The Qing Dynasty Scholarship Of Ritual Textual Research Methods Study

The scholarship of ritual is an important part of Chinese classical canonical studies; its rich content has influenced the profound explorations and researches of scholars throughout history; and it has even influenced to a very great extent the structure of the Chinese state. Han and Song Confucian scholars established the foundation of the study of ritual respectively out of two discrete strains of scholastic endeavor:textual research and the use of scholastic knowledge to serve the goals of the nation state; and they inspired the thinking of scholars in subsequent generations. As the latter period of "Han scholasticism," the Qing Dynasty laid particular emphasis on understand the content of ritual scholarship from the perspective of textual research, but behind seemingly similar techniques of gathering and evaluating textual evidence, there are hidden different scholars’ complicated and multifarious logical schema and ideological backgrounds, representing the achievements and limits of the textual research methods of Qing scholarship of ritual.This dissertation first will first explore the ideological and technological origins of Qing Dynasty scholarship of ritual, discussing (1) Zheng Xuan scholarship of ritual, which gathered together many of the positive aspects of Han Dynasty scholarship, and (2) the tradition of "common ritual" texts of ritual scholarship begun by Song Dynasty Confucian scholars. Among these two, the Zheng Xuan academic paradigm spanned both antiquity and its contemporary historical context, and became the model for Qing Dynasty Confucian scholarship of ritual. As for the differences in the ritual systems expounded by Zheng Xuan and Wang Su, and also the different interpretations of The Classic of Etiquette forwarded by Ao Jigong and Zheng Xuan, Qian Jia scholars for the most part were partial to Zheng Xuan, advocating his ability to differentiate and analyze as employed in his study of classical texts and his rigorously logical methods. But Zheng Xuan scholarship also has its historical background; the exquisite, magnificent nature of Annotation of the Three Rituals reflects the idealized portrait of Zhou Dynasty rituals existing in the mind of Zheng Xuan; in the end, it departs from the scholarship of "seeking truth from facts" advocated by Qing Dynasty Confucian scholarship. Zheng Xuan scholarship informed Qing Dynasty Confucian scholarship, but outside the pale of theoretical inquiry, Qing Dynasty Confucian scholarship pursued historical fact and historical reality; this schism surrounding ideology and technique became the foremost reason for the descent into sectarian rivalry and neglect of more "righteous" scholarly aims experienced by the textual scholarship of latter generations.Nevertheless, Zhen Xuan scholarship was broad reaching and comprehensive; Qing Dynasty Confucian scholarship inherited its approach, which was characterized by profound understanding of canonical texts and revelation of the essential substance and style of textual works and adopted the pedagogical principle of skepticism in the absence of positive evidence. As such, the contribution of Zheng Xuan scholarship to textual scholarship is very great. Those scholars according to classics to figure out the notes to explanation of propriety, usually shows their generally proficient and prudent; Futhermore supplemented by exegetical, the ancient system like in front of us, that is their prominent point. The thriving of scholarship of ritual reflects on classics, gradually the scholarship of ritual become to classic interpretation. Like The Classical of Changes, The Classic of Poetry, Three Notes, The Analects of Confucius and the other else, the Qing Confucian scholars want combined with ritual, to restore the Dynasty Zhou’s rites situation, and this is where the Qing Study’s particularly point; But they are divorced from the reality based on many far-fetched argument, then they tend to be rigidly stick and pedantic.We believe that, Qing Confucian scholars are like to take the archaeological research methods on ceremony to pursue the path of retro. But the ancient system is vague, cannot be resurrection, and so the Qing Confucian scholars needs to basis the comment of classic to recover the propriety illustration. Ritual illustrations show the ancient rituals on a plane, is a Ritual Study three-dimensional textual research exhibition, contains a depth ritual meaning. Qing Confucian scholars use propriety regulations as a communication bridge to communicate the rites system and the books of Rites meaning. Compare the scriptures, we can roughly know the rites system situation, and then made a similar rites system proved to each other, we can get the Rites General Orders, finally find out the books of Rites meaning by using the General Orders; Instead, the books of Rites meaning can use to bound the Rites Orders by the principles of the occurrence, highlighting the significance of esoteric texts. But Qing Confucian scholars design the Rites Illustration are different with archeology, therefore, there is always with a lot of speculation elements.On the methodology in terms, the old classics is far different from today’s popular science study, the classics documents co-exist "messy" and "great", Qing Confucian scholars lack of basic historical concepts, besides "explain the scripture by scripture" to draw a forced analogy, there are often autocorrelation contradictions, difficult to draw final conclusions. The more closely by the classics theory, in reality, there are more trivial. After Qian Jia period, Duan Yucai, Huang Yizhou and the other Confucian scholars who construct the classics systems ideas, gradually been displaced by those textual researcher like Jin E, Sun Yirang, scholarship of ritual experts began to degenerate into study of document experts, linguists and historians, this is the evolution of the inner classics, but also the fortunes of change, after the propriety fallen of the historical necessity.