Modern Chinese Academic Classics (Chen Yinque Volume)

Author: Chen Yinque
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
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 needed to gain forward-looking thinking through reflection 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 intrinsic value of academia, scholars developed a conscious demand for academic independence. From Yan Fu's translated works, which mark an important milestone in the development of modern Chinese academia, a large number of scholars, at the intersection of tradition and modernity, constructed a dual character of enduring value and timely relevance, with pioneering and exemplary significance. These classic works shine in the brilliant sky of Chinese academia, becoming an important source of inspiration for today's students to capture scholarly insights. This series compiles the timeless classic works of modern academic giants such as Yan Fu, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, Wang Guowei, Hu Shih, Jin Yuelin, Gu 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 Jingjian, Lü Cheng, Fu Siniannian, 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 the spiritual nourishment for a rational and enlightened future for the Chinese nation, which aspires for greater leaps. For convenience of reading, each volume includes a brief biography of the author at the beginning, and an academic chronology and a list of major 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 in Germany 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 Studies at the University of Berlin in Germany to study ancient Eastern scripts. In 1925, he returned to China and was appointed as a director of the Institute of Chinese Studies at Tsinghua University, alongside Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, and Zhao Yuanren. After the reform of Tsinghua, 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 and served 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. In 1947, he returned to China and became a professor at Tsinghua University. In 1948, he was elected as a member 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 Philosophy and Social Sciences Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After the Cultural Revolution, he suffered greatly and died in in 1969.
In 1930, in the preface to his work Chen Yuan's Record of the Rescued Dunhuang Manuscripts, he first proposed the concept of "Dunhuang Studies" and stated, "Dunhuang studies are the new trend of academic thought in the world today." In this preface, he identified nine areas of research value in the more than 8,000 Dunhuang manuscripts held by the Beijing Library, including Manichaeism, Tang Dynasty history, Buddhist texts, fiction and literary history, Buddhist stories, lost Tang Dynasty poetry, ancient languages and scripts, old translations of Buddhist scriptures, and academic. This laid the foundation for Dunhuang studies. He wrote numerous papers such as Postscript to the Record of the Rescued Dunhuang Manuscripts of Chen Yuan, Postscript to the Compassion Sea Fire Crime Golden Light Sutra, Postscript to the Life of a Person with Virtue, Postscript to the Story of the Origin of the Temple of Sita, Annotation of The Ballad of a Qin Woman, The Evolution of the Story of Xuanzang's Disciples in the Journey to the West, and Postscript to the Buddhist Story of the Flower in Color. He also utilized Dunhuang materials in works such as Preface to the Collection of Inscriptions on Dunhuang Manuscripts and Verification of Yuan Bai Poetry. Most of his papers on Dunhuang studies were included in Collected Works from the Jinming Studio and Second Collection of Collected Works from the Jinming Studio. Sketch of the Origins of the Tang and Song Dynasties, Outlines of Tang Dynasty Political History, and Annotations of Yuan Bai Poetry also used some Dunhuang materials. He also wrote works such as Collected Poems of Hanliutang and Biography of Liu Shi.