Ancient Script Texts
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In
Historical sources record the recovery of a group of texts during the last half of the 2nd century BC from the walls of
Terminology
- Current Script Texts
- Confucian classics that were reconstructed from surviving copies and scraps. The Classic of Ritesare among these.
- Ancient Script Texts
- These alternate versions of the classics[which?] were found after the Current Script Classics were compiled. Some came from the Confucian family manor while others were found in the imperial archives or in private collections. The Rites of Zhou and the Zuo Zhuancommentary are Ancient Script texts.
- Forged texts in Ancient Script
- This concerns primarily the rediscovered version of Yan Ruoju circulated his thesis in the Qing dynasty. Recent archaeological recoveries of manuscripts produced around 350 BCE confirmed the late nature of these 18 texts. Huangfu Mi, Wang Su, or Mei Ze himself are suspected as the forgers.
- Received Texts
- This term indicates any texts that have been transmitted, overall continuously, from ancient times to the present. This group includes the Changes and Poetry, the Current Script version of the Yili, a combined version of the Analects, and the Current Script version of History with the 25 forged chapters.
Controversy among new schools
By the 1st century, a new controversy had begun between these two texts. The "current script texts" are those that had been transliterated into the new orthography back in the beginning of 2nd century BC,[citation needed] either from oral transmissions or from texts that had survived the Qin dynasty's burning of the books or were rescued by the Han dynasty in the provinces. Surviving scholars in the direct line of transmission of these texts got hold of surviving copies and transliterated them into the new orthography.
The "ancient script texts" were the ones that off and on since the late 2nd and during the 1st century BC had turned up, some discovered in the walls of Confucius's residence, or in Warring States period graves. They were called the "ancient script texts" because they were written in the pre-Qin writing. The discoverers of the "ancient script texts", such as Liu Xin, claimed that all existing texts suffered from an interrupted pedigree,[citation needed] which was rectified by the newly discovered texts. "Current Script text" supporters claimed that the "ancient script texts" are forgeries that lack a line of transmission.
In reality, the burning of the books probably did little more than symbolically burn a few copies of the Confucian books conveniently at hand in the capital.[
The "current script texts" portray Confucius as a prophet or "uncrowned king" that should have received the Mandate of Heaven. He could perform miracles and wrote the Five Classics himself. The New Text school, founded by Dong Zhongshu, believed the texts were sacred and carried hidden clues to the future that they tried to decode. They were also interested in apocryphal writings that were abstruse and esoteric. They believed historical events were caused by cosmic forces beyond the control of man. They also believed officials should disobey the sovereign's decree if it will harm the state or dynasty. To betray the sovereign for the sovereign's own sake will keep the Mandate of Heaven in the dynasty's hand and is an act of greater loyalty.
The Ancient Script school was rationalistic. They rejected apocrypha and believed that the classics were only edited by Confucius. They believed history was caused by human actions and viewed the Son of Heaven (the emperor of China) as the axis mundi whose will was absolute. Officials may advise but not disobey as it is the emperor who is ultimately responsible for keeping or losing the Mandate of Heaven.[citation needed]
The "ancient script texts" had a peculiarly archaist bent. They emphasized the sage-like as opposed to the prophet-like characteristics of Confucius, thereby making him look more like the earlier sages who founded and ruled the Zhou dynasty or even the still more archaic states which preceded it. And yet, these archaic sage-kings are shown ruling China with a bureaucratic apparatus peculiarly like that available to Han dynasty rulers, and hence by methods which strikingly echoed those of putative enemies of Wang Mang, the modernists. The Former Han (206 BC – AD 8), prior to Wang Mang, had favored the Current Script Text. When Wang seized power, he declared the Ancient Script Texts to be the state orthodoxy. After the Han restoration, the Current Script Texts became orthodox again.[citation needed]
Later Han (AD 25–220) scholars began favoring the Ancient Script Texts. Zheng Xuan synthesized the teachings of both schools. While he was very influential, he was unable to unseat the Current Script Texts orthodoxy though the issue became moot when both schools disappeared after the collapse of the Han. Zheng became the mainstream source of interpretation until the appearance of Neo-Confucianism in the Tang and Song dynasties. The controversy was forgotten until it was rediscovered during the Qing dynasty by scholars of Han learning.
Modern interpretations
Significance of the ancient/current script text controversy is a debate topic in the modern sinology. Michael Nylan has proved that the issue itself was an artificial projection of the mid-Han problematic onto the early Han realities.[1]
See also
- Chinese classic texts
- Guwen
- New Text Confucianism
References
- ISSN 0082-5433.
Sources
- Aque, Stuart V. (1994). "Introduction". Pi Xirui and Jingxue lishi (PhD thesis). University of Washington. hdl:1773/11124.
- Nylan, Michael (1994). "The Chin wen/Ku wen Controversy in Han Times". T'oung Pao. 80 (1). Brill: 83–145. JSTOR 4528622. A thorough and detailed study of the jinwen/guwen designation, distinction, and related topics.
- Ess, Hans Van (1994). "The Old Text/New Text Controversy. Has the 20th Century Got It Wrong?". T'oung Pao. 80 (1). Brill: 146–170. JSTOR 4528623. A study that addresses the views of modern scholars.
