Chen Yinque

Author: Chen Yinque
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-10-01
Features: The academic thought of a nation is the spiritual light of that nation. The activities of academic elites in a specific era often contain a vast amount of information that transcends that era. At the turn of the century, China urgently needs to gain forward-looking thinking through reflecting on the past and understanding the present. The modern Chinese academia, which began around 1900, absorbed new concepts popular at the time and initiated the exchange and dialogue between Chinese and Western academia. Based on the recognition of the value of academia itself, scholars developed a conscious demand for academic independence. From Yan Fu's translated works, which serve as an important symbol of the beginning of modern Chinese academia, a large number of scholars constructed a dual character of enduring value and timely relevance in the intersection of tradition and modernity, demonstrating pioneering significance and exemplary roles. These classic works shine in the brilliant sky of Chinese academia, becoming an important source of inspiration for today's students to capture academic insights. This series compiles classic works of enduring significance by modern academic giants such as Yan Fu, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, Wang Guowei, Hu Shi, Jin Yuelin, Guo Jiegang, Feng Youlan, Chen Yuan, Li Ji, Xiong Shili, Lu Xun, Wu Mi, Wu Mei, Chen Shizeng, Zhang Junmai, Fang Dongmei, Tang Junyi, Liao Ping, Meng Wentong, Tang Yongtong, Cai Yuanpei, Yang Shudu, Yu Jiaxi, Zhao Yuanren, Qian Jibo, Ma Yifu, Guo Moruo, Tai Xu, Yang Wenhui, Ou Yangxi, Lü Cheng, Fu Sinian, Dong Zuobin, Hong Ye, Yang Lian, Luo Zhenyu, Chen Yinque, and others. These works not only showcase the monumental achievements of modern Chinese academia that can be celebrated for generations but also provide spiritual nourishment for the Chinese nation aspiring to a brighter future and greater leaps. For convenience of reading, each volume includes a brief biography of the author at the beginning and an academic chronology along with a list of the author's works at the end.
Chen Yinque (1890–1969) was from Yining, Jiangxi (now Xiushui). He studied in Japan in his early years and returned to China in 1905. In 1910, he went abroad to Europe, studying linguistics at the University of Berlin and the University of Zurich in Switzerland. He returned the following year. In 1913, he went to France to study at the école Normale Supérieure in Paris. He returned to China in 1914. He once served as the secretary of Cai E and participated in the campaign against Yuan Shikai. In 1918, he went to the United States and enrolled at Harvard University, studying Sanskrit and Pali under Langman. In 1921, he transferred to the Institute of Oriental Languages at the University of Berlin to study ancient Eastern scripts. He returned to China in 1925 and was invited by Tsinghua University to serve as a director of the School of Chinese Studies alongside Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, and Zhao Yuanren. After Tsinghua was reformed, he became a professor jointly appointed by the Departments of Chinese, History, and Philosophy. From 1930 onwards, he concurrently served as a researcher at the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica, the director of the History Group, a council member of the Palace Museum, and a committee member of the Qing Dynasty Archives Compilation Committee. In 1937, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, he went to Hong Kong University to teach, serving as the head of the Chinese Department. From 1941, he became a professor at Southwest Associated University. In 1945, he accepted an invitation from Oxford University to teach in the United Kingdom while also treating his eye condition. He returned to China in 1947 and became a professor at Tsinghua University. In 1948, he was elected as an academician of the Academia Sinica. Later that year, he transferred to Lingnan University in Guangzhou. From 1952 onwards, he served as a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, vice director of the Research Institute of Chinese Classics, and a member of the Committee of the Philosophy and Social Sciences Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After the Cultural Revolution, he suffered greatly and died in 1969 under a false accusation.
In his preface to Chen Yuan's Record of the Fragments from Dunhuang, written in 1930, he was the first to propose the concept of "Dunhuang Studies" and stated, "Dunhuang studies are the new trend of world academia today." In this preface, he identified nine areas of research value in the more than 8,000 Dunhuang manuscripts held in the Beijing Library, including Manichaeism, Tang Dynasty history, Buddhist texts, fiction and literary history, Buddhist stories, lost Tang Dynasty poetry, ancient linguistic texts, old translations of Buddhist scriptures, and academic. These contributions set the direction for Dunhuang studies. He wrote numerous essays such as Postscript to the Record of the Fragments from Dunhuang, Postscript to the Compassion Sea Fire Crime Golden Light Sutra's Repayment of Debts by Ghosts, Postscript to the Life and Rebirth of a Man with a Body, Postscript to the Story of the Origin of the Monastery of Sudatta, Annotations to The Ballad of a Qin Woman, The Evolution of the Stories of Xuanzang's Disciples in the Journey to the West, and Postscript to the Buddhist Nun Huayan's Ordination. He also utilized Dunhuang materials to supplement and verify history in works such as Preface to the Compendium of Inscriptions on Dunhuang Manuscripts and Verification of Yuan and Bai's Poetry. Most of his essays on Dunhuang studies are included in Collected Works from the Jinming Studio and Second Collection of Collected Works from the Jinming Studio. His works Outlines of the Origins of the Tang and Song Dynasties, Discussions on the Tang Dynasty Political History, and Annotations to Yuan and Bai's Poetry also draw on Dunhuang materials. Additionally, he wrote Collected Poems of Hanliutang and Biography of Liu Shi.