⊙ 汉字体态论 Chinese Philological Study-The Enchanting Historical Subject (General Introduction) The first series of The Series of the New View on Chi- nese Philological Study drew much attention since it came in- to scene.It was spoken high by the media and was chosen as textbooks by some colleges and universities.Moreover,it was nominated for The Third National Books Award.Many colleagues home and abroad hope to join in us.Now the sec- ond series comes into being after year's careful selection. A series book makes a good view and a question of study triggers many deep considerations. The first consideration is the difficulty of publication Sign with emotion for being tough in publications can frequently be heard in the academic circles,on the contrary, it's hard for the publishing circle to get good manuscripts. The solution to this problem is that publishing and academic circles should joint hands to take it serious to contribute more exquisite books to readers.At the beginning plan of The Se- ries of the New View on Chinese Philological Study,we de- cided to start at a high point.On our way to the top,al- though we are still far from it,we will go on the path. The second consideration is how new achievements can be made in Chinese characters studies. China is a great nation with a long history and unique 10 culture.Chinese character is by itself a great creation.To
study it,we should diversify the approches and focus on the ⊙ construction of ontological philology,from the description, interpretation and summarization of the generation of Chinese character to a deeper level of theorization. The first series intended to confine the field of study and distinguish itself by its broadness.The Comprehensive Study on Chinese Character Culture dealt with the methodololgy of the study on Chinese character;Chinese Character and Cal- ligraphy Culture underwent the cultural pursuit on the calli- graphical style and character formation;The Character Sys- tem in Shuo Wen Jie Zi and China Ancient History (In 1999 the title was changed into Approaches to the Study of the Character System in Shuo Wen Jie Zi)scanned the genuine features of Chinese character;Chinese character and Confu- cian Thought intended to start a dialogue between characters and philosophy and Confucian classics.The first series,in a word,underwent a cultural study on literature,history,phi- losophy.Confucian classics and art in the light of the system of Chinese Characters. The second series distinguishes itself by the specification and depth of the study.The Study on the Lesser Seal Char- acters in Shuo Wen Jie Zi made a systematic approach on the development from the lesser seal character to the regulated character;The Study on the characters on Silk found at Ma Wang Dui concentrates on an exhaustive analysis of the for- mation of the characters on silk;The Morphology of Chinese Characters traces and foresees the form and formation of Chi- nese characters.The second series constructs the morpholog ical system of Chinese characters. 21'st century will be the age of the Intellectual Eco- 11
nomics.The rise of the Intellectual Economics gives out a 汉字体态论 brand-new topic for how to develop human being's wisdom resources,and suggests a new train of thought for scientific research and opens a wide space for scientific development as well. Chinese character is the exordium of China's culture, the root of national culture and spirit.The image patterns of Chinese characters reveal the psychology,thinking and aes- thetics of Chinese people.The history of generation and evo- lution of characters are in fact the history of the mind.To study the Chinese Characters is to make a thorough investi- gation into its root,and to complete the scientific research task from characters to culture and humanity.The second series tries to learn the mysteries of the prototype and inter- pret the cultural implication preserved in the characters.By making a systematic arrangement on the unearthed characters materials from The Period of Warring States to The Period of Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty(Like the characters written on Silk and Bamboo Slips),and by comparing the characters formation with it's style which were printed in the treasure document such as Etymology of Chinese Characters by Xu Shen and at the same time through extensively consulting other archaeological excavation,pre-history ancient charac- ters forming style,folk custom and material objects and high-tech computerized coinage,we have made a new expla- nation to the implication of the Chinese characters'culture from multi-angles.This explanation is exordial to the nation- al culture and wisdom.Only after such a hard and deep study on this subject can we go further to examine the transforma- 12 tion of the traditional culture and begin a dialogue between
the traditional culture and the reality. ⊙ This dialogue has been long expected by both academic 序 and publishing circles,by paying attention to this exordial culture,and sticking to the historical task of Chinese charac- ters which possesses woridwide significance.Only making modern explanation to Chinese characters can the academic and publishing circles stand in the world.The academic study should be based on its home,and the publishing circle should be self-strong and promote its advantages if they want to go to the world or meet with the demands of the world and reality.In the developing history of human being's civi- lization,the movement of introducint the western cultures to China has ever enlightened China's sense of modernization and conversely.Tranformation and passing on the culture are our missions,and the contributions to the world we should make as well. This kind of dialogue is full of creative spirit and enthu- siasm.The exordium culture of Chinese characters is very rich in implication and vigor.Chinese characters represent the three-di-mensional existence of Heaven,Earth and Hu- man Bejings,of nature,society and universe,and of past, present and future.They link up the three steps of creation: source,development and innovation.The broadness and pro- foundness of the researching object appeal for the deepening- ness of the researchers.The high quality research on the Chinese characters make up the high quality academic style and manner.The aesthetical creation of the Chinese charac- ters create the aesthetical nation as well.The erudites of the new age ought to have efficacy of looking closely at the past and lghting up the future,and should keep up with the 13
mankind's civiliciation.The culture exordium,as initial cre- 汉字体态论 ation,is not replaceable and surpassable;however,as a sta- tring point,it must develop and be surpassed by future.As the cultural researchers of the Chinese characters,we should be aware of our sense of history and sense of mission.For- getting history will make us lose the coltural root and the fu- ture as well.The same,we should never forget our mission, or we will lose the hope,and we won't never get a sense of the living singnificance.Just because we acknowledge this a- cademic mission,with an open mind,we will construct a loose atmosphere of research.This series is looking forward to those new works rich with creative spirit.The forthcom- ing third series consist of Comparative Philology,Psychology of Chinese Characters,Comparative Study on Chinese Char- acters in Chinese and Korean and Comparative Study on Chi- nese Characters in Chinese and Japanese. The time's transformation appeals for the academic transformation,as well as the transformation of scholars. Only transformation can glow vitality,and that we can participate in the constitution of the modem academic theory. Man always live in the historical chance.The research on the Chinese characters culture is both a historical existence and a historical task of endless charming. We will continue our creative approches on Chinese characters. If only we create constantly,we will prove worthy of our motherland and the whole mankind Li Ren-fan Zang Ke-he Nanning-Shanghai 14 April,1998