The Relationship Between Academic Research And Biography In The Qing Dynasty

This dissertation attempts to explore the relationship between academic research and biography in the Qing Dynasty. The reason for focusing the research on Qing Dynasty is that the academic and biographic research in the Qing Dynasty is study both of dynastic history and general history as well. With study of scholars and biography in the Qing Dynasty as its background and survey into the historical evolution of the biographic writing style, this dissertation profoundly demonstrates the relationship between academic background and writing styles of the scholars.Three areas, namely, "biographic and academic history", "biographies and literature" and "biographic and historical document" are the focuses of the present dissertation. Careful historical exploration and analysis prove that there is close connection between the academic background and the literary style of the scholars. That is, in compiling academic history the Moralists prefer case style while Confucian Classics scholars prefer Confucian-style biography; in writing biographies the ancient Chinese experts prefer inscription style while the historians prefer the history biography.Based on the above findings and combining the literary style research with the academic history research, this dissertation studies the relationship between the controversy on different literary styles and different biographic compilation thoughts and the origin of different academic thoughts in Qing Dynasty. The dissertation is divided into two major parts:First, the dispute between case learning style and Confucian-style biography. With the appearance of Huang Zongxi’s significant Ming Ru Xue An in Qing Dynasty as a typical case learning style, the sinologists used Shi, Han and Ru Linzhuan to build the Confucian biographical form. Analysis into the works of the case learning style and the Confucian biography shows:1)the evolvement of the relationship among the three academic schools:Cheng Zhu, Lu Wang, Han XUE; 2)the relationship between Confucian classics and Confucian-style biography, School of Li and case style; and 3) the academic motive of the scholars after the Qianlong Emperor and Jiaqing Emperor in Qing Dynasty who focus on case-style or Confucian-style.Second, the dispute between inscription style and history biography. When textology started in the Qing dynasty, the historical biography was fully developed. Realistic theory was popular then. Meanwhile, the traditional inscription style was criticized by the historians. Fang Bao, on the basis of Yi Fa Shuo, proposes composing standard without the trivial details which inherited the characteristics of traditional inscription style. In the late Qing Dynasty Liu Shipei developed a more clear view on the difference between inscription style and history biography. In the view of Yangzhou school literature, fact for history biography and imagination for inscription style is the standard.On the basis of the above-mentioned analysis, this dissertation is composed of five parts:Introduction:significance of topic, research method and the status quo.Chapter One sinology and Confucian-style Biography. This chapter discusses the effect of Shi and Han on the building of sinology in Qing Dynasty, the increasing influence of sinologists in Qing Dynasty on Ru Lin Zhuan and the birth and influence of Confucian-style biography.Chapter Two Moralism and Case Style. This part focuses on the link between case style and Moralism. Before the Qianlong Emperor and Jiaqing Emperor in Qing Dynasty there have been a lot of studies into case style. Therefore, this part will focus on the relationship between then prevailing academic thought and three case-style works, namely, Xue An Xiao Zhi by Tang Jian, Qing Ru Xue An by Qian Mu, and Jin Ru Xue An by Liu Shipei. This part tries to find out the reason why the case style and Moralism cannot mix, and the reason why the Moralists, like Liu Peishi, compose the case style.Chapter Three Ancient Chinese Experts and Inscription Style. This part focuses on the origin and the features of the inscription style, the relationship between Yi Fa Shuo of Fang Bao and the traditional inscription style, and the effect of without the trivial details theory deduced from Yi Fa Shuo on the Inscription Style. Chapter Four Historians and the History Biography. This part introduces Qian Daxing, a representative of historical investigation, who inherited the empirical study originated in late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty and proposes biographic theory of writing according to facts. Then, Zhang Xuecheng proposed a new view on selecting the biography materials by combining local records with Qian Daxing’s theory. While inheriting Zhedong school’s historical view, Yangzhou School preferred prose. Liu Shipei was influenced by Ruanyuan, who tried to use Wen Bi to ensure the leading status of prose. Liu Shipei revealed the blurred nature of inscription style and proposed the theory of fact for history biography and imagination for inscription style.A combined method of literary, historical and philosophic research is adopted. By integrating parallel reading of biographies, research of essay, stylistic theory with academic revolution and evolution, the dissertation endeavors to make some discoveries.