Qing Dynasty Academic Dictionary

Author: Zhao Qiji
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: China is a cradle of world civilization with a long-standing academic tradition. Throughout history, there have been continuous innovations, right up to the present day. The Qing Dynasty was a peak in the history of Chinese scholarship. Qing scholarship was deeply connected to the past and could not be severed from its roots. To study Qing studies, one must start from the origins. As early as the pre-Qin period, the Hundred Schools of Thought flourished in competition. Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism were known as the "manifest schools," with Confucianism being the most prominent. Confucianism revered the Six Arts as its classics. Zhang Xuecheng believed that "the Six Classics were not originally held in high esteem; their significance lies in guiding the world's laws" ("Wen Shi Tong Yi: Jingshui Xia"). He also stated, "The so-called Classics of ancient times were the statutes and regulations of the prosperous times of the Three Dynasties, as seen in governance, education, and actions" (same source, "Jingshui Shang"). "All the Six Classics are histories. Ancients did not write books; they never discussed theory without relating it to events. The Six Classics are the political records of the former kings" (same source, "Yi Jiao Shang"). From this, we can understand that the Six Classics expound on the scholarship of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, which is the essence of academic thought during China's ancient slave society. The Warring States period was the later stage of the Eastern Zhou and the beginning of China's feudal society. During the Warring States, the Hundred Schools of Thought flourished, with scholars writing and establishing theories. Some of these works were contemporary, while others were attributed to more distant or even more remote periods, details of which can be found in the "Bibliography of the Han Dynasty" ("Han Shu: Yi Wen Zhi"). The Zhuangzi's "Tian Xia" states, "There were many schools of thought and methods for governing the world, and they all believed that their own methods were unparalleled," illustrating the peak of the Hundred Schools of Thought. By the Western Han Dynasty, the Huai Nan Treatise stood out among the Taoists, while Dong Zhongshu's "Chunqiu Fanlu" served as the banner for Confucianism. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty suppressed the Hundred Schools of Thought and exclusively revered the Six Classics, ending the era of competition among the schools. The Han Dynasty also saw great achievements in scholarship. Sima Qian and Ban Gu's historical works, Liu Xiang and Liu Xin's bibliography and cataloging studies, the fu poetry of Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong, who followed Qu Yuan, Huan Kuan's "Salt and Iron Treatise," Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi," He Xiu's compilation of the Confucian school of Jingwen Gongyang, Zheng Xuan as the representative of the ancient text school of Confucian classics, Wang Chong as a materialist who wrote "Lunheng," Zhang Heng's astronomy, and Zhang Zhongjing's medicine all shone with the brilliance of their time. However, there were also mystical and fantastical doctrines such as...