Ye Changchi And Epigraphy In The Late Qing And Early Republic Of China

Ye Changchi, who was born in 1849 and died in 1917, has made significant accomplishments, as a prestigious scholar and bibliophilist, in the areas of collation, catalogue, Epigraphy in ancient China, etc. Focusing on his achievements in studies of Epigraphy in ancient China, this paper traced in chronological order his academic activities and accomplishments at different stages and obtained in-depth understanding of and paid tribute to his contribution to advancement of the traditional studies of inscribed bronzes and stones.This paper starts with an introduction part, followed by five chapters and appendices. The first chapter introduced the family background of Mr. Ye and the academic activities in his youth, emphasizing his participation in piling up the History of Suzhou and in collating the collections in the Tie Qin Tong Jian Building, one of four private buildings for book collection in Suzhou in Qing Dynasty. Misunderstandings concerning his place of origin in current studies are corrected. It should be noted young Mr. Ye did not show special interest in the studies of inscribed bronzes and stones. The second chapter presented the various factors that had finally led Mr. Ye to the studies of inscribed bronzes and stones in late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, especially the influence of two renowned collectors and scholars, Mr. Pan Zuyin and Mr. Wu Dacheng. Chapter three walked through his collections of and research on Jjingchuang Rubbings and pioneered in thoroughly analyzing his sills in identification and philological studies of inscription on bronzes and stones while he was an official in Peiking. This chapter also explained how Mr. Ye collected such a rich collection in spite of poverty he suffered. Chapter four introduced his collection of, cataloguing and writing on related materials to this study area during his stay in Gansu, in the context of the social frenzy for scholars to explore and appreciate steles during late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. All materials Mr. Ye collected during this during this period were firstly sorted in chronological order. Chapter five focused on his academic work after his retirement. The appendices classified, collated and annotated the related materials concerning the studies of inscribed bronzes and stones in Yuan Du Lu Diary to better present his achievements.Set in the context of development of the studies of inscribed bronzes and stones during late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, this paper studied the academic activities and accomplishments of Ye Changchi in the study area, and highlighted his studying spirits, methods and academic status.