Abstract：Firstly, it can aid in properly tracing the genesis of quantifiers and pinpointing the time frame in which they first appeared. In exploring the origin of the quantifiers, it is found that the origin of the quantifier {颗} is not “颗” in the sense of “small head”, but “果” in the sense of “fruits”. The origin of the word {剂} is not “剂” in the sense of “cutting off” but “齐” in the sense of “harmony”. In terms of exploring the time of appearance of quantifiers, the appearance of the unit of land area {亩} and the unit of weight {钧} are advanced to the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the unit of ship {艘} to the Qin Dynasty, based on the different uses of characters in excavated documents.Secondly, it is possible to identify the ways in which quantifiers are produced and differentiated from the perspective of interaction between characters and words. First of all, the grammatical meaning of quantifiers is accentuated by strengthening the connection between glyphs and measuring objects. The grammaticalization of quantifiers enhances the grammatical meaning of words. In order to highlight the enhanced grammatical meaning, there is an evolutionary trend of strengthening the connection between glyphs and measuring objects, as evidenced by the employment of the characters for quantifier {囊}, vehicle unit {乘}, horse unit {匹}, and quantifier {块} in excavated documents. Second, character differentiation facilitates the generation of quantifiers. Some cases use different characters to differentiate the measuring meaning from other meanings, such as the unit of weight {镒} and the polysemous quantifier {兩}. Besides, character variation can also foster the development of new quantifiers and new usages, such as the simplification of the character “介” to the quantifier {个}.Thirdly, we can analyze the semantic properties of quantifiers throughout the evolution by examining the source words and original characters from diverse perspectives. This study revises the wrong form of the character, such as the quantifier {段} misused as “叚”, the character of {块} incorrectly written as “瑰”, and the character of {剂} incorrectly written as “齋”. It is found that character-users also tried to take various measures to eliminate the ambiguity by creating or borrowing new characters with complicated strokes. This study can help explore the occurrence of characters borrowing. For example, the original character of the quantifier {挺} is supposed to be “梃”, and the quantifier {丸} was borrowed from characters “完” and “垸”. The borrowing and substitution of characters in the unearthed documents indicate the special political philosophy of certain political groups, thus reflecting the cultural connotations of quantifiers. Some typical examples are usage change of quantifier {寸}, the unit of length, and {钱}, the unit of money. This study can help connect the different forms, such as the different forms of the words for the containers “簋” and “盂”. In addition, This study can help identify the homograph such as the quantifier {双} recorded as the character “隻”, the quantifier {担} recorded as the character “檐”, the quantifier {艘} recorded as the character “梗”, etc.In recent years, discoveries of unearthed documents in the form of oracle bones, bronze inscriptions, bamboo and silk characters, and tombstone inscriptions have provided a wealth of new resources for the study of quantifiers and revealed the intertwined relationship between characters and words in the process of quantifier use. The complex differences in the Chinese characters used for quantifiers not only impede accurate interpretation of documents but also frequently cause misunderstandings in the study of Chinese quantifiers. The significance and value of examining different uses of characters in unearthed documents in quantifier researches are demonstrated primarily in the following aspects.By analyzing the value of word differences in unearthed documents in quantifier studies, it can be concluded that the study of Chinese lexical history should not be confined solely to the phonetic and semantic levels, but should also pay more attention to the evolution of character uses and their influences, and examine the relevant phenomena from the perspective of the interaction of relationship between characters and words.
何余华. 出土文献用字差异与汉语量词研究[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2023, 53(1): 111-123.
He Yuhua. A Study of the Differences in the Use of Characters in Excavated Documents and Chinese Quantifiers. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2023, 53(1): 111-123.
2023, Vol. 53 
