Ancient Script Texts: Difference between revisions

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{{More footnotes|date=May 2021}}

In [[Chinese language|Chinese]] philology, the '''Old Texts''' ({{zh|c=古文經|p=Gǔwén Jīng|w=Kuwen Ching}}) refer to some versions of the [[Five Classics]] discovered during the [[Han Dynasty]], written in archaic [[Chinese character|character]]s and supposedly produced before the [[To burn the classics and to bury the scholars|burning of the books]],. asThe opposedterm tobecame theused in contrast with '''Modern Texts''' or '''New Texts''' (今文經), which indicated a group of texts written in the new orthography currently in use during the Han dynasty.

TheHistorical lastsources half ofrecord the 2ndrecovery centuryof BCa wasgroup theof periodtexts when new versions ofduring the Confucianlast classics were discovered. Mosthalf of thesethe new2nd versionscentury wereBC found infrom the walls of [[Confucius]]’s old residence in [[Qufu]], the old capital of [[State of Lu]], when Prince Liu Yu (d. 127 BC) attempted to expand it into a palace upon taking the throne there. In the course of taking the old wall apart, the restorers found old versions of the ''[[Classic of History]]'', ''[[Rites of Zhou]]'', ''[[Yili (text)|Yili]]'', ''[[Analects of Confucius]]'' and ''[[Classic of Filial Piety]]'', all written in the old orthography used prior to the reforms of the [[Clerical script]]. Hence, they were called “old texts”. These newly discovered editions had an effect on later Confucianism.

==Terminology==

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== Modern interpretations ==

Significance of the old/new text controversy is a debate topic in the modern sinology. MartinMichael KernNylan claimshas proved that the issue itself was an artificial projection of the mid-Han problematic onto the early Han realities.<ref>{{Cite Accordingjournal|last=Nylan|first=Michael|date=1994|title=The toChin him,Wen/Ku theWen issue should be seenControversy in light of the transition from the self-referential ritual tradition (centered on the oral and multimedia practices) to the literary canon.<ref>http://chin.nju.edu.cn/zwx/wxs/czc/sinology2007206.pdf {{webarchiveHan Times|url=httpshttp://webdx.archivedoi.org/web/20120425130742/http://chin10.nju.edu.cn1163/zwx/wxs/czc/sinology2007206.pdf156853294x00070|journal=T'oung Pao|datevolume=April 25, 2012 80|issue=1|pages=83–136|doi=10.1163/156853294x00070|issn=0082-5433}}</ref>

==See also==

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*[[guwen (disambiguation)]]

*[[New Text Confucianism]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Sources==

*[https://digital.lib.washington.edu/dspace/bitstream/1773/2092/19/INTROdiss..pdf The History of Classical Scholarship]. Stuart V. Aque (a chapter from his doctoral dissertation at the University of Washington). (PDF)

* Nylan, Michael, '"The Chin wen/Ku wen Controversy in Han Times'," in: ''T'oung Pao'', 80 (1994), pp.&nbsp;83–145. A thorough and detailed study of the jinwen/guwen designation, distinction, and related topics.

* Nylan, Michael. 1994. “The "chin Wen/ku Wen" Controversy in Han Times". T'oung Pao 80 (1/3). BRILL: 83–145. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4528622.

* Ess, Hans Van, 'The Old Text/New Text Controversy. Has the 20th Century Got It Wrong?' in: ''T'oung Pao'', 80 (1994), pp.&nbsp;146–170. A study that addresses the views of modern scholars.

{{Confucian texts}}