Research On Pan Weicheng's "Ancient Annotations On The Analects

Pan Weicheng,a native of Wuxian County(now Suzhou,Jiangsu),lived during the Jia-Dao period of the Qing Dynasty and died in the Daoguang Thirty Years(1850).He studied with Li Rui of Yuanhe County,and was a disciple of Qian Daxin.He was greatly influenced by the Wu School scholars of the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods in his academic thinking and research methods,and made great efforts in the study of phonology,etymology,philological studies and the Gathering of Scattered Writings.The book was written in the eleventh year of the the reign of Emperor Tongzhi during Qing dynasty(1872)and first published in the seventh year of the regin of Emperor Guangxu(1881).During his lifetime,Pan Weicheng completed the collection,arrangement and compilation of the book,and twenty-two years after his death,the book was completed by his son,Pan Xijue,after finishing the compilation.From the perspective of the Qing dynasty Han learning system,Pan Weicheng inherited the tradition of Qian-Jia-Period textual criticism and was influenced by the Wu School scholars’ idea of "reverence for the ancient and the Han",and promoted the teachings of Han Confucianism.The Compilation of the Ancient Commentary on the Analects of Confucius is an extensive search and editing of the ancient notes of Han scholars,including Zheng Xuan,Ma Rong,Bao Xian and others,among which Zheng Xuan’s notes are the most.The book also extensively cites the achievements of scholars of the Qing Dynasty who studied the Analects of Confucius and the scriptures,so it can be said that the content is broad and eclectic.In terms of research methodology,Pan Weicheng follows the academic tradition of Wu School scholars,who attach importance to phonology and etymology and strict examination,and conducts a careful and detailed examination of the different texts,names and places appearing in the sutras and commentaries of the Analects,and has many innovative views.From the perspective of the history of the Analects of Confucius and the research and development of the Analects of Confucius in the Qing dynasty,the Compilation of the Ancient Commentary on the Analects of Confucius is of documentary value in terms of its academic contribution,as it collects and organizes the ancient commentaries of Han Confucians and compiles and extracts the research results of Analects in the Qing dynasty.At the same time,it has played a role in analyzing and correcting the problems that existed in the previous studies on the text and historical facts of the Analects,and has also positively corrected and counteracted the undesirable trend of scholars’ misinterpretation of the classic works at that time.However,it is also found that the book has the shortcomings of "emphasis on etymology rather than chapter and verse" and "emphasis on textual research rather than sense".Based on the above examination and analysis,it is found that Pan Weicheng,when compiling this book,intentionally eliminated from the commentary the"Pseudo-Kong An Guo Commentary" and the commentary under it,which were included in the Collected Commentary on the Analects of Confucius compiled by He Yan and other scholars in the Wei and Jin dynasties.There are three main reasons for this.First,Pan Weicheng inherited the ideological tendency of the Wu School scholars of the Qian-Jia period,who were fond of the ancient and revered the Han.Secondly,He Yan and others compiled The Collected Explanations of the Analects of Confucius,which had the phenomenon of interpreting the scriptures with the ideas of Lao Zhuang,showing the academic characteristics of Confucianism and Xuan,which was opposed by Pan Weicheng.Third,the Commentary on the Analects of Confucius was heavily abridged from Zheng Xuan’s commentary,and many of the views on the interpretation of the scriptures were different from Zheng Xuan’s views.Therefore Pan Weicheng did not adopt these views.In addition,it is found that although Pan Weicheng follows the method of ancient literature and scriptures,which attaches importance to the philological studies and etymology,he still quoted a lot of views of modern literary scholars of the Qing Dynasty,such as Liu Fenglu and Song Xiangfeng,in compiling this book,showing the academic characteristics of incorporating the achievements of modern and ancient texts of the Qing Dynasty.