Research On The Four Studies Of Mencius By Zhou Guangye

Zhou Guangye was a scholar and book collector in the Qing Dynasty,and an important figure in the early Qianjia School.His academic research field is extensive and his works are abundant,with high achievements in scripture,history,taphonomy,cataloguing,anthology,geography and jinshi.The Four Studies of Mencius is Zhou Guangye’s masterpiece on the study of Mencius,which contains his rich and profound conceptions of classics and his approach to classics.The Four Studies of Mencius were written by Zhou Guangye in order to collect the escaped texts of Mencius,to preserve the different texts and ancient commentaries,and to investigate the place and time of Mencius’ origin,including the four parts of "The Escaped Texts"."The Different Texts","The Ancient Commentaries",and "The Place and Time of Origin",involving various aspects such as editing,edition,proofreading,and textual research.The book has been revised several times and has received the help and guidance of many famous scholars at that time,with a strict compilation style,rich editions and detailed citations.The Four Studies of Mencius provides a detailed and careful research of Mencius from both textual and historical perspectives.On the textual level,Zhou Guangye edits and proofreads the escaped texts and ancient commentaries of Mencius,compiles and verifies a large number of dissimilar texts of Mencius,and carefully investigates the causes of the dissimilarities.He has also been able to explain difficult words and phrases,preserve documentary materials,write case studies,and invent his own opinions.At the level of historical facts,Zhou Guangye has conducted an in-depth research of important issues in the life and death of Mencius,his residence,writings,career,and travels,with systematic and detailed discussions.In addition to searching for evidence from the internal text of Mencius and other scriptures,he also cites stone inscriptions and contemporary commentaries to solve some important problems in Mencius,which are important for the interpretation of Mencius.The Four Studies of Mencius also has limitations and shortcomings.Firstly,some of the anonymous texts of Mencius edited by Zhou Guangye have not really been lost,which is the result of his limitation in time and academic vision.Secondly,some of the issues examined by Zhou Guangye are not sufficiently substantiated,improperly identified,or even lacking in materials.In the process of compilation,there are occasional errors in the use of information.All these have affected the systematization and depth of his study of Mencius to a certain extent.In his research of the historical facts related to Mencius,Zhou Guangye takes the records of Mencius as the standard,reflecting his view of classics as history.In the majority of his testimonies,Zhou Guangye has not only made his own judgments without being confined to the old ideas,but has also been careful in making his own conclusions,respecting the achievements of others and indicating the sources of the quotations,thus reflecting his philosophy of practicality and truthfulness.