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Abstract The combined evidence of words, documents and cultural relics is of great significance to vocabulary research. Especially when the documents are insufficient, the value of words and cultural relics is particularly precious. The teapot was an important wine-holding vessel in ancient times. As for the relationship between the flat pot’s self-naming and the shape of the vessel, the existing research focuses on the shape of the vessel and the textual interpretation of the self-name. However, there has not yet been a more in-depth discussion on the relationship between the name of the flat pot and the shape of the vessel, the phonetic semantics and homology of different names. This article aims to systematically demonstrate the connection between the name of the flat pot and its thin shape from the perspective of the combination of words, documents and cultural relics, and then further explore the homologous relationship of similar pronunciation and semantics between the words with the meaning of flat and thin such as “鈚”, “錍”，“椑” and “扁” etc.
Among the bronzes unearthed from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there is a special pot-shaped vessel. Although the shapes are different, the common feature is that the vessels are oblate or oblate square. Some flat pots also have their own names of “鈚” or “錍”. The two words are the names of flat pots. They are not only phonetically related, but also related to the flat shape of the pot. The reason why this type of copper flat kettle is named “鈚” or “錍” is because of its flat and thin shape. There is a trace of naming based on shape between the shape of the utensil and its own name.
By the Han Dynasty, flat pots were often named with “榼” instead of “鈚” and “錍”. In addition, there are wine vessels named “椑” in the documents handed down from the Han Dynasty, but this has not yet been seen in the name of a flat pot. Although the “椑” type pot is obviously characterized by its low body, the flatness of its front and back abdomen is still an important feature. It should be named after the latter like “錍”. Therefore, “椑” is also the same as “錍”, which is why the utensils are named because of their flat and thin bodies. At the same time, among the flat kettles of the Han Dynasty, there were some pots which is named themselves “bian”. For example, the Zhaotai Palace copper flat kettle in the Western Han Dynasty has an inscription that reads “Zhaotai Palace Copper Flat” (昭台宫铜扁), so it calls itself “tongbian”. It can be seen that the pronunciation of the word “扁” is not a “name without a solid name”, but a convention. Like “鈚”, “錍”and “椑”, it is related to the flat and thin shape of the utensil.
Finally, although the examples of the word “扁” meaning “flat thin” in documents appeared relatively late, combined with archaeological discoveries, the copper flat kettles of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were named “錍” and “鈚”, which indicate the concept of a flat and thin object. It can be seen that although the literatures are insufficient, based on the shape of the flat pot and its name, it can be seen that the meaning of “flat and thin” has not only appeared long ago but is also relatively common. Combining the phonetic and semantic connections of “錍”, “鈚”and “扁”, it can be further determined that they are homologous.
Therefore, on the one hand, this method of assigning names to objects based on their shapes requires sufficient attention; on the other hand, it also shows that it is of great significance of the combination of words, documents, and cultural relics supporting the study of vocabulary, especially the exploration of the sound-meaning relationships between different words.
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Published: 31 March 2024
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