Reading Mie Li in Western Zhou Bronze Inscriptions through Sumerian Comparanda
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This article reexamines the expression conventionally transcribed mie li 蔑歷 in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions. It proposes that the two graphs should be read as 茂 (mao) and 秀 (xiu), expressing admiration and excellence. The proposed reading is applied to four inscriptional constructions and to two related passages: 加曶曆 on the Hu gui 曶簋 and 蔑天子光 on the Bo Shuo Fu ding 伯碩父鼎. The article traces the bronze graphs to the Sumerian written forms 𒅊𒂵 (sig₇-ga) and 𒊷𒂵 (sag₉-ga), respectively, through the subsequent development of the writing tradition. These forms appear in parallel clauses describing verdure and beauty on UET 6, 17, an Old Babylonian tablet from Ur, in the reverse order to the proposed bronze formula. By comparing graphic components, inscriptional contexts, Sumerian textual evidence, and later Chinese uses of 秀茂, the article offers a unified interpretation of the formula and its individual graphs. Keywords: bronze inscriptions; Western Zhou; Mie-Li; Sumerian; comparative paleography 中文摘要 本文重新考察西周金文中通行釋寫為「蔑歷」的用語,提出二字可與「茂」「秀」所表現的美好、優秀之義相聯繫,整體表達對人物品德或功績的稱許。文章比較四類金文句式及兩處相關單字用例,並與烏爾出土蘇美爾泥板 UET 6, 17 對讀。該泥板以並列語句描寫美麗和青翠,其順序與本文所提出的金文字序對應相反,但是字形拓撲,字義和發音都出現可資比較的對應。本文結合字形構件、金文語境、蘇美爾文本和後世「秀茂」的用例,對該詞及其單字用法提出統一解釋。 關鍵詞:金文、西周、蔑歷、蘇美爾語、比較古文字學
Author: Luan, Shaofeng (Tony)
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225656943
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