Selected Works of Wang Xiang (Volumes 1, 2, and 3)

Author: Wang Xiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Wang Xiang (1876-1965), styled Lungege, was from Tianjin and traced his ancestry to Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He lived in Tianjin for generations. Wang Xiang and Wang Yirong were contemporaries and were among the earliest Chinese to identify and purchase oracle bones from the Yin Ruins. Although Wang Yirong was the first to identify and purchase oracle bones, he committed suicide in 1900, leaving no time to conduct a comprehensive study of the bones he owned, thus failing to leave any academic writings on the subject. Wang Xiang not only contributed to the identification and purchase of oracle bones but also left behind written works, making significant contributions to the study of oracle bone script. His work, Fushi Yinqie Leizuan, is considered a dictionary of oracle bone script in the history of oracle bone studies. It was published in 1920, and in 1925, he published Fushi Yinqie Zhuangwen, which showcased the finest pieces from his collection of over 5,000 oracle bones.
Wang Xiang came from a poor family in his early years but went to great lengths to acquire oracle bones from the Yin Ruins and made considerable efforts to protect this ancient cultural treasure of China. In 1934, while returning to Tianjin from Hubei, Wang Xiang had his oracle bones and other belongings packed and shipped by the railway. However, when he arrived in Tianjin to collect the items, he discovered that all the other boxes were present, except the one containing the oracle bones. These treasures, which had been the culmination of years of effort, had vanished without a trace, causing him great distress. After a fruitless search that lasted over fifty days, he finally located the box of oracle bones at Zhangjiakou Station. It turned out that the railway staff, thinking the box contained invaluable treasures, had opened it only to find dry bones and broken tortoise shells. Fortunately, they were unaware of the value of oracle bones, so they abandoned the box, and the oracle bones were spared.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937, Wang Xiang lost his job and faced financial difficulties. Antique dealers in Tianjin often visited his home, trying to persuade him to sell his oracle bones to the Japanese. However, Wang Xiang claimed that the bones were stored inland and refused to sell them to the Japanese, even at high prices, to prevent this precious cultural heritage from leaving the country. After the war, the owner of Beijing's Yaoyutang bookstore and several university officials visited Tianjin for over a month, trying to purchase his collection of oracle bones. Despite the soaring inflation at the time, he remained unmoved by their offers and firmly refused. Wang Xiang later said, "Oracle bones are the national treasures of our country. There will be no new discoveries now, and there won’t be many in the future. Selling them to those universities, which are foreign institutions, will only lead to their eventual loss to foreign hands. It will become difficult for Chinese scholars to study them in the future."
In the early years of the liberation, Wang Xiang's family remained in dire straits until 1952. Dong Zuobin once wrote from the United States, asking if he was willing to sell his oracle bones to a university there, but Wang Xiang refused outright. In 1953, Wang Xiang was appointed as the director of the Tianjin Literary and Historical Research Institute, and he donated all the oracle bones he had collected throughout his life to the nation.