First, the pre-Qin literature sorting work
The earliest document found in China is Oracle Bone Inscriptions, but because it is an unearthed cultural relic, it is also related to ancient philology and archaeology, so it is generally not placed in the direct category of historical philology. Secondly, like Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions do not belong to the category of historical philology, but belong to epigraphy. In addition, the earliest historical documents belonging to the category of historical philology are the Six Classics, namely, Poetry, Calligraphy, Rites, Yue, Yi, Spring and Autumn Period.
At this time, the situation of "learning in the official" was broken, and private schools have risen and gradually developed. Operators of private schools have the opportunity to collate and compile historical documents and oral information circulated by the people.
According to legend, the Six Classics was compiled by Confucius, who is knowledgeable and proficient in the Six Arts, and has the foundation and ability to collect, sort out and compile documents. In addition, Confucius founded a private school and soon had many students and disciples. Such a team is a powerful reserve force for Confucius to sort out and revise the Six Classics.
When The Book of Songs was written, according to the records of relevant documents, it can be proved that Confucius really had the ability to delete the Book of Songs.
There are some doubts about whether Confucius participated in the revision of Shangshu, but it cannot be denied that Confucius did profit and loss work for Shangshu.
Confucius attached great importance to etiquette and wrote The Book of Rites.
It is said that the Ten Wings of the Book of Changes originated from Confucius and became his disciples or re-disciples, which is well-founded. It was Confucius who gave new content to "divination" and made a special biography for it.
The Spring and Autumn Annals is recognized by the world as the first chronological history book compiled by Confucius in China.
People in the pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties all recognized Confucius' works on Yue. Because Yue died in Qin Shihuang's burning of books, later generations can no longer see Yue's content, so it is impossible to make further research on Yue. But in any case, Confucius compiled.
Confucius not only sorted out the Six Classics, but also corrected the mistakes caused by the circulation of documents. His first step in collecting and sorting out historical documents is undoubtedly an inspiration and a reference for future generations.
Confucius' attitude towards historical documents is "words without deeds, trust and cherish it". "Narration" means telling and sorting out. To talk about historical documents, it is necessary to sort out historical documents. Only on the basis of sorting out the literature can we tell and teach better. On the one hand, inaction embodies Confucius' modest character, on the other hand, it embodies Confucius' thought of seeking truth from facts. The "Six Classics" compiled by Confucius are the result of "narration", not the creation in absolute sense. "Loyalty to the ancient" reveals Confucius' true thought, that is, conservative and retro, and it is based on this that he can have the motivation and strength to sort out ancient documents.
The Six Classics have all been sorted out by Confucius to varying degrees, and only on the basis of sorting out by Confucius can they be preserved relatively completely. Therefore, we can regard the collation of the Six Classics as the bud of China's historical philology, and Confucius is the ancestor of China's historical philology.
In addition to Confucius, there were other activities to sort out historical documents in the pre-Qin period.
The Analects of Confucius is a unique record of Confucius' words and deeds by his disciples and re-disciples. After several collations, Mencius came out and had a far-reaching impact on later generations.
Han Feizi put forward his own views on the classification and textual research of historical documents. Confucianism and Mohism are considered as the most influential schools in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and these two schools are divided into eight schools and three schools. This is actually to divide the pre-Qin scholars' literature into two levels and make a preliminary classification. At the same time, it also puts forward the necessity and importance of distinguishing the authenticity of materials. In addition, Xie Lao and Yu Lao also contributed to the interpretation of historical documents.
In addition, Mencius, Mozi, Zhuangzi and Xunzi also contributed to historical philology.
The following are three biographies of Spring and Autumn Annals that have been handed down to this day. Because of their concise rhetoric and exquisite speech, they are Zuo Zhuan, Ram Zhuan and Gu Liangzhuan. Among them, Zuo Zhuan is the best. It records the Spring and Autumn Classics in the form of chronology, and it is widely recorded, not only in Lu, but also in politics. His beautiful writing occupies a prominent position not only in history but also in literature. Moreover, Zuo Zhuan is the real beginning of China's ancient annotation literature. However, the remaining two biographical notes are earlier annotation documents of China in ancient times, and their historical value is not as good as that of Zuo Zhuan.
Second, Sima Qian's contribution to historical philology
Sima Qian's contributions to historical philology are as follows:
1, in-depth investigation and study, extensive collection of information.
"Liu Xiejing, on the other hand, has hundreds of miscellaneous words arranged here."
3. Notes on historical documents. I have made popular annotations on some ancient documents.
4. "The suspect is very embarrassed." The principle of leaving uncertain problems to future generations has always been followed by future generations.
It can be said that Historical Records itself is the crystallization of comprehensive literature of past dynasties. It should be said that Sima Qian really pioneered the private collection and collation of historical documents, and at the same time, he was a historical writer by collecting the achievements of historical documents. He provided an example for future generations to deal with historical documents and the relationship between historical philology and history.
Third, Liu Xiang's Bielu and Liu Xin's Seven Laws.
Due to the rapid disintegration of Qin, the rulers in the early Han Dynasty were anxious to know the reason why "Qin lost the world and I gained the world". Based on the need of long-term stability and rule, the rulers in the early Han dynasty gradually had the desire and requirement to collect and sort out ancient documents and classics.
Liu Bangshi changed from despising "Wen Zhi" to seeking advice from Confucian scholars.
Huidi "destroyed calligraphy" in four years.
Emperor Wen "opened the way to offer books" and "managed the history"
When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in power, he took the measures of "building a collection of books, appointing officials to write books, and filling the legends of all factions with secrets".
When Xuan Di proclaimed himself emperor, he held a discussion on the similarities and differences between The Biography of Ram and The Biography of Gu Liang in Shiquge. This is an academic conference that can promote the development of historical documents.
The change of rulers' understanding and the implementation and strengthening of measures have created conditions for the realization of large-scale document collation. With the recuperation in the early Han Dynasty and the rule of Wenjing, Hanwu experienced a grand occasion of economic prosperity, and a large-scale document arrangement in ancient China finally began in Xuan Di. This time, a strong team was organized to sort out the literature, and all kinds of talents gathered together, and the content of sorting out was all-encompassing. Liu Xiang and Liu Xin are the overall and final finishers of this arrangement.
The process and characteristics of Liu Xiang's father and son proofreading books;
Program: 1, Wide and Different Texts 2, Examining Chapters 3, Collating and Abbreviating Essays 4, Naming the Book Title
The procedure of Liu Xiang's father and son sorting out documents is practical and scientific, which provides effective methods and experiences for future generations.
In order to reveal the contents of the book, Liu Xiang wrote a narrative after writing the sorted documents as originals. The contents of the description include the description of the title of the book, the description of the collating process, the introduction of the author's life and ideal, the significance of the description, the reasons for writing the book and the nature of the book, the identification of the authenticity of the book, the right and wrong comments on thoughts and historical facts, the analysis of academic origins and the determination of the value of the book. This narrative was written in two copies, one for the court and one for the book. It's Bielu, a 20-volume collection of narratives written by Liu Xiang when proofreading books. This is the first literature review in China.
Liu Xiang died, and his son Liu Xin inherited his career. He also wrote seven views of Bielu (including: a brief compilation, a brief examination of six arts, a brief examination of various schools of thought, a brief examination of poetry and fu, a brief examination of the art of war, a brief examination of the number of techniques and a brief examination of techniques).
Generally speaking, the main achievements of Liu Xiang and his son in sorting out historical documents are:
1, creating a set of effective methods.
2. Creatively compiled the catalogue.
3. Completed the first comprehensive book classification catalogue "Seven Views" in China.
After Liu Xiang and his son, "collation" and "bibliography" gradually developed and eventually became two independent disciplines. The achievements of Liu Xiang and his son in sorting out, collating and classifying historical documents are the outstanding foundation of ancient historical philology in China.
Four, Ban Gu's "Han Shu Literature and Art"
Yiwenzhi records the collection of books in Han Dynasty on the basis of Qilue and Bielu.
1, the adjustment of chapter structure, each kind of book will be collected at the end, and everyone will express their opinions.
2. Add and delete the original text. In Yiwenzhi, the words "out", "in" and "province" are used to express profit and loss.
Ban Gu's Records of Literature and Art has made obvious progress in text structure, the combination of preface and postscript, and the rationality of classification. Moreover, Yiwenzhi initiated the compilation of the official Yiwenzhi according to the official catalogue, which made most of the subsequent official records leave records of books or works of a certain person in this dynasty. Moreover, the oldest existing book catalogue in China is Hanshu Yiwenzhi, which has a very high value and position in historical philology.
Five, Zheng Xuan proofreading group classics.
Zheng Xuan mainly studied China's ancient classics, and used the method of studying China's modern classics to spread and interpret the classics, among which Mao He's interpretation was the most influential. Its main contribution is to put forward a series of principles and methods for sorting out and annotating documents:
1, judge and determine errors and errors according to the meaning of the text.
2. Use the collating methods of our school and other schools.
Step 3 respect the original text
Precautions:
1, widely recruited and widely cited
2. Use the method of voice training. He realized the close relationship between sound and meaning of language, and applied the knowledge of exegetics and philology to document annotation. He founded, developed and gradually improved biographical annotation through a lot of literature annotation practice, which made biographical annotation reach an unprecedented breadth and height in form and content. Zheng Xuan also carried forward Sima Qian's scientific spirit of seeking truth from facts.
He also wrote "Three Rites Catalogue", which is a summary catalogue with rich content and high academic value. And formed the basic principles that should be followed in annotating documents, which became the basic criteria for later generations of philologists to collate and annotate.
It can be said that Zheng Xuan initiated a new era of historical document annotation.