Changes in Language Use as Reflected in Shuǐhǔ zhuàn Passages Embedded in the Jīn Píng Méi cíhuà

In adopting textual content from the Shuǐhǔ zhuàn 水滸傳, the Jīn Píng Méi cíhuà 金瓶梅詞話 inserted a great deal of dialect and colloquial expressions. In this way, this novel effected a transformation toward the adoption of rustic expressions in the báihuà 白話 colloquial of the traditional Chinese vernacular novel in the process of the evolution of the genre. Among the expressions added in Jīn Píng Méi cíhuà , HUÁNG Lín finds dialect and colloquial expressions that are characteristic of Wú dialects. Only these expressions are able truly to reflect the attributes of dialect used by the author. This is of highly valuable reference for judging whether the author is a Northerner or a person of the Wú region. Nonetheless, the name Yíng’ér 迎兒 that is used in the first half of Jīn Píng Méi cíhuà , is written as Yíng’ér 蠅兒 in the latter sections. This example raises challenging issues in determining whether the author is using Wú dialect or a northern [Mandarin] dialect.

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