Collation surveying occupies an important position in traditional Chinese scholarship, and there are many people who have become famous for collation surveying in the past. In the Qing Dynasty, The Study of Pu Xue daxing, the study of collation and surveying tended to be at its peak, and the proofreading was produced one after another, and there were many famous works on collation and surveying, and the achievements were remarkable. As far as collation methods are concerned, in the practice of collation and surveying ancient books, previous generations of scholars consciously or unconsciously followed some basic principles and tried to use a variety of different methods, but lacked systematic induction and generalization of these basic principles and methods. Therefore, when Chen Yuan's "Supplementary Interpretation of Yuandian Zhang School" was renamed "Interpretation of School Survey" in 1931 , hereinafter referred to as "Interpretation". After the publication, the academic community was shocked. Sun Kaidi commented: "The Yuandian Chapter Interpretation Has been read repeatedly, and the body is full of thoughts, and the cover is a masterpiece, and the reading is astounding! Qing Confucian proofreading is the most refined, and there is no enlightenment such as the work of this book. [1] Hu Shi called it "one of the most important methodologies of Chinese collation surveying" and considered it "the greatest success of the new Chinese collational surveying". [2]
The advent of the "Interpretation of Collation and Surveying" has enabled the collation of ancient books to end the natural and random state, and has accurate theoretical guidance, especially the collation methodology, which runs through ancient and modern times and has a strong operability.
Chen Yuan's collation methodology is mainly embodied in the "Four Cases of School Law" in Volume 6 of the "Interpretation of Collation and Surveying" and the "Tongjian Hu Annotation Table Micro-Proofreading Chapter". The "Four Cases of School Law" includes four kinds of proofreading law, this school law, other school law and science school law, although it is the method used in the proofreading of the "YuanDian Chapter", but it is basically a summary and summary of the collation methods of the past generations, so once it is proposed, it is quickly accepted and recognized by the academic community. In addition to these four methods, there are also mentions of set school, hui school, etc., but the set school and the hui school are not independent proofreading methods, but a way out of school.
The "Four Cases of School Law" can be called a scientific summary of the methodology of collation survey in ancient Chinese books, and is the essence of Chen Yuan's collation survey.
1. Methods and principles of proofreading
In the practice of collation and surveying, these four collation methods are not used in isolation, under different conditions, in different stages of work, one of them can be used, and several of them can be used at the same time, which Chen Yuan has a detailed analysis and explanation.
Proofreading is to proofread the similarities and differences of the original, ancestral or other texts, and it is a process of obtaining different information and discovering errors. Chen Yuan explained: "The proofreading method, that is, reading it in the ancestral or other books of the same book, in case of differences, is noted next to it. Liu Xiang's so-called "Beilu" is that "one person holds the book, one person reads, and if he complains about the relatives of the family", that is, this law is also. This method is the simplest, most stable, and purely mechanical. Its main purpose is similar and similar in school, not right and wrong, so its shortcomings are irresponsible, although the ancestral or other books are false, they are also recorded; And its strengths are in not consulting their own opinions, obtaining this schoolbook, you can know the original face of the ancestral or other books. Therefore, where a school book is proofread, it must first use the correct method, and then use other proofreading methods. There are those who do not know their mistakes, and those who are not mistaken and suspicious in their literal senses are also suspicious", "those who know their mistakes, and those who do not know why they are wrong without proofreading". [3]
Chen Yuan stressed: "Where a school is a book, it is necessary to use the correct proofreading method first. [3] He believes that in the four methods of collation and surveying, the proofreading method is the first, which is his deep understanding of the practice of collation and surveying. In the "Four Cases of School Law", Chen Yuan pointed out that there are two situations in which proofreading must be used. The first: "There are those who do not know their mistakes in their literal senses, and there is no doubt on the surface." For example, Shen carved the "Punishment Department" volume 1 of the "Yuandian Chapter" on page 1 of the 5th page of "Yanyou Four Years of the First Month", and the Yuan carved originally made "Leap Month". It is also like a page "March of the third year of Dade", and the Yuan carved book is "May". [3] Looking only at the surface of the words, without proofreading between versions, it is impossible to know where the error is.
The second kind: "There are those who know what is wrong, but those who cannot know why they are wrong without proofreading." For example, Shen carved the "Hubu" volume 7 of the "Yuandian Chapter" on page 7 12 "Fifty-five days of every month", and the yuan carved version was "every may fifteen days". Another example is the "Bingbu" volume 3 page 7 "The Sixty-two Day Play", and the Yuan carved version is "June 20Th Sonata". [3] Errors in the text are easy to spot, but without proofreading between versions, it is impossible to know what went wrong, whether it is five or fifteen, six or twelve. This shows the importance of proofreading. Proofreading is a step that must be taken in the proofreading process and a method that must be used.
There are many places where the emphasis on proofreading is placed in the Interpretation. For example, "Mistakenly Connected Contextual Examples" says: "There are two paragraphs or between paragraphs, there are gaps, so that the two articles are mixed into one, and the non-text is found, and I do not know what the crux of the matter is." [3] It was found that the text could only be proofread. Another example is Book 5: "If it is mistaken for all the place names of the Yuan Dynasty, and does not indicate its affiliation, it is not corrected by the correct method, and it is not known that it is wrong." Also: "Place names are mistaken for non-place names, and sometimes they are not necessary for proofreading." "When it comes to specific aspects of the book's content, it is only by proofreading that problems can be discovered and solved. [3]
Among the four methods of collation and survey proposed by Chen Yuan, Hu Shiyu most praised and admired the proofreading method. Hu Shi said: "I would like to point out that Mr. Yuan'an's "Yuandian Zhang Proofreading Supplement" and "Interpretation" have three things that can be permanently used as models for proofreading and surveying: First, he first searched for good books, and finally obtained the Yuan-carved books, and then used the Yuanren's engravings to proofread the Yuanren's books; He struggled to use extremely stupid death kung fu, so he could achieve great results. Second, he first proofread with the most ancient engravings, marking out all the different texts, and then using the various texts to cross-proof, seeking extensive evidence, determining right and wrong, so that we can get the best and most recent final version of the ancestral text. Third, he first sought the basis for the ancient texts, and then deduced the reasons for the errors in the present texts, as the forty-two "erroneous examples", so that his "examples" were all confirmed general cases: they were explanations obtained after the school induction, not the basis for the assumptions before the school. "Such as que wen, such as erroneous simplicity, such as inverted leaves, such as unseen personal names, place names, or unseen ancient characters and vulgar characters, are not impossible to guess at the proofreading. Therefore, using rare books to proofread is the soul of proofreading. [2] Hu Shi believes that "using a rare book to proofread is the soul of proofreading", and Chen Yuan also believes that proofreading is the most reliable, he once said: "Proofreading should first use the proofreading method." He also said: "He may not be able to succeed in school, so it is better to save effort on school and get the truth." [4] In his later years, in his article "On Xu's Sayings", he also said that "it is better to be a science school than to be a stable school". [5] It can be seen that he attaches great importance to proofreading, and proofreading ancient books cannot go beyond this step.
However, Chen Yuan did not absolutize the role of proofreading, which is quite different from Hu Shi's point of view, and the author will discuss this in a separate article. Because the main purpose of the proofreading method is "proofreading the similarities and differences, not proofreading right and wrong", its limitations are obvious, because we cannot get the original author's manuscript, and most of the books we see are earlier biographies, or even ordinary books, so although the proofreading can find similarities and differences, it is sometimes difficult to judge the correct and wrong. The purpose of the ancient book proofreading should be to correct errors, preserve the truth, and restore the original appearance of the ancient books, and it is difficult to complete the task only by using the method of proofreading.
Second, proofreading and version analysis and selection
Proofreading is key. Chen Yuan believes that the type, era, and advantages and disadvantages of the version are directly related to the success of the collation work. He emphasized in the "Tongjian Hu Annotation Table Wei · Proofreading Chapter", and cited the Qing Dynasty Zhao Shaozu's "Tongjian Annotation Merchant" as an example. Book 65 of the Book of Jin has a sentence in the Biography of Wang Dao: "The scenery is not different, and there are rivers and rivers in sight." It is quoted in Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian. Zhao Shaozu believes that the "Zizhi Tongjian" is quoted incorrectly, and "the difference between the rivers and rivers" should be "the difference between the rivers and the mountains". Zhao Shaozu is based on the Ming Jian Ben, the Jigu Ge Ben, and the Qingdian Ben "Book of Jin", while the earlier Song carved "Book of Jin" is indeed "the difference of rivers". Chen Yuan said with emotion: "Zhao Jun both slandered the Tongjian and made false comments, both of which were kept by the book and did not pay attention to the transgressions of the version. ”[4]
Chen Yuan stressed that proofreading should not only store a wide range of different books, but also make full use of ancient and rare books. Generally speaking, the more versions of an ancient book, the better, and the more versions there are, the more exotic materials that can be compared. However, the proofreading should pay attention to the quality of the version, the ancient book, the rare book for the collation of the role is greater, an ancient book or rare book, may be more valuable than ten ordinary versions. Whether or not a good version can be found is related to the success or failure of the proofreading work, so Chen Yuan said: "There is a good book for proofreading." For example, the proofreading of the YuanDian Chapter, although Chen Yuan had long intended this, he could not carry it out because he did not get the ideal version. It was not until 1925, after the discovery of the Yuan engraving in the Forbidden City, that it was fully developed and finally completed. Without the Yuan engraving, this collation work would have been difficult to complete smoothly, let alone succeed. It is precisely because of the Yuan engraving that Chen Yuan was able to proofread so many errors in the Shen engraving, thus completing the construction of the theoretical system of collation and surveying.
Although Chen Yuan attaches great importance to ancient books and rare books, he never superstitiously believes in the old version of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and never thinks that everything is good in the old version of the Song and Yuan. For the later versions of the era, as long as the printing school is fine, he gives enough attention and affirmation, which is very different from some Qing Dynasty surveyors. When he proofread the "Yuandian Chapter", he found that some errors in the Yuan carved version had been corrected by Shen Carved Ben, so he specially wrote a clause that "The Wrong Words of the Yuan Ben were corrected by Shen Carved and Did Not Correct the Case", affirming the contribution and value of Shen Carved Ben. Another example is that in his "Photocopy of the Ming Dynasty Fuyuan Turtle Sequence", he pointed out that there are many places where the Song Ben is wrong and the Ming Ben is not wrong, which is the meaning. In short, he emphasized the important role of the old Song and Yuan versions in the proofreading, but did not overstep their superstition.
Chen Yuan attaches special importance to analyzing the source flow of the version, and examines the circulation process of the version according to the version system, which is of great significance for collation. For example, when he analyzed the source flow of the version of the Zizhi Tongjian, he said: "If we ignore its tribe and talk about its single transmission, then the Yuanyou Hangzhou ben is the ancestral ben, and the Shaoxing chu Yu Yao overcarces the Yuan Yu ben, which is the first biography; Yuan to the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty Yanjing Xingwen Bureau over-engraved Shaoxing Ben, for the second transmission; At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Linhai carved Hu Zhuan, that is, the main text of the Xingwen Bureau, for the third transmission; At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Poyang Hu clan re-carved Hu Zhuan, which is the fourth transmission. [4] The analysis and study of the version is the analysis and study of various different texts, which is an important preparatory work before the collation. Without the analysis of the version system and the source stream of the version, it will take Sun as the ancestor and the stream as the source, and the more the school is, the more chaotic it is, but it is at a loss. Only when the origin and composition of the different materials are clear can we decide the trade-offs, judge the right and wrong, analyze the causes of the errors, and draw correct conclusions.
3. The methods and principles of the School, other schools and science schools
The other three school methods in the four methods of collation are the school, other schools and science schools, which are collation methods used under different conditions. Whoever proofreads ancient books should first use proofreading, then use this school and other schools in turn, and finally use science schools, which is the basic method system in Chen Yuan's survey theory. This school, other schools, and science schools have one thing in common, that is, they can help determine right and wrong and correct mistakes.
Regarding the law of this school, Chen Yuan said: "Those who believe in the law of this school before and after this book, and who pick up their similarities and differences, know the mistakes in it. Wu Jinzhi's "New Book of Tang Correction" and Wang Huizu's "YuanShi Benzheng" use this method. This method is most suitable for use before the ancestral or other texts have been obtained. [3] On the basis of an in-depth understanding and study of the contents and style of the book, including the author's situation, this school method uses this book to verify each other before and after in the absence of other editions to be proofread, so as to discover contradictions. Chen Yuan initially proofread the "Yuan Dian Zhang", "once proofread the catalog with the outline, proofread the book with the catalog, proofread the table with the book, and proofread the "New Collection" with the "Zhengji"", found many inconsistencies, and achieved initial results. [3] As for the inconsistencies or difficulties in the words and sentences of the whole book, sometimes it is not necessary to proofread different books, and correct judgment can be drawn from the basis of this book alone.
Regarding his school law, Chen Yuan said: "He who proofreads the law, he uses him to read this book. Wherever his books are taken from predecessors, they may be proofread by the books of the predecessors, and those cited by the descendants may be proofread by the books of the descendants, and the historical materials of those who are carried together by the books of the same time may be proofread by the books of the same time. Such corrections are broader in scope and more laborious, and sometimes this does not prove their error. Ding Guojun's "Jinshu School Text" and Cen Carved's "< Old Book of Tang > Collation Record" are all like this law. [3] His school law requires the collection and mastery of information about his book as a reference for proofreading. For example, he found that the Shen engraving and the Yuancan chapter had the words "Na Jian Jian" and "Na Lost", and he did not know what it meant, although he suspected that it was wrong, but he failed to find a problem with the proofreader and the school. Later, after checking the "YuanShi" volume 77 "Sacrifice Chronicle" and volume 78 "Youfu Zhi", I learned that it should be "lost", and the Yuan carved version and the Shen Family Ben inscription were wrong, so the errors that occurred due to the similarity of the characters in the process of engraving and copying the book were corrected.
Chen Yuan also used the Tongdian and the Yuangui of the Book of Records to make up for the missing pages of the Book of Wei and the Book of Zhou, which is the most wonderful case of using his school method and has long been amazed by the academic community. [1] P58-63 However, the ancient citations did not necessarily quote all the original texts, and sometimes excerpted or quoted to the effect, which must be taken care of when using other school methods.
Regarding the law of rationalization, Chen Yuan quoted Duan Yujie as saying: "The difficulty of the school book is the difficulty of not changing the words according to the book, not being false or leaking, and the difficulty of determining its right and wrong." The process of "determining right and wrong" is the law of correction. He further pointed out: "This method must be used when there is no ancient evidence, or when several books are different from each other and there is no need to follow. This law must be done through general knowledge, otherwise the halogen will be destroyed, and the dispute will become more and more serious. Therefore, this method is the most wonderful, and the most dangerous is also this law. [3] The rationale is based on doctrine rather than other material bases such as versions. Chen Yuan believes that the science and correction method is also a scientific collation method, but he stressed the need to be cautious and grasp the measure. His principle was: "Unless there is confirmation, do not dare to rely on speculation by reasoning." [3] The school must also have conclusive evidence and cannot be arbitrarily changed under the pretext of the school. It is believed that only knowledgeable and profound generalists such as Qian Daxin, Duan Yujue, and Wang's father and son can use the science and school method.
4. Collation methods and examination
In the four methods of collation and surveying, proofreading is very objective and is the most basic method of collation, and the other three are methods of analysis and verification. In the practice of collation and surveying, Chen Yuan always combines two or more methods and comprehensively applies them. In addition to the collation of words and sentences, Chen Yuan also paid special attention to the collation of historical facts. The collation of historical facts has actually entered the scope of forensic science.
Many of Chen Yuan's wonderful proofreading cases are actually achieved through incisive research. There is an example in the Tongjian Hu Zhuan Table Wei And Proofreading Chapter III: Poyang Hu Shi overprinted the Tong Jian Yin Zhuan, which has a note from Hu San Province: "The world has the inherent knowledge of the words and cannot be blamed on the practitioner Han Wei qi ren." The sentence reads: "The world knows what it says, but it cannot be attributed to the practitioner, and Han and his people are also." Chen Yuan thought that this note was incomprehensible, because Hu San Province had a similar experience with Han Wei, and Hu San Province could not evaluate Han Wei in this way. This is the law of correction, which questions this passage according to one's own rich and accessible knowledge. As for what the problem is, further evidence needs to be sought. Chen Yuan later saw the Yuan and Ming inscriptions, and it was indeed Hu who deliberately changed "deeds" to "cans", and the original text should be: "The world inherently knows what is said and does not work, and it is up to the practitioners, Han And his people." It was exactly Hu San's words of praise for Han Wei. No need to proofread, can only find problems, but can not solve problems; Using proofreading, you suddenly know. This is the result of a perfect combination of proofreading and refutation.
The combination of collation survey and examination, and the integration of examination and investigation into the specific collation and survey practice, is the unique feature of Chen Yuan's collation survey, which is difficult for others to reach.
bibliography
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CHEN Yuan. Proofreading Interpretation[M].Beijing:Zhonghua Bookstore,1963.]
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Chen Yuan. About Xu's Words[N].Guangming Daily, 1962-6-9.