A Study of the Dongba Character 'Uo' as 'Qionglong'
This article investigates the etymology of the Dongba pictographic character "喎/UO," used in Naxi writing to mean "village," "pile," or "heap." Reviewing prior interpretations by Fang Guoyu, He Zhiwu, Li Lincan, Zhang Kun, He Cai, and J.F. Rock, the author argues these explanations (e.g., "half of the mountain character") are unconvincing. Instead, drawing on historical records such as the Book of the Later Han, the Book of Sui, and the New Book of Tang describing ancient Qiang stone tower dwellings called "qionglong" (碉/watchtowers), and citing Sun Hongkai's phonological reconstruction linking "qionglong" to Qiang forms like "golu/glu," the author proposes that the Naxi character UO is a cultural relic of the ancient Qiang "qionglong" architecture. Comparative lexical data across Naxi, Namuyi, Prinmi, Ersu, Qiang, and Muya languages for "house," "stone," and "wall" further support a shared genetic and cultural origin between the Naxi and Qiangic-speaking peoples, particularly the southern Qiangic branch.
This page publishes the bibliographic record and the project's summary. The scanned article text belongs to its publisher and is shown to readers under a research-use policy; it is not reproduced in this record.