A Study On The Edition And The Dissemination Of Si Shu Da Quan

Published in the early years of the Ming Dynasty,Si Shu Da Quan has beenboth praised and criticized by scholars in the following centuries.As a matter of fact,it is a summary of the achievements in studies of the Four Books during the YuanDynasty,and serves as an important work that heralds later studies in this regard.However,it did not receive due attention in the historical study of the Four Booksand imperial examinations.In this sense,a study of Si Shu Da Quan can enrich thestudies on the Four Books during Ming,define its roles in inheriting the studies inthe previous Dynasty and influencing the studies during Ming,and reveal itsdisseminating forms and statuses.The present dissertation is a study of the editionsof the book,its publishing and dissemination in the Ming Dynasty,and its impact onthe academic history of China.The dissertation consists of three parts.The first part is the study on the bookitself,involving three chapters:Chapter One focuses on the editing and editions of SiShu Da Quan,probing into its background and revealing its relationship with theimperial examinations during the Ming Dynasty through an analysis of several of itseditions available.Chapter Two is a study on Si Shu Da Quan's spreading in the Ming Dynasty.The main form of its spreading in the Ming Dynasty is government offer.After that,bookstores become the main agent of spreading.As to its dissemination outsideChina,there are mainly three ways,i.e.,government offer,purchase from China,andprinting by foreigners themselves.Both Vietnam and Korea have undergone theprocess from government offer to printing books themselves.The dissemination ofthe book is characterized by large areas,diversified ways,multiple media,andmultitude of derivative works.Chapter Three addresses the position of Si Shu Da Quan in the traditionalannotation of studies on the Four Books.The appearance of the book is an inevitableresult of the annotating tradition of Four Books studies.Its annotations are featuredby enlightenment and elucidation.Following the characteristics of Si Shu Zuan Shuand Si Shu Ji Shi,it observes the standpoint ofZhu Zi.The second part of the dissertation comprises Chapter Four,which explores the source of Si Shu Da Quan.It focuses on the relation between Si Shu Da Quan andSishujishi,particularly the adaptation of the latter by the former.It holds that theinheritance of the latter by the former is of reason,and that the inheritance ischaracterized by selective displacement,addition,omission and merging of theannotations under the principle of respecting Zhu Zi.The third part of the dissertation includes Chapter Five,which explores theimpact of Si Shu Da Quan.This is a study of the derivative works of the book.Taking Si Shu Da Quanbian and Du Si Shu Da Quan Shuo as example,it shows therelation between them and Si Shu Da Quan.Si Shu Da Quan Bian and Du Si Shu DaQuan Shuo were written under the special background of the their times and theirauthors:the former rearranged the annotations based on the format of Si Shu DaQuan,clarified its contents and added some others written by Ming scholars;thelatter verified the original and expressed the author's ideas by means of readingnotes,and proves to have transcended many preceding scholars in the standpoint ofannotating.And the concluding part discusses the rich connotations of the Four Booksstudies and Si Shu Da Quan during the Ming Dynasty,as well as the comments madeby scholars in the Qing Dynasty on the Four Books studies in Ming.The Appendix of the dissertation involves two:the first is an index of prefacesand postscripts on the Four Books in Ming scholars' works,and the second is one ofthe titles of literature on the Four Books mentioned in those works.