Conventions
As in the first volume in this series, the English translation, Interlinear Text, and Textual and Ethnographic Notes are presented separately and seriatim.
In the interlinear text on pages 114–368, the first line represents the character text of the original manuscript; the second line represents Mr. Huang’s recitation of the text in local Pingguo dialect; the third line a transcription into Zhuangwen; and the fourth line word glosses in English.
The manuscript itself is written mainly in a semi-cursive ‘running hand’ style. The character text in the first line of the interlinear presentation replicates some features of this semi-cursive style, but by and large reproduces the relevant characters in regular script, with modifications where appropriate. The manuscript evinces a wide range of semi-cursive forms, and it was neither practical nor necessary to try to represent minute differences in graphic presentation in the interlinear text, since readers can avail themselves of the photo-reproduction of the manuscript at the back of the volume.
On the right-hand margin of the interlinear text, the numbers in italics are the page and line numbers in the original manuscript. Readers may use these reference numbers to locate corresponding lines in the photo-reproduced manuscript pages at the back of the volume (pp. 644 ff.).
An asterisk (*) at the right-hand margin indicates that this line is discussed in the Ethnographic and Textual Notes.
A transcription in Zhuangwen is provided in the third line of the transcription. This will allow readers to cross-check our information with a range of dictionaries and other reference works on the Zhuang language published in China and elsewhere. A range of such reference works is listed in the Bibliography, including a few reference works on other languages in the Tai-Kadai (Kradai) family.
With word glosses we have adopted the practice of providing the basic meaning of each morpheme or word. We have tried as much as possible to avoid giving context-dependent glosses, which often have the effect of masking from readers the identity of the morpheme in question. In cases where glossing with the basic meaning has resulted in lack of clarity, usually because a word is being used in an extended sense, we have added a second gloss, separated from the first by a semicolon. By the same token, if a single-word gloss requires clarification, we have added a second gloss, separating the two words with a comma.
In any case, readers interested in understanding the entire lexical field of a morpheme or word are advised to consult the definitions in the Glossary and Concordance. The Concordance also provides a complete listing of all line numbers in which the item is found, and also a list of the line numbers for which the item is discussed in the Textual and Ethnographic Notes. Thus for example, under bangx, ‘side, slope, bank (of river)’, the line listing ‘1, 2, 5, … 1779n’ indicates that this lexeme is found on lines 1, 2, 5 and so on in the text, but is also discussed as a possible reading in the note to line 1779, as indicated by the ‘n’ appended to the line number.
The character index compiled for this text lists characters alphabetically according to their spelling in Hanyu pinyin. Readers consulting this index will find Vernacular Characters and Zhuang Characters listed separately in two separate sections after the Character Index, arranged by stroke number and stroke type.
The English index provides a cross-reference to the relevant entries in the Glossary and Concordance, with Zhuang words in Zhuangwen.
The Subject Index provides entries and cross-entries for a wide range of topics, from grammatology to the typology of Zhuang-Han readings to numerous aspects of Zhuang society, culture, history, and geography. The subject matter of the song itself is very wide-ranging, and encompasses any number of different aspects of Zhuang village life, as well as the give-and-take of male-female relationships and matters of the heart. For local people in the intended audience, of course, such matters are taken as a matter of course and are part of the common bread-and-butter of their daily existence, so references to these things in the lyrics are often fleeting, and couched in terms that appeal to local audiences. The task of the Ethnographic Notes is to make these often fleeting references understandable to readers who sit outside this cultural milieu, and the task of the Subject Index is to provide readers with a variety of ways to access information that is of particular interest to them.
Thus we also provide an Index of Scientific Names of Plants and Animals. The Zhuang by all accounts have been living in this region for some thousands of years, and can be considered indigenous to the area. This means not only that they are physically acclimatised, but also that they have gradually developed a deep knowledge of the local ecology, including plants and animals but also landforms, soil types, and the vagaries of local weather. This knowledge is also reflected in the song lyrics. For this reason we have made efforts to identify the plants and animals mentioned in the lyrics, and provide brief descriptions and references. With one or two exceptions, we have been able to identify plants and animals in the field, and confirm their nomenclature and local use with local people.
Modern and pre-modern place-names have required special care. Another aspect of local knowledge is geographic, but this locally based information needs to be supplemented by other sources of information on historical geography. In contemporary Chinese sources, a possible source of confusion is the practice of referring to administrative villages as villages, when in fact administrative villages are units of basic-level administration that may contain as many as a dozen natural villages. Here we have tried to be as precise as possible, whenever precision is required. It is also often unclear whether references in contemporary sources are to the parish (xiang 乡) level administrative units and all the territory within their boundaries, or to the parish (township) seat of government, usually a small town. The confusion has become exacerbated after some parish-level administrative units were re-designated as ‘towns’ (zhen 镇). Again, we have tried to be as clear as possible, and indicate when and where our Chinese-language sources are referring to one or to the other. Disambiguating contemporary places and place-names from historical place-names has also been necessary.