Song Dynasty Gold Literary Studies

The inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty is the beginning time of the research on Ancient Chinese characters. In this period there were more than forty works appeared. They made much achievement in a creative way regardless of material preserved or the discipline foundation. This is rich academic inheritance that the scholars of Song Dynasty remained to the descendant scholars. But at present the attention paid by academia to it is inscificent. And there is much blank space in interrelated field of research. That is why the author chooses it as topic of the dissertation. The author makes great efforts in the vision of traditional inscription research on ancient bronzes to hunt after the reason why the inscription research on ancient bronzes arisen in Song Dynasty, discuss and sum up the methodology formed by the scholars of Song Dynasty researching on bronze inscription and analyze the achievement they made as well as the influence of the inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty on the interrelated research in the Qing Dynasty on the chance of providing full and accurate material to write the learning history of research on bronze inscription, ancient Chinese Characters, theory of Chinese Characters and so on.The dissertation is divided into seven chapters.The first chapter concludes two aspects. One is the reason why the author chooses this topic. Another is the history and actuality of the research on bronze inscription research during the Song Dynasty. Wang Guo-wei in the late Qing Dynasty firstly investigated the research on bronze inscription during the Song Dynasty. During the Republic of China Rong Geng, Ma Heng and Yang Shu-da etc. made research on this topic with certain range. In the last three decades works and articles pertinent to this topic increased gradually and put forward much new view. On the whole the sweeping statement is superabundant but the careful quoting is insufficient. The achievements obtained by the senior and the scholars of present age and the insufficiencies still existing on problems in correlation is a lamp for us to make an overall and in-depth study survey.In the second chapter the author counts the works on the inscription research on ancient bronzes produced during the Song Dynasty on the grounds of the catalog works from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and some specialized epigraphy works in modern times. At the same time the author makes summary on some works of importance.In the third chapter the author analyses the reason why the inscription research on ancient bronzes arisen in the Song Dynasty from four aspects including the blackboard and environment, the ancient bronzes appeared in an excavation in huge amounts, interrelated academic accumulation and preparation, the Engraving Printing and the technique to make rubbings. The communication among the scholars of the Song Dynasty promoted the research on bronze inscription. The final purposes of their research was to substantiat the study of Confucian Classics and supplement the historiography. This pursuit had a positive effect as well as passive influence. The inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty itself was a process of gradual development from arisen to flourish and to penetrate deeply. The author deals with this process up on all and summaries the characters of each period at the end of this chapter.Chapter four is the utmost importance part of this dissertation. In this part the author mainly discusses and summarizes the method that the scholars of Song Dynasty used to research the bronze inscription. The scholars had identified more than 600 ancient Chinese Characters on the ancient bronzes they collected. Confrontation method was mainly used. And analyzed the constituent parts of the ancient Chinese Characters on the ancient bronzes was also effected. Besides these two methods the same or similar use of Chinese Characters in the classic works of Pre-Qin Period and the meaning of the epigraph also helped to identify the Chinese Characters on ancient bronzes. During the Song Dynasty the scholars formed comparatively accurate knowledge on the common rules of grapheme of the Bronzes Characters and the development of ancient Chinese characters as well. The methods they used ware comparatively scientific but with imprudence and limitation by related branch of learning there ware many mistakes existed in their research.In chapter five the author analyzed the work that the scholars of Song Dynasty quested after and collected ancient bronzes diffusely, painted them as well as the emblazonry, copied the bronzes inscription and recorded the place that the bronzes appeared in an excavation etc. The scale of the research was unprecedented extensive. The figure and the inscription of the ancient bronzes painted by the scholars of Song Dynasty were comparatively precise. And some inscriptions in ancient bronzes that recorded by the scholars of Song Dynasty were still valuable for interrelated research of today.In chapter six the author analyses the research made by the scholars of Song Dynasty on the ancient bronzes. Firtly the scholars of Song Dynasty made certain the name of the ancient bronzes. The names made by them are still used by the scholars of today. And it is more important that the scholars of Song Dynasty made two pieces of discipline to ascertain the name of the ancient bronzes. Secondly the scholars of Song Dynasty ascertained the age of the acient bornzes. And more important is than they provided several discipline to ascertain the bronze of Shang Dynasty as well as the mothod of relating the correlative bronzes to ascertain the age of them. Thirdly the scholars of Song Dynasty classified the bronzes they collected. Forthly the scholars of Song Dynasty had an opjective awareness of the usage of the ancient bronzes. In a word the scholars of Song Dynasty made some creative achievements in these aspects.In chapter seven the author summarized the achievement obtained during the Song Dynasty on the bronze inscription research and the influence of the correlative research. as well. This chapter concludes three aspects. Firstly the achievement of the bronze inscription research during the Song Dynasty. Secondly the influence of it. The inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty provided reliable materials of ancient Chinese characters for the research on "Liushu". It also influenced the interrelated research during the Qing Dynasty. Thirdly the remark on the bronze inscription research during the Song Dynasty. As a whole the inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty covered a wide range of field, brought forth much new ideas. But lack of scientific knowledge and erudition etc. there still existed some insufficiency such as distortion of the copied inscription from ancient bronzes, inaccuracy of identified the bronze characters and the age of the bronzes as well an some names didn't square with the facts and so on. After all the inscription research on ancient bronzes during the Song Dynasty was the beginning period of the research on the bronzes. They inaugurated a new field of study and this is the utmost importance.