’s Yueyan 越諺 [Sayings of Yue] published in 1878 and its compiler-s life and academic production, as well as the compilation background of the book, its versions, and its content. The edition of Fan Yin’s work used in this dissertation when citing the original text is Hou Youlan's ‘Yueyan’ dianzhu (2006). The third chapter contains a summary of the study of colloquialism in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the state of the arts in the investigation of Yueyan, macro- and microstructural criteria in the compilations; the coexistence of zi 字 (character), ci 詞 (word) and yan 諺 (saying), together with popular, topolectal, and rare characters. The third chapter compares several characteristics of Yueyan and other dictionaries/glossaries on the colloquial language, in particular from the perspective of microstructural elements, phonetic notation, and definition methods. The fourth chapter specifically analyses the lexical entries and words included in Yueyan.