Development of the Study of Ancient Chinese History. by Kaizuka ShigekiReview by: Lien-Sheng YangThe Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Nov., 1952), pp. 60-61Published by: Association for Asian StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2942200 .

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60 FAR EASTERN QUARTERLY

Only to the ardent nationalist is there any "disgrace" in cultural borrowings, and the fact that the nation which borrows is strong enough to modify and as- similate the borrowings to its own best interests should be sufficient to wipe out the "stain" even for a nationalist. Furthermore, Dr. Bagchi broad-mindedly admits that cultural relations between India and China were not limited to a one-way traffic. He mentions a few Chinese contributions to the material cul- ture of India and some Chinese influences on the mystic cult of the Tantras. In regard to the latter, he points out in particular the apparent effect of Later Taoist ideas and practices on the Sahajayana school of Buddhism and on the Sahajiy5 sect of the Vaishnavites in Eastern India; although in India, (as in later China) these practices tended to be confined to secret societies and hence their influence was rather restricted.

The book concludes with a chapter of short biographical notes on the Indian scholars who worked in China. Though brief, these sketches should prove use- ful as reference for students of Buddhism. It is to the latter that this book makes its greatest appeal; but, as stated at the beginning, this little book should be of interest to all students of the Far East.

SCHUYLER CAMMANN

University of Pennsylvania

Chiigoku kodai shigaku no batten q (Development of the study of ancient Chinese history). By KAIZUKA SHIGEKI Seait. Tokyo: Ka- bund6, 1946 (3rd edition, 1949). 3 + 3 + 484 p.

This is a useful introduction to the study of ancient Chinese history based on oracle bone and bronze inscriptions. The author is a professor at Kyoto University who has devoted more than ten years to this subject. His original name was Ogawa Shigeki, as is found in his earlier publications; his father was Professor Ogawa Takuji tJ'JIIEti, an expert on geology and historical geography of the Far East.

The table of contents of the book may be translated as follows:

Introduction: Two ways of studying ancient Chinese history-to doubt antiquity and to interpret antiquity.

Part I. Recent developments in the study of ancient Chinese history: (1) Bronze inscriptions, (2) Oracle bone inscriptions.

Part II. Cultures of the Shang and Chou dynasties as seen in new histori- cal materials: (1) Origins of Chinese civilization, (2) Shang culture as seen in oracle bone inscriptions, (3) Chou culture as seen in bronze inscriptions.

Appendices: (1) Eastward expansion at the end of Shang and the begin- ning of Chou, (2) The levying of fines during Western Chou, (3) Formation of the five noble ranks.

The book is based primarily on the research by such Chinese scholars as Wang Kuo-wei, Tung Tso-pin, and Kuo Mo-jo. The period attributions of oracle

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BOOK REVIEWS 61

bone inscriptions follow Tung. The grouping of bronze inscriptions is largely that of Kuo. When controversial opinions are held by Chinese authorities, the author often indicates his preference and occasionally advances his own inter- pretation. He has an extensive knowledge of the field and expresses himself lucidly. In Japan, the book is considered an outstanding contribution and has been awarded the Asahi Cultural Prize.

There is no room in a brief review to go into the details of the controversial problems in ancient Chinese history. At least one interpretation advanced by the author, however, appears dubious. In a bronze inscription belonging to the early part of the Western Chou period, there is the phrase Cbou kung tzu ming Pao ; Chinese scholars explain the characters as "Ming-pao, son of Chou-kung," but they disagree on the identity of Ming-pao. The author pro- poses to interpret the phrase as "Ming-pao, kung-tzu (or prince) of Chou," and wishes to identify Ming-pao with Chou-kung (or Duke of Chou) himself on the ground that Ming "bright" is synonymous with Tan A "dawn," the given name of Chou-kung (pp. 143-147) A major objection to this interpretation lies in the term kung-tzu. From the Tso-cbuan and the Kuo-yi, it is evident that at least in the Ch'un-ch'iu period there was a difference between kung- tzu, "son of a feudal lord," and wang-tzu, "son of a king." There is no reason why the same distinction was not made in the Western Chou period. Anyway, it is unlikely that Chou-kung, son of King Wen, should have been called kung-tzu, "son of a feudal lord." Of course, one might argue that ac- cording to tradition King Wen remained a vassal of the Shang dynasty through- out his life and was only canonized as a king. There is, however, hardly any point in calling Chou-kung "son of a feudal lord" after the Chou Kingdom had been established.

The book was written during the years of the second World War, and so does not include some of the more recent publications, for instance, the monumental Yin-li p'u AR7lf (1945) by Tung tso-pin and the three collections of articles on Shang history based on oracle bone inscriptions by Hu Hou-hsian M&E7- (Chia-ku-hsieh Shang-shib lun-ts'ung qEI CogMAPR 1944-1945). For a sum- mary of Tung's findings in the Yin-li p'u, see my introduction to his "Ten ex- amples of early tortoise-shell inscriptions," HJAS 11 (1948), 120-121. For the most up-to-date review of our knov ledge of Shang culture, see Tung's lecture notes in Ta-lu tsa-chih Akf;& 3.12 (1951), 386-398.

LIEN-SHENG YANG

Harvard University

V novom Kitae (In new China). By K. FINOGENOV. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo; Iskusstvo, 1950. 85 p., plus 29plates.

Ocherki natsional'no-osvoboditel'noi bor'by kitaiskogo naroda v noveisbee vremia (Account of the national-liberating struggle of the Chinese peo- ple in most recent times). By G. B. ERENBERG. Moscow: Gosudarstven-

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