There are 200 volumes of The Four Civilizations, including more than 560 kinds of original works 18200 volumes, totaling more than1.400 million words. Among them, there are 30 volumes of Shang and Zhou civilizations, 40 volumes of Qin and Han civilizations, 30 volumes of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties civilizations, and 0/00 volumes of Sui and Tang civilizations.
Four Civilizations is a large-scale compilation of comprehensive, academic and summative research on the history and culture of China from pre-Qin to Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is a masterpiece that shows the essence and core of the first half of Chinese civilization, and it can be called a master of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang civilizations.
Different from the large-scale series compiled in past dynasties, Four Civilizations has distinct characteristics in compiling ideas, compiling styles, document collection, original selection and so on. Generally speaking, there are the following aspects: the principle of combining rarity with practicality:
The collection and printing of ancient books need to collect a large number of rare books from national libraries, provincial and municipal libraries, university libraries and overseas libraries, or choose rare books, first printed books, or collated books by famous artists, with a full understanding of the existing versions. Comparing with Sikuquanshu, taking the Thirteen Classics as an example, Sikuquanshu was recorded by staff and written by many people, which is a mistake made by the people. However, the four major civilizations include not only various editions of the Thirteen Classics in the Song Dynasty, but also the Thirteen Classics in history. In addition, it has also collected many rare and rare annotated editions of Thirteen Classics since the Song and Ming Dynasties, so it is not the same as Sikuquanshu in terms of the reliability and perfection of the collected documents. "Four Civilizations" widely collects rare documents, which makes a large number of rare and rare ancient books incarnate into thousands, greatly facilitating academic research. Among them, there are 4 kinds of Tang manuscripts, 4 kinds of Song manuscripts 10 1 species (68 kinds of Song engravings and 33 kinds of shadow editions), 9 kinds of Yuan manuscripts 1 species (8 kinds of Yuan engravings1species) and 4 kinds of Ming manuscripts/. Among them, Thirteen Classics, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Liezi, Guanzi, Hanfeizi, Mandarin, Warring States Policy (above Shang and Zhou Civilization Volume), Historical Records, Hanshu and Warring States Policy. History of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin, Book of Song, Book of Southern Qi, Liang Shu, Book of Chen, Book of Wei, Book of Northern Qi, Book of Zhou, Collection of Tao Yuanming, Selected Notes of Six Officials, Tales of the World and Song Yingben. Under the auspices of Mr. Zhang Jusheng, the former Commercial Press compiled and printed 24 pieces of Patched History and Famous Mountains, which made great contributions to historiography. At that time, Sui Shu was published in Yuan Dade, and now it is a combination of Song Zhongzi's edition and Song Xiaozi's edition in the National Library. The lost volume was supplemented by Yuan Dade's edition and became Sui Shu in Song Dynasty, which made this ancient book buried for hundreds of years appear to the world. On the basis of collecting rare books and rare books, with the purpose of practicality, we mainly focus on fine proofreading and fine engraving of common documents and ordinary ancient books; Books and editions that are not rare but have a certain popularity in academic circles are also widely collected for the convenience of expert readers' research and reference. The purpose of combining fusion with essence:
According to the purpose of the Collection of Four Civilizations, it not only strives to make it a masterpiece of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, but also highlights the key aspects of civilization achievements in various times, clearly tracking and describing the evolution of Chinese civilization. Collect the documents of an era, try to be comprehensive, and don't leave out important documents. "Four Civilizations" comprehensively collects and sorts out the documents from the pre-Qin period to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and is a comprehensive collection of documents reflecting the civilization achievements of the pre-Qin, Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui and Tang Dynasties.
In the cultural history of our country, the active thoughts of pre-Qin philosophers, the development of Confucian classics and historiography in Qin and Han dynasties, the ideological emancipation in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the peak of literary development in Sui and Tang dynasties are all civilized achievements showing the characteristics of the times. In Four Civilizations, according to the characteristics of civilization achievements in different times, the collection of documents is focused, which helps readers to fully understand the trend of China's historical civilization in different times. The completeness of literature collection:
Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of revising history and summarizing cultural heritage, especially the collection and collation of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty and the textual research of documents by textual research scholars in the Qing Dynasty, which have made great contributions to summarizing chinese heritage. It covers all the documents of an era, and efforts have been made in this regard since Confucius compiled the Six Classics. Since the Song Dynasty, many achievements have been made in consciously summarizing culture. Four Great Classical Novels in Song Dynasty, such as Yuan Gui, Wen Yuan Hua Ying, Tai Ping Yulan, Tai Ping Guang Ji, Yongle Ceremony in Ming Dynasty, Twenty-four histories, integration of ancient and modern books, Si Ku Quan Shu in Qing Dynasty, Four Editions and Four Stores in Republic of China, and newly published. However, if we want to divide the times and summarize the whole documents of an era into a large-scale chronological document, we must start with the four major civilizations. In the past, all kinds of books were either eclectic or similar, and all documents were compiled in chronological order. In the past, even if the scale of large-scale series exceeded the four major civilizations, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack and having no clue for scholars to review all the documents of a certain era. "Four Civilizations" is divided into different periods, and the literature panorama of each period is collected in a centralized and unified way; Therefore, "Four Civilizations" is a series of large-scale documents showing the pre-Qin civilization, the Qin and Han civilization, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties civilization and the Sui and Tang Dynasties civilization respectively, which together become a collection of civilization achievements in the first half of China's history. In view of the requirements of the development of modern academic education, literature, history and philosophy are generally studied in different times and disciplines, and the compilation policy of collecting documents according to the times has greatly improved the practicality and collection of this series. It can be said that in the collation of ancient books in China, the complete compilation of dating documents such as Four Civilizations is unprecedented and unprecedented. In addition, in the collection of specific documents, we also try to use the whole book, such as Tang Baijuan, which is an important document that governance must rely on. Since the Qing Dynasty, it has been compiled into Sikuquanshu, that is, seven volumes to ten volumes and four volumes, and the four volumes of Kuben Yao Hui have been supplemented by later generations, which is not the original appearance. After the Republic of China, the Commercial Press published the Basic Series of Chinese Studies, which included Yao Hui. The original appearance of these four manuscripts is rare. Four volumes of early Qing manuscripts collected by the National Library are now supplemented and attached to the library for academic discussion. Systematic arrangement of data:
In terms of collection and arrangement, all documents are classified according to academic system and academic practice. In the large-scale series compiled and revised in past dynasties, they are generally classified according to traditional classics, history, books and collections. From the point of view of bibliography, this arrangement is convenient for management and reference. However, starting from academic research, it is difficult to focus on the whole literature of a certain era or the whole picture of cross-era literature in a certain field. On the basis of the current academic system, Four Civilizations has made a new classification of the documents of various times, which greatly facilitates the reference and consultation of readers engaged in research in a certain field. For example, in the History of Civilization in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the documents collected are as follows: pre-Qin maps, Oracle Bone Inscriptions records, pre-Qin history tables, bronze inscriptions, images of ancient ships, letters of the Thirteen Classics, four books, the general meaning of the group classics, ancient history of pre-Qin, national languages, warring states policies, hundred schools of thought, miscellaneous works, and pre-Qin geography. The history of civilization in Qin and Han Dynasties can be divided into: Qin and Han annals, Qin and Han historical tables, collections of stories, Guangya, Buddhism, dialects, collections of historical records, collections of certificates, Qin Hebu, Jin Hui of Qin and Han Dynasties, collections of works of Qin and Han Dynasties, geographical Shu Hui of Qin and Han Dynasties, Han Shuo Bushuhui and ancient medical books of Qin and Han Dynasties. The Civilization Volume of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is included in the poetry collections of Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Three Kingdoms, Jin, Song, Southern Qi, Chen, Wei, Northern Qi, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties, and Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The History of Civilization in Sui and Tang Dynasties is divided into: Sui and Tang Records, Sui and Tang Historical Tables, Sui and Tang Official Books, Tang Genealogy Imperial Examiners' List Books, Tang Imperial Decree Commemorative Books, Sui and Tang Historical Books, Sui and Tang Epistemology Books, Tang Buddhist Books, Sui and Tang Miscellaneous Books, Sui and Tang Novels, and the whole history of Sui and Tang Dynasties. Such compilation and compilation is very convenient for scholars who study a certain field. Academic nature of ancient books collation;
While comprehensively collecting documents, it is different from the simple list of documents in previous series, but widely absorbs the existing research results in academic circles. On the basis of preserving documents, it further fully embodies the value of documents and is easy to use. In the selection of the original edition, a large number of famous scholars collate or approve the original edition, and sort out and annotate the original edition. In document arrangement, different versions are listed, research materials are collected, inscriptions are added, sources are indicated, collating is carried out, addenda are added, and its academic value is improved as much as possible. For example, Quan Tang Wen, a big book with 1000 volumes, is mainly used as a reference, considering its collection function. Therefore, this series investigates more than 18400 articles collected in Quantang Wen one by one, and indicates the source of their original documents one by one, which provides researchers with a lot of literature clues. The popular "Tang Kai Ethan" is an engraving of Gongshantang in Guangxu period. This book is rare and precious, and it is not a good hall. Although there are many mistakes in this manuscript, it has been carefully collated by Wang Niansun, a master of textual research in Qing Dynasty, and Zhu Mo is colorful and full of pages. Li compiled the collation results into "Tang Kaiyuan Li Bian" and attached it to the end of the book, making it an important research achievement of the book and included it in the book, which provided very rare information for the academic community.
China's ancient civilization is a major branch of world civilization, and it is the basis of civilization with a long history of 5,000 years. "Four Civilizations" is a large-scale compilation in the process of building Shaanxi Province into a big cultural province and a strong cultural province. It is a grand structure showing Chinese historical civilization and a major cultural project. The completion of its compilation will certainly play a positive role in inheriting and carrying forward China's splendid ancient civilization, summing up China's rich cultural heritage, promoting the construction of a harmonious socialist society and promoting the great development of China's cultural undertakings.
-Fu Guang, Executive Editor of Four Civilizations.