Original title: "A Discussion on the Social History Investigation and Document Collation of Ethnic Minorities in the Republic of China Period"
Zhao Meichun
Professor of the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, Director of the Institute of Historical Theory and History of Historiography. He is mainly engaged in the research and teaching of historical theory and historiography.
Abstract: The social and historical surveys of ethnic minorities conducted during the Republic of China period covered the southwest, northwest, central and southern Regions, Northeast China, Taiwan, and other places, while the southwest region was the mainstay, involving Hezhe, Yao, Yi, Miao, Gaoshan, Li, Naxi, Tibet, Mongolia, Hui, Dai, Qiang, She, and many other ethnic minorities, which were organized by the government or entrusted and dispatched by the government and academic institutions, and were carried out by individual investigation teams and scholars. The collection, collation, and research of ethnic minority literature carried out during this period mainly includes the compilation, compilation, collation, and interpretation of historical documents of ethnic minorities that have been handed down to generations, the collation and research of ethnic minority literature obtained from ethnic surveys, the translation and interpretation of ethnic minority inscriptions, and the compilation of historical materials and research results related to Ethnic Minorities outside the region. The social history survey of ethnic minorities during the Republic of China period left a large number of materials and academic works with high credibility, cultivated talents in ethnology and ethnic history, and the collation and research of ethnic documents laid a historical foundation for the development of ethnic historiography.
Keywords: Republic of China period; ethnic minorities; ethnic survey; literature collation research
In modern times, the crisis in China's frontiers has become increasingly serious, and the understanding of the ethnic minorities in the frontiers has undergone fundamental changes, from the traditional inner China to the outer Yidi to regard the frontier nationalities as an important force to resist foreign insults and defend the frontiers. During the Republic of China period, under the influence of the "new historiography" ideology and the concept of the "republic of the five nationalities", people believed that Chinese history was the history of the Han nationality and the various ethnic minorities competing with each other and integrating with each other to form the Chinese nation. Therefore, "the nation is the main brain of history, and it is imperative that it be dismissed because it is difficult to analyze." "Those who narrate the rise and fall of various races over thousands of years are also the nature of history; those who narrate the rise and fall of various races over thousands of years are also the spirit of history." Therefore, the history of ethnic minorities in China and the current situation of contemporary ethnic minorities have become an important part of scholars' attention, prompting the historiography of ethnic minorities to enter a new stage of development. The formation of ethnic minority historian groups, the investigation and collation of documents on the social history of ethnic minorities, and the writing of various new types of Chinese ethnic histories marked the transformation of ethnic minority history from tradition to modernity. Among them, the investigation and research on the social history of ethnic minorities and the collation and research of documents laid a solid foundation for the development of Chinese ethnic minority historiography in the 20th century.
1. Social history surveys of ethnic minorities
1. The purpose of the Social History Survey of Ethnic Minorities
The social history survey of ethnic minorities conducted during the Republic of China period has left a wealth of survey materials and academic works. Judging from the social situation at that time, the relevant institutions and scholars mainly engaged in this work for three main reasons, one was the change in national concepts, the second was due to the consideration of academic research needs, and the third was the concern for social reality. Since the beginning of the 20th century, China's concept of nationality has undergone major changes, and concepts such as "inner China and outer Yidi" and "Zunxia Zhiyi" have been replaced by equality of nationalities and common development of all nationalities. People regard ethnic minorities as an integral part of the Chinese nation and believe that they should be helped and nurtured. In order to develop and support ethnic minorities, we must first understand them. Yang Chengzhi pointed out in the "Yunnan Ethnic Survey Report": "Since we see that they are part of the Chinese nation, we should support them and implement various civilized and kind methods, so that they will grow up day by day and will be like the Han nationality." This is not to carry the current trend. "The first step in the process must be to understand its language, psychology, customs and culture, and then we can gradually achieve the work of goodwill and support." This is the original intention of many ethnic surveyors, who hope that their investigation work will contribute to the development of frontier nationalities. Wang Xingrui pointed out: "We ethnologists should not only contribute the results of our work to academia, but also to our nation-state. In other words, we want to do our part to solve the frontier problem. The last chapter of his book "The Miao People of Hainan Island", "The Mutual Relations between the Han, Li, and Miao Nationalities", analyzes the problems existing among the Miao, Li, and Han nationalities on Hainan Island, and calls for "the most basic premise for adjusting the relations between the nationalities is that we must first completely change the erroneous attitude towards Li and Miao, that is, to change contempt as sympathy and to change differences into one."
From the perspective of academic research, ethnic minorities and Han nationalities in various places are at different stages of social development, providing rich research materials for anthropology, sociology, folklore, philology, linguistics, history, and archaeology. At the same time, the social history surveys of ethnic minorities conducted by foreigners in China also stimulated Chinese scholars at that time. Yang Chengzhi pointed out: "In this kind of work of inspecting the 'southwest nationalities', instead of letting foreigners take the place, it is better for us to do it ourselves." Why? Because of the historical background, social habits and language relations, Chinese certainly have many barriers in their home countries than foreigners in China. Then, in the future, we still have to lift our spirits and practice it among the people! There are many strange fruits there, waiting for us to pick them. ”
Judging from the social reality, imperialism's covetousness of China's frontier areas made Chinese scholars at that time fully aware of the importance of understanding and studying the frontier nationalities, and expected the frontier nationalities to become a force to resist foreign insults. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist government moved to the southwest region, and in order to stabilize the situation, it was necessary to understand the situation of various ethnic groups in the local area, so it paid attention to the investigation of the ethnic groups in the southwest. In the northwest region, the Japanese invaders provoked the relations between Han and Hong Kong, which aroused the vigilance of all sectors of society at that time, and many scholars tried to unite all nationalities and smash the Japanese conspiracy through field investigation. Therefore, the ethnic survey in this period was aimed at stimulating the enthusiasm of all ethnic groups to resist Japan and go to the country together. As Chen Guojun pointed out in "Guizhou Miaoyi Social Profile": "Today, the enemy rides all over half of China... It is hoped that the government and social figures will pay attention to the Miaoyi people, unite the Miaoyi people, promote the social culture of the Miaoyi people, improve the living conditions of the Miaoyi people, seek all the interests of the Miaoyi, and relieve the miaoyi of all kinds of suffering. "Especially looking forward to my Compatriot Miaoyi, at this time we should know the common interests of our whole nation and the common great enemy, and only by rising up to resist the enemy and insulting can the day of true freedom come."
2. Investigation of the social history of ethnic minorities
The social history survey of ethnic minorities in the Republic of China period covered the southwest, northwest, central and southern, northeast, Taiwan and other places, and the southwest region was the mainstay, involving many ethnic groups such as Hezhe, Yao, Yi, Miao, Gaoshan, Naxi, Tibet, Mongolia, Hui, Dai, Qiang, she, etc. Ethnic minority surveys are conducted by both government-organized and commissioned scholars by government or academic institutions, as well as individual scholars who conduct them spontaneously.
Ethnic surveys organized by government agencies. The Ministry of the Interior of the National Government, its subordinate Mongolian and Tibetan Committees, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Yunnan Provincial Government and the Department of Civil Affairs, and the frontier research institutes set up in various ethnic minority areas have organized or appointed scholars to conduct investigations of ethnic minorities, the content of which is mainly related to the situation of toast, geography, population, folk customs, and social life in border minority areas. For example, in 1929, the Ministry of the Interior of the National Government formulated the "Survey Form of Existing Toastmasters" and the "Questionnaire of Existing League Flags and Other Special Organizations" and distributed them to Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Xikang, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places, and instructed the civil affairs departments of various localities to conduct detailed investigations. In 1940, the government of the Republic of China ordered an investigation into the existing toast departments in the four provinces of Sichuan, Kham, Yunnan and Qian. In 1934, the Mongolian and Tibetan Committee formulated the "Southwest Miaoyi Ethnic Survey Form", requiring all county governments in the southwest provinces that live in the Miaoyi ethnic group to seriously investigate and fill in for the reference of administration, and the content of the investigation includes ethnic types, household registration, population, language, education, living habits, etc.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to stabilize the southwest region and understand the situation of ethnic minorities in the southwest region, the Ministry of the Interior of the National Government issued the "Southwest Frontier People's Survey Form," requiring the southwestern provinces to investigate and fill in the reports, and the contents of the investigation included the types of ethnic groups, the area of residence, the number of populations, the number of Zhuang Ding, living habits, and the past situation of civilized work. In 1940, because Thailand induced the Dai people in Yunnan to attach themselves, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a survey of the Dai people and issued the "Questionnaire for the Dai People of Yunnan Province", which included ethnic types, population numbers, dispersal areas, percentage of the population with Han chinese and other ethnic groups, and whether there were special activities. From the 1930s to the 1940s, the Investigation Office of the Mongolian and Tibetan Committee conducted investigations and studies on the ethnic minority areas in the northwest and southwest, and published the "Survey Report on Ma mane Mountain", "Investigation Report on the Four Banners of the Right Wing of the Islamic League", "Investigation Report on the Three Banners of the Left Banner of the Islamic League", "Investigation Report on the Three Counties of Qinghai Yushu Nangqian", "Investigation Report on Qilian Mountain", "Investigation Report on Qamdo", etc.
Ethnic Surveys of Universities and Academic Institutions. This type of research survey dominated ethnic surveys during the Republican period. The Institute of History and Linguistics of academia Sinica, Sun Yat-sen University, Lingnan University, Daxia University, Jinling University, Yenching University, Yunnan University, etc. have all sent researchers to conduct ethnic surveys. Among them, the investigation presided over by Mr. Yang Chengzhi, Jiang Yingliang, Xu Yitang, Ling Chunsheng, Wu Zelin, Chen Guojun, Lin Yaohua, and others has achieved good results. For example, in 1928, Yang Chengzhi was commissioned by Sun Yat-sen University to go deep into the Liangshan Yi (Luoluo) area at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan, overcoming many difficulties, traveling about 1,000 miles, passing through about 200 villages, obtaining rich ethnological materials and folklore products, and writing works such as "Yunnan Ethnic Survey Report", "Luoluo Shamans and Their Classics" and "From Southwest Nationalities to Independent Luoluo". In 1936, he led graduate students Wang Xingrui and Jiang Yingliang, undergraduate students Luo Bining, Li Qiuyun, Liu Weimin, Song Zhaolian and others to form a guangdong Beijiang Yaoshan expedition to the yaoshan mountains in northern Guangdong between Qujiang, Lechang and Ruyuan to conduct in-depth investigation, and the results were published in the special issue of "Folklore" of Sun Yat-sen University. In 1941, Yang Chengzhi led teachers and students of Sun Yat-sen University to investigate yaoshan in the Milk Source area, and published an investigation report "Investigation Report on the Yao People of Northern Guangdong Province" in folklore, and wrote 6 papers. In 1937, Sun Yat-sen University and Lingnan University formed the Hainan Island Li Miao Expedition, with Yang Chengzhi as the head of the delegation, and Wang Ruixing, who participated in the investigation, wrote the investigation report "The Miao People of Hainan Island" and "The Investigation Report of the Li People of Hainan Island". In 1937, Sun Yat-sen University sent a graduate student, Jiang Yingliang, to western Yunnan to investigate ethnic minorities. Jiang Yingliang entered the Area of Pendulum along the Longteng to conduct a survey, and used the results of the survey to write his graduation thesis "Research on Pendulum Yi in Western Yunnan". In 1938, during the western Yunnan expedition organized by the Central Relief Committee and the Yunnan Provincial Government, Jiang Yingliang participated in the investigation as a special investigator of Sun Yat-sen University and Yunnan University. Based on these two surveys, he completed the manuscript of the book "The Real Life of Western Yunnan" on the basis of the "Study of Western Yunnan Pendulum Yi". In 1940, the Central Political School sent Jiang Yingliang to Babu Liangshan to investigate the Yi people, and thus completed the book "Slavery system of the Yi people in Liangshan".
Academia Sinica has also sent scholars to conduct ethnic minority surveys on several occasions. For example, in 1930, Ling Chunsheng and Shang Chengzuo went to the lower reaches of the Songhua River to conduct a historical survey of ethnic minorities, and Ling Chunsheng wrote the book "Hezhe Ethnic Group in the Lower Reaches of the Songhua River" based on this. In 1933, Ling Chunsheng led Rui Yifu and Warrior Heng to Xiangxi to conduct a Miao investigation, and the results of the investigation were written into the "Investigation Report of the Miao People in Western Xiangxi". In 1934, Ling Chunsheng, Rui Yifu and Yong Yongheng went to Lishui, Zhejiang Province and other places to investigate the social life of the She, and wrote a book called "Research on the Totem Culture of the Shemin People". In 1934, Ling Chunsheng, Tao Yunkui, Zhao Zhicheng, and Yong Yongheng went to Yunnan to conduct ethnic surveys, which involved many ethnic minorities such as Wuyi, Mosan, Weiwei, Qihei, Lisu, Kado, Pola, Chashan, Benglong, and Ah Wa.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, as a large number of research institutions and institutions of higher learning moved to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou, the enrichment of research forces brought to a climax in the investigation of the ethnic groups in southwest China. For example, after Daxia University moved to Guiyang, under the auspices of Wu Zelin and Chen Guojun, from 1939 to 1942, the survey researchers went deep into Anshun, Dingfan, Lushan, Qiandong Bazhai, Dujiang, Xiajiang, Liping, and the counties of the Beipanjiang River basin in Guizhou, Weining, as well as Sanjiang, Rongxian, Luocheng and other places in Guangxi, to investigate and study the history, social life, economy, religious culture, folk customs, and language of the Miaoyi ethnic minorities in Guangxi, and wrote the "Anshun County Miaoyi Investigation Report" and "Anshun County Miaoyi Investigation Report" and "Anshun County Miaoyi Investigation Report" More than 20 kinds of investigation reports, such as the investigation report on the social situation of ethnic minorities in guizhou counties, the survey data on the life of black seedlings, shengmiao, Dongjia and shuijia in southeastern border counties of Guizhou Province, dozens of papers such as "Guizhou Miaoyi Social Profile", "Guizhou Short Skirt Black Miao", "Guizhou Miaoyi Marriage Overview" and "Guizhou Miaoyi Social Research" have been published. At the same time, more than 2,000 precious cultural relics of ethnic minorities were collected and hundreds of photos were taken. The Institute of History and Linguistics of academia Sinica, Sun Yat-sen University, Yunnan University, Yenching University, Southwest United University, Jinling University and other inward migration research institutions and universities have also engaged in the investigation and research of southwest ethnic groups. In 1942, the Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academia Sinica and the Preparatory Office of the Central Museum jointly formed the Chuankang Ethnic Investigation Group, headed by Ling Chunsheng, to investigate and study the social and economic life, marriage system, living habits, religious culture, etc. of the Qiang, Yi, and Tibetan ethnic groups in northwest Sichuan and the northeast of Xikang, and collected many cultural relics specimens and objects. Ma Changshou, who participated in the survey, therefore wrote papers such as "The Origin of Bowl Teaching" and "Jiarong National Social History". In addition, Tao Yunkui, who worked at the Southwest United University, Tian Rukang, Li Youyi, and Fei Xiaotong of Yunnan University, Ke Xiangfeng of Jinling University, and Lin Yaohua of Yenching University also organized personnel to conduct ethnic surveys and wrote many investigation reports and papers on ethnic minorities. For example, Lin Yaohua successively led an expedition team to the liangshan Yi nationality settlement area, northern Xikang, and northern Sichuan-Kang border area to investigate the Yi, Northern Kang, and Jiarong Tibetans distributed here, and wrote investigation reports such as "Liangshan Yi Family," "The Social Situation of the Tibetans in Northern Kang," "Jiarong Toast in the Northern Boundary of Chuankang," and "The Family and Marriage of Chuankang Jiarong." Tian Rukang of Yunnan University wrote "The Pendulum of border people in Mangshi", and Li Youyi wrote the book "The Economy of Hanyi Miscellaneous Areas" through the investigation of ethnic groups in the Sani area of Lunan County.
Ethnic surveys of individual scholars. During the Republic of China period, many scholars also engaged in ethnic surveys alone. From 1911 to 1914, while conducting geological surveys in the southwest region, Ding Wenjiang conducted surveys of ethnic minorities in Yunnan, Guizhou and Liangshan areas of Sichuan, and published papers such as "Indigenous Peoples in Guizhou", "Indigenous Races in Yunnan", and "Indigenous Races in Sichuan Huili". In 1929 and 1935, Lin Huixiang went to Taiwan twice to investigate, and wrote the book "The Primitive Culture of the Fan People in Taiwan". In 1935, Fei Xiaotong and his wife conducted an ethnic survey in Jinxiuyao Mountain for more than 50 days and completed the book "The Social Organization of Hualan Yao". In 1938, Li Anzhai and Yu Shiyu went to Gansu Labhu Monastery to investigate Tibetan areas, and did not leave until 1941. Based on this investigation, Li Anzhai has written a variety of treatises, such as "Types of Monks and Staff at All Levels of Labhun Monastery", "The Prince of Huanghenan and Labhur (Attached Table)", "Protector of Labhun Monastery - An Example of Buddhist Symbolism", "Sakya Lamaism", "Overview of Labhun Monastery", "Open Conference of Labhun Monastery", "Field Research on the History of Tibetan Religion", "Education System of Buddhist Monks in Tibet", and "Lama Education System", and has reviewed the system, names, ranks and functions of the monks and officials of Labhusan Monastery, an important temple of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastic assemblies held during the year for various religious ceremonies and events were analyzed, and the structural system, degree levels and operating mechanisms of Buddhist monastic education were analyzed. When Yu Xiangwen participated in the roving education work organized by the Ministry of Education of the National Government, he went deep into the Tibetan families in the Gannan Tibetan area to conduct a survey, and combined the literature and materials to write the book "Social Survey of the Nomadic Tibetan Areas in the Northwest", which made a comprehensive narrative analysis of the historical evolution, geographical overview, politics, family organization, population, economy, education, health, religious beliefs, and living habits of the nomadic Tibetan areas.
II. Collation and Preliminary Research on Historical Documents of Ethnic Minorities
During the Republic of China period, scholars' collection and preliminary collation of ethnic minority literature mainly included four aspects: first, the compilation, compilation, collation, and interpretation of the historical documents of ethnic minorities that were handed down from generation to generation; the second was to systematically sort out and study the ethnic minority literature obtained from the investigation; the third was the translation and interpretation of inscriptions related to ethnic minorities; and the fourth was to compile historical materials related to Ethnic Minorities outside the region.
1. Collation and research on historical documents handed down to ethnic minorities
During the Republic of China period, Wang Guowei, Jin Yudi, Feng Jiasheng, Fu Lehuan, Wang Renjun, Huang Renheng, Luo Fuyi, Zhang Yuanji, Chen Hanzhang, Wu Fengpei, Jin Liang and others all sorted out and studied the documents related to the history of ethnic minorities. Regarding the collation of Mongolian documents, Wang Guowei has written "Four Kinds of Annotations on Mongolian Historical Materials" ("Mengtar Preparation Notes", "Black Tartar Affair Notes", "Annotations on the Records of the Sacred Martial Pro-Conquest", and "Annotations on the Journey to the West of the True People of Changchun"), which is a representative work for the collation and study of Mongolian historical materials. He not only conducted a written survey of these four books, but also conducted in-depth examination of the characters, geography, history, chronology, systems, and customs involved in them, correcting the errors in the understanding of predecessors. For example, as for the author of the "Mengtar Beilu", he believes that it is Zhao Jue rather than the original Meng Jue through research. Scholars generally believe that the "Four Annotations on Mongolian Historical Materials" is a masterpiece of Mongolian history research. In addition, Shen Zengzhi and Zhang Ertian annotated and sorted out the Wenjinge Chinese translation of "Mongolian Source Stream", which was later published under the name of "Mongolian Source Stream Notes".
In the collection and collation of Liaojin literature, Jin Yudi made arduous efforts. He edited the "Liaohai Series" in the 1930s, which is divided into monographs, magazines, and literary collections, which collect the works of the ancestors of Northeast China, local chronicles, documents describing the history of Northeast China, and works of contemporary scholars studying the history of Northeast China, publishing a total of 10 episodes and 83 kinds of works. Among them, there are many documents on the history of ethnic minorities in Northeast China, such as "Liao Xiaoshi", "Jin Xiaoshi", "Bohai Guoji", "Song Desert Chronicle", etc., which preserve the precious ethnic documents in Northeast China. He also wrote the Liaodong Literature Compendium. Feng Jiasheng, Fu Lehuan, Wang Renjun, Huang Renheng, Luo Fuyi, etc. mainly collated, supplemented, and studied the History of Liao, and collected Liao Dynasty literature. Feng Jiasheng wrote "Liao History Preliminary School" and "Liao History" "History of Jin" and "New and Old Five Dynasties History" Mutual Evidence Examples, Luo Jizu wrote "Liao History School Survey Record", Zhang Yuanji wrote "Liao History School Survey Record" (manuscript), Fu Lehuan wrote "Liao History Review Example", "Song Liao Appointment Envoy Draft", Wang Renjun wrote "Liao History Art Literature Supplement", Chen Hanzhang compiled "Liao History Index", Luo Fuyi wrote "Liao Wen Continuation", "Liao Wen Continued Collection", "Manchuria Jinshi Zhi", Huang Renheng wrote "Liao Traces Five Kinds", including "Liao Dynasty Chronology", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao History Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao Dynasty Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao History Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao History Literature Review", "Liao History Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Review", "Liao Dynasty Literature Examination", "Liao History Chronicle Liao Wen Supplement", "Liao Dynasty Golden Stone Record", "Supplementary Liao History and Art Literature".
In terms of the collation of Western Xia documents, at present, we have seen Luo Fucheng's "Compilation of Western Xia Guoshu" and "Examination of the Catalogue of Western Xia Classics in the Collection of the Beiping Library", Luo Fucheng's "Outline of the Western Xia Kingdom's Books", Luo Fuxuan's and Luo Fuyi's "Notes on the Biography of the Song Shixia Kingdom", and Luo Zhenyu's publication of "Fanhan Heshi Palm Pearl" and "Yin Tong" and other works.
Regarding Manchu literature, in the early 20th century, Jin Liang organized personnel to translate the "Manchu Old Archives" collected by the Chongmo Pavilion of the Imperial Palace in Shenyang, and later published some translations under the title of "Secret Records of Manchurian Old Archives", which was later renamed "Manchurian Secret Records". After Jin Liang, Bao Fengkuan, Qi Zenggui, Zhang Yuquan, and Li Deqi sorted out and studied the "Notes on Manchu Living Habits" and the "Manchu Yellow Book" from the Kangxi to Xuantong period, as well as the "Manchu Old Archives" and "Manchu Wooden Tablets" found in the Archives of the Military Aircraft Department, the Archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Cabinet Treasury. Li Deqi edited the Joint Catalogue of Manchu Books.
Regarding the collation of Tibetan documents, Wu Fengpei published the "Tibet TudiLu" in the semi-monthly magazine "Yugong", and successively published the first series of "Historical Materials of Tibet in the Qing Dynasty" and "Preparing for Tibet in the Qing Dynasty".
2. Collation of ethnic minority literature obtained from relevant surveys
In addition to systematically sorting out the historical documents of ethnic minorities passed down from generation to generation, scholars in the Republic of China period also paid attention to sorting out the ethnic minority literature obtained from the investigation while conducting ethnic surveys. In terms of the collation of Yi documents, Ding Wenjiang, with the help of the Yi scribe Luo Wenbi, translated and sorted out the "Cuan Wen Series", which brought together eleven Yi classics, such as "Chitose Tablet Chronicle", "Saying Text (Cosmic Source)", "Imperial Century (Human History)", "The Book of Offering Wine", "The First Volume of the Book of Interpretation of Grievances", "The Second Volume of the Book of Interpretation of Grievances", "The Instruction of the Heavenly Road", "Quan Nerve", "The Scripture of Yiren for Doing Dojos", "The Great Book of Xuantong", "The Book of Wuding LuoWuyi Zhanji", etc., with about 100,000 words, including important documents of the Yi people in Chuanqian and Dian. In the 1980s, Ling Optoelectronics, Zhang Xing, Tang Chengzong, and others collaborated with the Yi Historical Literature Compilation Group of the Institute of Minority Languages of the Central Institute for Nationalities to update this series of books and published the "Supplementary Cuan Wen Series".
Yang Zhonghong, Fang Guoyu, and Li Lincan sorted out the Naxi Dongba Sutra obtained from the investigation. Yang Zhonghong, with the help of dongba scribes and Hua Ting, wrote the Dictionary of Translations of Some Wendoba characters and Goba Chinese characters (manuscript). Fang Guoyu compiled the "Collection of Some Characters" with the help of the Dongba scribe, using the International Phonetic Alphabet as the Dongba script, explaining the meaning of the Dongba script in Chinese, and analyzing its structure. He also classified and cataloged the Dongba Sutra, and conducted research on the Naxi Moya, Lama Wen Tombstone, and the first largest stele in northwest Yunnan, "Shigu Jie", and wrote miscellaneous notes such as "Qiwen Moya" and "Stone Drum Stele". Li Lincan engaged in ethnic surveys in Lijiang for four years in 1939, studied Dongba and Dongba classics, collected, translated and sorted out Dongba classics, compiled the "Mo some hieroglyphic dictionary" in 1944, and completed the "Mo Some Phonetic Character Dictionary" in 1946. He also collected more than 1,230 volumes of Naxi hieroglyph classics, three volumes of phonetic script classics, and translated more than 20 Naxi hieroglyphs and phonetic script classics. Later, some of the Dongba Sutras were translated into Six Kinds of Commentaries on Some Classics (published in 1957) and Nine Kinds of Commentaries on Some Classics (published in 1978). These surveys and collation studies have made outstanding contributions to the preservation and study of minority languages and scripts.
Scholars in the Republic of China period also collected and sorted out a number of toast family trees, such as Fang Zhuangyou's "Genealogy of Toasts in Lei BoPing Mountain and Shuchuan And Other Counties", "Genealogy of Nine Toasts such as Barbarian Siwen", Fearlessly wrote "The Translation of the Lineage of Dege Toast", chen Bingyuan wrote "Qinghai Toast Lineage Examination", and so on.
3. Collation and research of inscription materials related to ethnic minorities
The examination and interpretation of the stone inscriptions of ethnic minorities mainly focus on the ancient Turkic inscriptions and Khitan inscriptions, Jurchen script, and Western Xia inscriptions. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, in the territory of the present-day Mongolian People's Republic, the "Que Te Qin Monument", the "Vijay Khan Monument", the "WengJin Monument", the "Taras Monument", the "Tun Desire Valley Monument", the "Que Li Si Stele", the "Mo Yan Si Stele", the "Nine Surname Uighur Khan Stele", the "Suji Stele" and other Turkic inscriptions from the period of the Turkic Khaganate and the Northern Hui Khaganate in northern Mobei were successively discovered. Among them, the "Que Te Qin Stele" and the "Vijay Khan Stele" are Turkic on one side and Chinese on the other, but the content of the two scripts is irrelevant, and the "Nine Surname Uighur Khan Steles" are written in Turkic, Sogdian and Chinese. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese scholars such as Shen Zengzhi, Li Wentian, Sando, and Sheng Boxi either wrote or wrote and interpreted the Chinese parts of the Que Te Qin Stele, the Vijaya Khan Stele, and the Nine Uighur Khan Steles. During the Republic of China period, some scholars began to sort out and study the Turkic part of the Turkic inscriptions. In 1935, Han Rulin translated the Turkic "Que Te Qin Stele", "Vija Khan Stele" and "Tun Luo Gu Stele" translated by the German Shidel and the British Ross into Chinese, and the Turkic content of these three-way inscriptions was first known to the Chinese people. His "Notes on the Translation of the Turkic Que Special Qin Stele" includes three parts: the discovery of the Que Special Qin Stele and its research process, the Translation of the Turkic Que Special Qin Stele, and the Annotation of the Turkic Que Special Qin Stele. Its annotations extensively quote historical materials and the research results of Chinese and foreign scholars, and explain the names, place names, officials, and historical facts involved in the translation, which helps readers understand Turkic inscriptions and Turkic history. He also wrote the article "Notes on reading the Que Te Qin Stele" and translated Tomerson's "Introduction to the Turkic Inscriptions of Mongolia", which facilitated scholars to further understand the Turkic inscriptions. Cen Zhongmian further sorted out and studied the Turkic inscriptions on the basis of Han Rulin, and the "Special Service Monument of the Que of the Pai Turkic Script" published in 1937 was intended to make up for the shortcomings of Han Rulin's translation. He examined and interpreted the names of people, officials, places, and tribes that were not determined in Han Rulin's translations, and put forward a new understanding of the interpretation of relevant vocabulary. In 1938, Wang Jingru translated the "Monument of Vijaya Khan" into Chinese according to Lansde's "Two Hui Ru Ni Inscriptions" and examined it, called "Translation and Interpretation of the Turkic Hui Hui Ying Wu Wei Yuan Vija Khan Stele", which elaborated on the important contents involved in the inscription, such as the deeds of the Hui Qi Ying Wu Wei Yuan Vija Khan, the marriage of princess Tang Ningguo, and the deeds of assisting Tang An Lushan rebellion, and expounded the inscription in contrast with the two Tang Dynasty books "Hui Qi Biography"; the names, place names, official positions, and chronological methods involved in the inscription were also examined and studied. In addition, Zhu Yanfeng conducted systematic research on the "Monument to the Valley of Tun Desire", and wrote the article "Evidence of the Translation of the Inscription of the Monument of the Valley of Turkic Desire", which introduced the discovery of the inscription and the research of foreign scholars, and translated it in the order of the orientation of the inscription, and combined with the relevant records of the old and new "Book of Tang" to examine the historical facts involved in the inscription. Huang Zhongqin is the author of "Que Special Service Monument" and "Talking About Que Special Service Monument Again".
At the same time, Luo Fucheng, Wang Jingru, and others sorted out and studied the Jurchen inscriptions. Luo Fucheng wrote two articles, "Examination of the Jinyuan Guoshu Stele of The Banquet Platform" and "Interpretation of the Inscription of the Jinyuan Guoshu Stele of the Banquet platform"; and Wang Jingru's article "The Preliminary Interpretation of the Inscription of the Female True Scholar of the Banquet Platform" added some value to the text interpreted by Luo Fucheng's "Interpretation of the Inscription of the Jinyuan Guoshu Stele of the Banquet Platform". The "Examination of the Monument of the Jinyuan Guoshu of the Banquet Platform" verifies that the inscription is the inscription of the Jurchen Jinshi, which was erected in June of the first year of the first year of the Jin Dynasty, and its text is Jurchen small characters. The Interpretation of the Inscription of the Jinyuan Guoshu Stele of Yantai is first a phonetic annotation of the Chinese characters of the Jurchen characters of the inscription, followed by the original text of the inscription, and then a Chinese transliteration. The "Preliminary Interpretation of the Inscription of the Jurchen Scholar of the Banquet Table" is divided into three parts: introduction, translation of the inscription, and reconstruction and conclusion of the Jurchen language, with an English summary. Among them, the translation of the inscription and the reconstruction of the Jurchen language are the transliteration and paraphrasing of the inscription, and the detailed examination and interpretation of its paraphrasing content according to the "History of Jin", the so-called re-creation of the Jurchen language refers to the rewriting of the inscription in Manchu.
Luo Fucheng and Wang Jingru also interpreted the lamentation books unearthed from the Liao Dynasty mausoleums. Luo Fucheng's "Interpretation of the Lamentations of Empress Daozong Xuanyi", "Interpretation of the Lamentations of Emperor Daozong", "Interpretation of the Seal Cover of the Lamentations of Emperor Daozong and Empress Xuanyi", "Interpretation of the Lamentations of Emperor Xingzong", "Interpretation of the Lamentations of Empress Xingzong Renyi" and other articles, according to the Tuoben or manuscript photos, the Emperor and Empress Lamentations written in Khitan small characters will be copied, and a small number of Khitan small characters will be interpreted. Wang Jingru wrote "Liao Daozong and Empress Xuanyi Empress Khitan Character Lamentation Preliminary Examination" and so on. Jin Yudian edited the "Liaoling Stone Carvings".
Luo Fucheng also sorted out and studied the Western Xia literature, and his book "Juyongguan Stone Carvings" copied the Western Xia and Chinese parts of the Juyongguan stone carvings, and made annotations on the Western Xia script, and his book "Examination of the Catalogue of Western Xia Classics in the Library Collection" translated the titles of the western Xia classic books in the Beiping Library into Chinese.
Regarding the collation and research of ethnic minority literature in the Republic of China period, Bai Shouyi's collation and research on Hui historical materials is also an important part of it. His 1945 publication of "Xiantong Dian's Records of Changes" collected data on Du Wenxiu's uprising, including the texts of the people, the oaths, the proclamations, the regulations governing the military and government, the letters, the couplets, the plaques, the leagues, the instructions, the committee plates, the list of official inscriptions, the accounts of those who personally experienced or witnessed the incident, and the accounts of the hearsayers, etc. Most of these are folk copies and unpublished works, and have high historical value.
In addition, scholars during the Republic of China period also paid considerable attention to the records and expositions on China's ethnic minorities outside the region, such as Feng Chengjun's translation of the "History of the Dosan Mongols", Sha Qi's "Western TurkIc Historical Materials" and "Marco Polo Chronicles". The Compilation of Materials on the History of Communication between China and the West, edited by Zhang Xingxiu, also contains written materials on the records of ethnic minorities in China outside the region.
III. The Significance of Ethnic Minority Survey and Literature Collation Research
The investigation and literature collation of ethnic minorities in the Republic of China period are of great significance in the history of the development of ethnic historiography in the 20th century. As far as the social history survey of ethnic minorities is concerned, first, a wealth of credible information has been accumulated. Most of the investigators have studied in the West academic background, generally received systematic training in anthropology (ethnology), their surveys are carried out in accordance with the survey norms of modern ethnology, the survey reports and academic papers written have detailed descriptions of the economic life of ethnic minorities, social organizations, marriage customs, birth systems, religious beliefs, language and culture, education systems, living conditions, public activities and entertainment, funeral ceremonies, etc., and also collected a large number of local ethnic minority cultural relics. Most of the information obtained is personally experienced by themselves, which has a high degree of credibility. With the development of society, earth-shaking changes have taken place in various ethnic minority areas, and the information accumulated by the social history survey during the Republic of China period is particularly valuable.
Second, it has cultivated talents in ethnology and ethnic history. In addition to the famous ethnologists, there are also young scholars and students who have grown rapidly through the practice of investigation and become the main force of ethnic historiography in the late 20th century. When they trace their academic path, they will mention the ethnic surveys they engaged in during this period. For example, the famous ethnologist Gu Bao once said that following Fei Xiaotong in social investigation at Yunnan University laid the foundation for his ethnological research and had an important impact on his life.
Third, it laid the foundation for the flourishing development of ethnohistory in the late 20th century. After the founding of New China, China's ethnographic historiography has made great progress, among which Ma Changshou, Fang Guoyu, Lin Yaohua, Fei Xiaotong, Li Youyi, Huang Xianyuan, Jiang Yingliang, Gu Bao, etc. have all made outstanding contributions and promoted the prosperity of ethnic historiography. The ethnic surveys they conducted during the Republican period laid the foundation for their new achievements. For example, when Fei Xiaotong discussed the formation of the theory of "the pattern of pluralism and integration of the Chinese nation", he pointed out: "I always feel that a person's ideological concepts are brewed and formed in contact with reality, and theory is inseparable from practice. The roots of my article "The Pattern of Pluralism and Integration of the Chinese Nation" can be traced back to the field investigation of Dayao Mountain in Guangxi in 1935. "It shows that the basis of this creative theory is rooted in the ethnic survey of the Republic of China period."
It should also be mentioned that in the large-scale historical survey and ethnic identification of ethnic minorities carried out in New China, investigators in the Republic of China period played an important role. For example, Fei Xiaotong and Huang Xianyuan were the heads and deputy heads of the Guangxi Branch of the Central Ethnic Delegation of the Central Ethnic Delegation in June 1951, and went deep into the ethnic minority areas of Guangxi to offer condolences and investigate; in August 1956, Huang Xianyuan participated in the establishment of the "Guangxi Ethnic Minority Social History Investigation Group" and served as deputy leader and head of the Zhuang nationality group; from 1956 to 1961, Li Youyi went deep into Tibet and the Tibetan areas of Sichuan to conduct ethnic surveys.
In summary, although the collation and research on the historical documents of ethnic minorities in the Republic of China period is still in its infancy, fruitful results have been achieved, laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive development of the collation and research of historical documents of ethnic minorities in the late 20th century. For example, in the late 20th century, the collation and research of ancient Turkic inscriptions has long surpassed Han Rulin and others, but they have the merit of the blue wisp of the road, and later scholars have a full consensus on this. Commenting on the research process of Turkic inscriptions, Geng Shimin pointed out: "Chinese scholars Han Rulin, Cen Zhongmian and others have also contributed to the study of ancient Turkic inscriptions. When Liu Fengyi and Yu Baolin discussed the general situation of Khitan script research, they believed that Wang Jingru and Luo Fucheng were pioneers in the study of Khitan characters, laying the foundation for later research work, and also believed that Jin Yudi's "Records of Liaoling Stone Inscriptions" had become an indispensable reference book for Chinese and foreign Khitan character researchers. Another example is Bai Shouyi's four-volume "Huimin Uprising" edited and published in the 1950s, which provides a large number of precious first-hand materials for the study of the Hui people's anti-Qing uprising, and this book is expanded on the basis of "Xiantong Dian's Changes and Observations". This shows that scholars in the Republic of China period made outstanding contributions to the collation and research of ethnic minority literature in the 20th century.
【Note】The article was originally published in the Journal of Zhengzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 5, 2018.
Editor-in-charge: Li Jing