1 p.l., 1-114 pp.; 115-316 pp.; 317-494 pp. Three vols. Small folio, orig. brown wrappers, titles in manuscript on upper covers, orig. stitching. Beijing: Guo li Beijing da xue chu ban zu, [1935].

First edition of an important work for historical linguistics. This is a collection of rare early rhyme books (yunshu 韻書), a kind of phonological dictionary that developed in China beginning in the medieval period. Their initial purpose was to facilitate the writing of Chinese regularized verse, whose meter is based on the rhyme and pitch tone of Chinese characters. This type of verse is associated with the... More