『자전석요』 식기 어휘 고찰

Abstract

This paper looks into the Chinese characters associated with kitchen utensils in The Jajun-sukyo(字典釋要), covering from their origins, the objects that the different characters refer to, and their modern meanings currently used in Korea and China. First, the Chinese characters representing kitchenware-related vocabulary mostly borrow the usage from ancient Chinese literature to represent Korean vocabulary. For example, the letters that their modern meanings have changed from those in the past, such as 勺, 敦, 𥰠, 𥬔, 榶, 甌, 𣟵, 挑 and etc., also have been borrowed to describe their Korean meanings if the characters’ usage had been clarified in ancient literature. Second, the names of the objects that were used for ancestral ceremonies or rituals in the ancient China have changed into the names for ordinary dishes. For instance, the characters like 梪, 盂, and 鉶 were traditionally for ancestral ceremonies only. Afterwards in Korea, however, they have been represented to rice bowls or soup bowls. Third, in some cases, usages are somewhat different from the original usages of ancient literature. For example, 甌 and 瓿 in Korean vocabulary represent different sizes of dishes from those of the original usage in Chinese. Fourth, in modern Chinese, many meanings have already disappeared or transformed into different ones and so the letters no longer have the same meanings with the letters used in Korea. This is, of course, because the usages are from too old literature, and so they are not commonly used anymore. For example, from the letters such as 𥲅, 𥬔, 𥰠, 㪺, 筴, 𣟵, 枓, 𣠺, 䈰 and so on, their sounds and meanings are already barely used.