Ninety-Four Most Frequent Characters and Sixteen Lexical Features of Three Ancient Chinese Vernacular Novels

This dataset provides a normalized frequency of ninety-four Most Frequent Characters (MFCs) and normalized values of sixteen lexical features of each chapter of three ancient Chinese vernacular novels, Marriage Bonds to Awaken the World (Xing Shi Yin Yuan Zhuan 醒世姻緣傳; MBAW), Pu Songling’s Popular Songs from Leisure Studio (Liao Zhai Li Qu Ji 聊齋俚曲集; PSLS), and Ding Yaokang’s Sequel to the Plum in Golden Vase (Xu Jin Ping Mei 續金瓶梅; SPGV). MBAW is an important work in the developing process of Chinese long vernacular novels. However, a significant question of MBAW, the authorship of this novel, remains shrouded in mystery. There are two dominant conjectures about the author of MBAW, one is Pu Songling 蒲松齡 (1640-1715) and the other is Ding Yaokang 丁耀亢 (1599-1669). The data can be used to evaluate if the authorship of MBAW can be attributed to either Pu Songling or Ding Yaokang through a comparative examination of the linguistic stylings of MBAW and two other novels from the same genre, PSLS and SPGV, which have been confirmed as the works of Pu Songling and Ding Yaokang, respectively. The 94 MFCs of the two novels are as follows: 了, 的, 不, 一, 是, 人, 他, 說, 來, 子, 你, 我, 個, 這, 那, 有, 道, 著, 也, 去, 家, 上, 裡, 大, 在, 就, 到, 得, 又, 兩, 日, 麼, 下, 只, 好, 見, 要, 頭, 還, 叫, 出, 兒, 沒, 把, 看, 老, 二, 小, 姐, 十, 娘, 生, 三, 門, 都, 回, 如, 打, 知, 心, 做, 才, 相, 起, 自, 過, 可, 合, 天, 時, 事, 與, 官, 甚, 銀, 公, 中, 夫, 吃, 前, 無, 後, 將, 怎, 們, 年, 外, 些, 問, 走, 聽, 待, 多, and 進. Definitions of the 16 lexical features are provided in the second worksheet of the Excel file named “Lexical features”.本数据集提供了九十四种高频汉字（Most Frequent Characters，MFCs）的归一化频次，以及三部中国古代白话小说各章节的十六种词汇特征（lexical features）的归一化数值。三部小说分别为：《醒世姻缘传》（Marriage Bonds to Awaken the World，以下简称MBAW）、蒲松龄的《聊斋俚曲集》（Pu Songling’s Popular Songs from Leisure Studio，以下简称PSLS），以及丁耀亢的《续金瓶梅》（Ding Yaokang’s Sequel to the Plum in Golden Vase，以下简称SPGV）。 《醒世姻缘传》是中国长篇白话小说发展进程中的重要作品，但其作者身份这一核心问题至今仍迷雾重重。目前关于该小说的作者主要存在两种主流推测：一为蒲松龄（1640-1715），二为丁耀亢（1599-1669）。本数据集可通过对比检验《醒世姻缘传》与另外两部同类型小说的语言风格，验证其作者是否为蒲松龄或丁耀亢——其中《聊斋俚曲集》与《续金瓶梅》已分别被确认为蒲松龄与丁耀亢的作品。 本数据集涵盖的九十四种高频汉字如下： 了、的、不、一、是、人、他、说、来、子、你、我、个、这、那、有、道、着、也、去、家、上、里、大、在、就、到、得、又、两、日、么、下、只、好、见、要、头、还、叫、出、儿、没、把、看、老、二、小、姐、十、娘、生、三、门、都、回、如、打、知、心、做、才、相、起、自、过、可、合、天、时、事、与、官、甚、银、公、中、夫、吃、前、无、后、将、怎、们、年、外、些、问、走、听、待、多、进。 十六种词汇特征的具体定义详见名为"Lexical features"的Excel文件的第二个工作表。