Li Rong (linguist)

Li Rong (4 February 1920 – 31 December 2002) was a Chinese linguist known for his work on Chinese dialectology. He was director of the Institute of Linguistics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 1982 to 1985, and editor of the Language Atlas of China and the Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects.

Li Rong was born in Wenling county, Zhejiang. In 1939 he was admitted to the Southwest Associated University in Kunming, studying Chinese literature. In 1943, he went on to postgraduate study at the Language Institute of Peking University, then based in Kunming. His master's thesis, a study of the system of fanqie pronunciation guides in the Qieyun, a 7th-century rime dictionary, was published in 1952. In this work, he demonstrated that the mysterious "divisions" of the later rime tables reflected distributional patterns in the Qieyun.

Li Rong founded the Chinese dialectology journal Fangyan in 1979, and served as its editor. He led a team from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, collaborating with the Australian Academy of the Humanities to produce the Language Atlas of China in 1987. The Atlas was based on Li's revised classification of Chinese dialects, with separate Jin, Hui and Pinghua groups. Although this classification has been adopted by many workers, it remains controversial. Li was also the chief editor of the Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects, containing descriptions of 42 varieties from locations scattered across China.

Li Rong (philosopher)

Li Rong (Chinese: 李榮; pinyin: Lǐ Róng; fl. 658–663) was a Chinese philosopher from the Tang dynasty. He compiled a commentary on the Taoist book Tao Te Ching, called the Laozi Commentary by Li Rong (Chinese: 老子李榮注; pinyin: Lǎozǐ Lǐróng Zhù).

References

Li Rong (prince)

Li Rong (李溶) (812-February 12, 840), formally the Prince of An (安王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Tang dynasty, being a son of Emperor Muzong.

Background

Li Rong was born on 812 or 813. He was the eighth son of Emperor Muzong, while his mother was an imperial consort surnamed Yang that outlived his father. In 821, when Emperor Muzong created his sons, as well as a number of younger brothers who had not been created titles, imperial princes, Li Rong was created the Prince of An. In 834, by which time another older brother, Emperor Wenzong was emperor, Li Rong was given the honorific title Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司). Early in Emperor Wenzong's Kaicheng era (836-840), Emperor Wenzong ordered that monthly stipends be given to both Li Rong and Li Chan (who was then the Prince of Ying), and it was said that Emperor Wenzong often treated both him and Li Chan well and more special than other imperial princes.

Consideration as Emperor Wenzong's successor

In 838, Emperor Wenzong's only son and crown prince Li Yong died — probably murdered by household servants. After Li Yong's death, in 839, Emperor Wenzong's concubine Consort Yang recommended Li Rong as crown prince. (Li Chan, after he became emperor (as Emperor Wuzong), would state that it was his belief that Li Rong flattered Consort Yang, and that Li Rong's candidacy was supported by the chancellor Yang Sifu (who might have been Consort Yang's nephew) and the eunuch Liu Hongyi (劉弘逸), with Yang Sifu's having an eye toward having Consort Yang becoming empress dowager and regent. It is not known whether Li Chan's beliefs were correct.) When Emperor Wenzong consulted the chancellors, however, Li Jue opposed Li Rong's candidacy. Emperor Wenzong thereafter created his older brother Emperor Jingzong's youngest son Li Chengmei the Prince of Chen crown prince.