Tricky Words: What Does 'Royalty' Mean?

Nowadays, many people know that royalties are "money paid to authors of cultural, artistic, and scientific works that are published or used" (Vietnamese Dictionary, Hoang Phe, ed. 1988, p. 754). However, in the past, the original meaning of this word was quite different.

Royalties is a Sino-Vietnamese word, combining two words: rent (润) and pen (笔).

Nhuận (润) belongs to the water radical, has a tone structure ( Luc Thu ), and its original meaning is "rainwater flows down, nourishing all things" ( Thuyet Van ). In Quang Nha , nhuận means "to soak, to wet" ( Nhuyên, tí da ); and in Dich. He Tu, nhuận means "to moisten with wind and rain" ( Nhuyên chi di phong vũ ).

The word "but" (笔) belongs to the bamboo radical and is composed of ideas ( Luc thu ). This character first appeared in the Oracle bone script, and its original meaning is "to write with a tool made from bamboo and animal hair", that is, "mao bi" (a brush pen) ( Rites. Khuc le ). Later, the meaning of "but " was expanded, used to refer to "works such as calligraphy, paintings, poems, and essays written or drawn with a pen" ( Bao phac tu. Bien van by Cat Hong); "prose" ( Du tuong Dong vuong luan van thu ); "brushwork" ( Dat hoa by Thai Nguyen Boi).

The term "royalties" originates from an anecdote in the Zhengyi Biography of the Sui Dynasty (volume 38), which tells of how, after Emperor Wen of Sui restored Zhengyi's title, the high-ranking officials demanded compensation for Zhengyi's works, citing the reason that the "pen was dry". This gave rise to the saying "royalties" (wetting the pen).

In ancient times, scholars and officials valued nobility and were reluctant to mention money. When necessary, they called money "a do vat" (阿堵物), meaning "this obstructive thing". "A do vat" is a phrase used to refer to money, originating from the story of Wang Yan in the Jin Dynasty. Later, this word was replaced by the term "royalty".

According to Baidu encyclopedia, the word royalty (润笔) originally referred to "the process of soaking the brush in clean water before using it to soften and absorb the writing ink", and later developed into an elegant term, referring to material or monetary payment to authors of poetry, calligraphy, and painting.

In ancient times, to earn royalties, literati often composed documents for the court or wrote birthday greetings for the living or wrote epitaphs for the deceased. Han Yu was a very famous epitaph writer, he often wrote for high-ranking officials with "the price of one word is as high as a mountain of gold" ( nhất tự chi giá, liên kim như sơn ). Du Mu, the writer of Vi Dan Giang Tay di ai bi (The love stele left by Vi Dan Giang Tay), received 300 rolls of silk...

In the book "Song Dynasty's Truth and Records" , there is a passage that says that Emperor Taizong of Song established a special fund called "royalty money" (润笔钱), used to reward literati in the imperial court.

In general, royalties in ancient times were paid in many forms, including gold, silver, grain, goods, and cloth. Some poets liked to receive their own rewards, for example, Wang Xizhi liked to receive geese as his royalties, Li Bai asked for wine, and Su Dongpo happily accepted lamb.

It is rumored that the highest-paid work in history was the poem Changmen Fu by Sima Xiangru of the Western Han Dynasty. Empress Chen paid 100 kilograms of gold for this 633-word poem.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, "royalties" had become fully established, mainly in monetary terms.

In our country, the word "royalty" appeared at the latest in the 19th century, and was recorded in the book Dictionnaire annamite-français by Jean Bonet, published in 1899 (p.48).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lat-leo-chu-nghia-nhuan-but-nghia-la-gi-185250912203215207.htm