A study on the value of inscriptions to the spread of Yellow River culture

Author: Lv Cun (Director of Publicity Department, Zhengzhou Institute of Engineering and Technology, Professor)

The Yellow River Basin is one of the earliest activities of the Chinese ancestors, and the rushing Yellow River water feeds the Chinese nation, gives birth to Chinese civilization, and also shapes the national character of the Chinese nation that is constantly improving itself. The Yellow River culture, which has been precipitated by the vast historical river, is also spreading continuously, and gradually integrating with other regional cultures, deriving a magnificent Chinese culture, which is an important foundation for the Chinese nation to strengthen its cultural self-confidence. Today, when vigorously promoting the high-quality construction and dissemination of The Yellow River culture, it is not only necessary to build material forms, but also to explore traditional cultural elements and enrich the connotation of cultural dissemination and construction in the Yellow River Basin. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed on different occasions that the Yellow River culture has an important position in Chinese civilization, is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, and is an important part of Chinese civilization. In cultural construction, it is necessary to protect, inherit and carry forward the Yellow River culture, promote the systematic protection of the yellow river cultural heritage, dig deep into the era value contained in the Yellow River culture, tell the story of the Yellow River, and continue the historical context. On the one hand, this can make us more firm in the self-confidence of Chinese culture, on the other hand, it can unite the spiritual strength of the Chinese nation and provide spiritual support for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

As the birthplace of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River Basin has always attached great importance to the inheritance and development of culture, and many cultural activities have not only been recorded in paper documents, but also in inscription documents. These inscriptions of social development and change in the Yellow River Basin are not only a true witness to the prosperity of the Yellow River culture, but also play a role in correcting deviations and useful supplementary values for the documents passed down from generation to generation, so that we can more truly and comprehensively understand our brilliant cultural history, and then provide strong support for the high-quality dissemination and development of today's Yellow River culture.

I. Brief description of the inscriptions in the Yellow River Basin

The inscription is a true record of historical facts such as the replacement of local establishments, social changes, people's livelihood customs, educational development, architectural construction, and the rise and fall of religions, which have the characteristics of primitiveness and authenticity, can realistically preserve the historical and cultural features carried by them, and are indispensable for studying social historical and cultural changes and have high historical and cultural value. Zhao Mingcheng, a master of the Golden Stones of the Song Dynasty, said: "If the years, geography, officials, and worlds of Ruofu are examined by the Golden Stone, they will realize the three or four of the Ten Constants." Gai Shidi came from the hands of posterity and could not be lost, and the inscription was established at that time, and there was no doubt that the inscription was established. Gu Yanwu of the Qing Dynasty also said: "Since Yu was young, he had a good visit to the ancients for the text of the Golden Stone, but he still did not understand it. And reading Ouyang Gong's "Collection of Ancient Records", it is known that his deeds are mostly proved by the history books, and he can explain the subtle appearances and make up for the correct and wrong, not only the work of the word. Therefore, inscription documents have important value for historical research to fill the gap in history and the fallacy of correct history. As an important birthplace of Chinese culture, the Yellow River Basin has left tens of thousands of precious inscriptions and cultural relics in the thousands of years of historical development, from Qinghai-Tibet to Luyu; in the long history of the two Han Dynasties and the Republic of China for more than 2,000 years, tens of thousands of precious inscriptions and cultural relics have been left behind. These inscriptions are not only a witness to the cultural construction and development of the Yellow River Basin, but also a typical representative of the yellow river basin culture, which can not only play a certain role in correcting and supplementing the existing traditional culture in Zhengzhou, but also become an important support for the construction of the cultural connotation of the Yellow River Basin. Taking the Ming Dynasty inscription "Inscription of gongshi in the past years of Daming Zhengzhou" (hereinafter referred to as the "Inscription") in Zhengzhou, an important representative of the Yellow River Basin and located in the core area of Chinese civilization, as an example, we take the leopard to illustrate the important value of the inscription culture to the high-quality construction of the Yellow River culture.

The "Inscription" is now placed in the right side of the Dacheng Hall of the Zhengzhou Confucian Temple, a national cultural relics protection unit, with a height of about 2 meters and a width of about 70 centimeters. The inscription was carved in the thirteenth year of Ming Chenghua, and was written by the Ming Dynasty Scholar who was born in Hanlin Academy and was also a scholar of the Qiantang People's Shu Yue, and the Township Tribute Jinshi Huang Qingshu. The inscription is a list of more than 110 people in Zhengzhou who have been admitted to the gongshi in the past 110 years from the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the thirteen years of Ming Chenghua, which is a witness to the prosperity of Zhengzhou's cultural and educational undertakings in the early and middle Ming Dynasties, and is also a microcosm of the lush development of education and culture in the Yellow River Basin. It is of indispensable value for studying the history of education and culture in Zhengzhou in the Ming Dynasty and demonstrating the excellent tradition of attaching importance to education and poetry and book heirloom in the Yellow River Basin.

Through the comparison of the inscription of the stele with the local historical record "Zheng County Chronicle" reprinted nearly 450 years later (the 20th year of the Republic of China), it can be found that there are some obvious problems in the relevant content recorded in the paper document "Zheng County Chronicle", such as incomplete historical records, some people have no biography, and the wrong names of people, which can be effectively solved in the inscription documents. Therefore, in the high-quality construction of the Yellow River Basin culture, we should make use of the advantages of the authenticity and original ecology of the inscription documents, give full play to the function of filling the gap in history, make necessary supplements to the errors and omissions in the paper literature, better play the value of the inscription literature in the high-quality construction of the Yellow River culture, and make positive contributions to the improvement and development of the high-quality construction of the Yellow River Basin and the long-standing and splendid culture of the Yellow River Basin.

Second, the value of the narrative of the history of the development of the Yellow River culture

As the core of Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Basin, its culture and education have a long history and provide strong support for the inheritance and development of regional civilization, which is also an important reason for the emergence of talents in the region. Since Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty deposed the Hundred Schools of Confucianism, Confucianism has received unprecedented attention and has become an important basis for the selection of talents. Out of the importance attached to Confucianism, from the Han Dynasty onwards, a large number of cultural institutions such as the Temple of Literature for scholars and students to study and ask questions were established in the Yellow River Basin. These institutions provide a learning place for students to improve their cultural literacy and cultivate outstanding talents for national construction, but the ups and downs experienced in them have become a historical mystery due to the lack of historical records. The inscription of the "Inscription" uses the time and people to record current events, ensuring the authenticity of the events, the detailedness of the records and the integrity of preservation, and has become a rare historical material for studying the history of the development of education and culture in the Yellow River. For example, there is a text in the "Inscription Record" that in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Zhengzhou's official schools were ruined and could not carry out normal education and teaching activities, and the local government at that time attached importance to education and rebuilt the schools, which made the Xuegongtang Zhai look new, and the students were able to be close and friendly, and they were in a hurry to take care of each other, gathering day by day to learn, reciting poems and reading. Compared with the historical records and other materials that focus on the macro level of social development, the focus of inscription materials is on the micro level, and more attention is paid to the specific details of social life. However, without these recorded materials in the inscription, people today will not be able to understand in detail and truly the historical aspects of the development of culture and education at that time.

Third, the supplementary value of the historical materials of the development of the Yellow River culture

History books often record major events and important figures that affect the process of social history, and for the vast majority of middle- and lower-class people with low positions and limited fame, the historical records of the past dynasties record very little, which still has certain limitations for all-round and multi-level understanding of social life at that time. The main purpose of inscription documents, especially local inscription documents, is to record local figures and deeds from the micro level and spread local culture, and this feature has become an effective supplement to the limitations of paper documents. Through the interpretation of local inscriptions, we can more comprehensively understand the historical facts and restore the historical truth. As a paper document that records the process of local social history, the "Zheng County Chronicle", in the record of the tributes in the region, there are relatively brief records of individual tributes, only the names and officials of those who took the tributes, such as Li Yao, and the "Zheng County Chronicles" are only: "Li Yao, Wei Experience". The "Inscription" records that "Li Yao, Xuande Ten Years of Tribute, Ren Zhongyi Left Guard Experience", is more detailed, not only has the time to pass the Gongshi, but also has a more specific record of the officials he has served. There are also some tributes, inscriptions not only record their specific official positions, but also record the changes in their positions, such as Tian Jia, the ZhengXian Chronicle is recorded as "relegated to Jiangxi Youshi", and the "Inscription" is "Ren Xinyu Governor, except for Jiangxi Youshi", which is obviously more detailed. In addition, there are some Gongshi who are missing in the Zhengxian Chronicle, and the "Inscription Record" records the situation.

Therefore, it is necessary to fully recognize the important value of inscription documents in supplementing and improving the Yellow River culture, actively excavate and use the inscription materials of the Yellow River Basin to enrich and supplement the cultural content of the Yellow River, and build a richer and more perfect Yellow River cultural system.

Fourth, the value of correcting the errors in the Yellow River cultural texts

The compilation mode of history books of later generations is often biased because of the incomplete grasp of the historical materials of the previous generations or the error of historical materials, which is also reflected in the "Zheng County Chronicle" reprinted in the 20th year of the Republic of China. Through comparative research with the inscription materials of the Inscription, it was found that the two had some errors in the records of the same events, which would lead to distortion of historical facts and delay future generations, which should be corrected. As a historical material with a high degree of reliability of the times and the authenticity of the content, the inscription can provide a reliable evidence for correcting the error. Specifically, the corrective value of the "Inscription" to the "ZhengXian Zhi" and other historical materials mainly focuses on several aspects, such as names, officials, and place names.

(1) The corrective value of false character names

In ancient times, when communication was not developed, especially the changes of middle and lower-class people were often difficult to retain in paper historical materials, which would cause some people's development context to be unclear, and the relationship between events and characters was confused. With the help of inscriptions, relevant errors can be corrected and historical authenticity can be restored. For example, the "ZhengXian Zhi" orthodox tribute has "Jin Li, Jiangnan Huai'an Fu Experience", and the "Inscription" is "Jin Li, Orthodox Four-Year Tribute, Ren Huai'an Fu Experience". The two are the same local people in Zheng County, and in the same era, they have also experienced the Huai'an Province in Jiangnan, and they should undoubtedly be the same person. For the difference between the two, the "Inscription" is the original inscription of the time, while the "ZhengXian Zhi" is published late, and the "Inscription Record" shall prevail. The "ZhengXian Zhi" as the word "砺" should be because the two characters are pronounced the same and mistakenly written. Another example is the "Zheng County Chronicle" Chenghua Tribute has "Yang You, Tongzhou Discipline", and the "Inscription" as "Yang Hu, Chenghua Nine Years Tribute". The two are arranged in the same order in the list of tributes, the surname is the same, it should be the same person, the character "祜" and "祐" in the letter are similar, and the strokes of the word "ancient" on the right side of the word in the original stele are clearly visible, so the "Inscription" should prevail, as the word "祜", and the "ZhengXian Zhi" writing "祐" was close and wrong at that time.

(2) The value of correcting the omission of the names of characters and officials

For the change of the positions of middle- and lower-class people, due to the lack of sufficient historical records, there will often be certain errors in the process of circulation, and some errors will inevitably occur in the paper literature of future generations. The "Zheng County Chronicle" compiled by the Republic of China also has many errors in the record of the official names of the gongshi. For example, the history of Yongle's eight-year Gongshi: "Zheng County Chronicle" as "Taoyuan County", "Inscription" as "Taoyuan County Zhi County". Taoyuan County belongs to Changde City, Hunan Province, and was established as a county in 963 AD, more than 1,000 years ago. Reviewing the "Taoyuan County Chronicle" of the Ming Wanli Annual, there is no record of this person's deeds, but combined with the fact that the "Zheng County Chronicle" and the "Inscription Record" are recorded, it is of course missing, and the inscription material can also be used as a supplement to the omission of the "Taoyuan County Chronicle". As to whether his position is county or county, due to limited information, there are temporary doubts. Another example is Xuande's second year gong Li Yu: "Zheng Xian Zhi" as "Governor of Yulin Wei", and "Inscription" as "Yulin Wei Experience". Yulin Wei is the product of the implementation of the "Wei Shou System" in the Ming Dynasty, in the early Ming Dynasty, in the internal and external guards," "set up one person with experience, from the seven pins; one governor, from the eight pins", and later the imperial court abolished the experience position, and only one governor was retained in each guard, but it still followed the old name of the experience division. In April of the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398), the imperial court adopted the suggestion of Zhou Jun, the governor of Tiance Wei, to "dismiss the governor and resume the experience", and promoted the governors of each wei to a higher level on the spot, changing their names to experience. Therefore, from the thirty-first year of Hongwu, there was no title of "Governor of Yulin Wei", only Yulin Wei Experience. Since the Ming Dynasty, the system of Yulin Wei did not exist in the army. Due to the long history and limited information of the Ming Dynasty, the "Records of Zheng County" in the Republic of China era lack of understanding of the historical facts of the changes in the corresponding official system, so there are certain errors, which should be corrected according to the "Inscription". Another example is Jingtai Three Years of Gong Hujie: "Zheng County Chronicle" as "Shaanxi Fuping Wei Experience", "Inscription" as "Ningxia Wei Experience". In the Ming Dynasty, the weishou system was a military system set up by the government according to the defense and strategic needs of various places, and it was set up throughout the country. Taking the "Historical Map of China" and the "History of Ming", there was no "Fuping Wei" institution in the area under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty, and there was a "Ningxia Wei" institution near yinchuan City in the present-day Ningxia Autonomous Region, and the Ming Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi Province.

(3) The corrective value of misalignment of geographical names

Most of the ancient officials served in different places, and due to the backward communication technology and the cultural differences between the historical recorders, many local historians had erroneous records of the places of origin of these incumbents in other places. For example, Liu Run, who served as a teacher in Zhengzhou for thirteen years in Chenghua, "Zheng County Zhi • Official": "Liu Run, a native of Sheshan County, Jiangnan Province, was appointed by the supervisor for seven years. However, looking at the administrative division of the Ming Dynasty, there is no administrative division of "Sheshan County", but there is hanshan county in the prefecture capital, and the "Sheshan County" in the "Zheng County Chronicle • Officials" should be "Hanshan County". Because the "han" and "she" glyphs are similar, there was an error in the process of copying, and it was corrected according to the inscription.

"Prosperous history, Ming dynasty revision", shizhi is an important carrier of Chinese culture and the medium of Chinese culture dissemination. China has always had the tradition of re-revising historical records, whether it is Fang Zhi or Guo Zhi, which has not been interrupted, which is an important way for the Chinese nation to enhance national cohesion, inherit national culture, and enhance national unity. The Yellow River Basin is the birthplace of the Chinese nation, the core inheritance area of Chinese culture, and the mother culture of Chinese culture, which occupies a core position in Chinese culture. In the process of the spread of the Yellow River culture to the outside world, it is even more necessary to reorganize the Yellow River culture and build a true and comprehensive Yellow River cultural system. With the help of inscription materials, the Yellow River cultural system can be more perfect and true, and people can also fully and correctly understand the social trend of the Yellow River Basin with talents and re-teaching and learning. When we carry forward the Yellow River culture, we must attach importance to the revision and collation of local historical records that carry the spirit of the Yellow River culture, discover and carry forward the excellent local characteristic culture, give full play to the important support and supplementary role of inscriptions in the collation of local history, and use inscription materials as supplements and support for paper documents passed down from generation to generation, so as to play the role of correcting mistakes and supplementing historical facts, restore the true historical appearance as much as possible, promote the high-quality dissemination of Yellow River culture, and assume the due responsibility for the construction of the cultural highland in the core inheritance area of Chinese civilization.

Source: Guangming Network - Academic Channel