Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T23:16:26.808Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Remarks on The Menzies Collection of Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones, Vol. II: The Texts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2015

Chang Tai-Ping
Chang Tai-Ping*
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'
Type
Bibliography
Information
Early China , Volume 4 , 1978 , pp. 66 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Study of Early China 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

FOOTNOTES

* This article is a review of Hsü Chin-hsiung. The Menzies Collection of Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones (Ming I-shih shou-ts'ang chia-ku shin-wen p'ien) Toronto, Canada: The Royal Ontario Museum, 1977.

I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Paul L-M Serruys for his generous assistance and advice.

1. Wei, Wang Kuo, “Yin-hsü pu tz'u chung so chien hsien-kung hsien-wang kao ,” and “Yin-hsü pu-tz'u chung so chien hsien-kung hsien-wang hsü-kao ,” Wang-kuan-t'ang hsien-sheng ch'uan-chi (Taipei: Wen-hua, 1968), 2.391–432Google Scholar.

2. Tung Tso-pin , Yin-li-p'u (Ssu-ch'uan Nan-hsi : Kuo-li chung-yang yen-chiu yüan li-shih yü-yen yen-chiu-so, 1945), 1.1bGoogle Scholar.

3. Shigeki, Kaizuka reads it as shih in his Kyōto daigaku jinbun kagaku kenkyūjozo kōkotsu moji (Kyoto: Kyoto Daigaku Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyujo, 1960), p. 9Google Scholar.

4. The writing style of the Tui diviner group is very similar to the Pin diviner group, and it is rather difficult to determine their periods. For a detailed explanation see Meng-chia, Ch'en, Yin-hsü pu-tz'u tsung-shu (Peking: K'e-hsueh ch'u-pan she, 1956), pp. 150–3Google Scholar.

5. Hou-hsüan, Hu, Chan Hou-nan-pei so chien chia-ku-lu , (Peking: Lai-hsüan-ko shu-tien, 1951), Preface, p.1Google Scholar.

6. Kaizuka Shigeki says “In my period classification I have established a new period which I call the 3rd-4th Period. Here I have placed those Inscriptions which belong to either the 3rd or the 4th Period in which the name of the king cannot be determined.” See Kyoto daiqaku jinbun kagaku ken-kyūjozo kōkotsu moji, p. 21. As to the Royal family and Group of Princes, see pp. 18-22.

7. Meng-chia, Ch'en, “Chia-ku tuan-tai-hsüeh ,” Yen-chinq hsüeh-pao, 40 (1951), 1–58Google Scholar.

8. I-p'ing, Yen, “Chia-ku-wen tuan-tai yen-chi u hsin-li ,” Chung-yang yen-chiu yüan li-shih yü-yen yen-chiu so chi-k'an, Ch'ing-chu Tung Tso-pin hsien-sheng liu-shih-wu sui lun-wen-chi, 4 (1960), 1–25Google Scholar.

9. Chin-hsiung, Hsü, “T'an chen-jen Ho ti nien-tai ,” CKWT, 43 (1972), 1–4Google Scholar.

10. Tung Tso-pin, op. cit., 3.13a-20b.

11. Chin-hsiung, Hsü, “Chia-ku pu-tz'u chung wu-chung chi-ssu ssu-shou ti shang t'ao ,” CKWT 22 (1966), 1–10Google Scholar.

12. Tsung Tso-pin, op. cit., 3.15a.

13. The SWCT omits this graph. According to the Liu shu-ku, the T'ang edition of the SWCT had it. Tuan Yu-ts'ai adds the graph ch'iang under the radical p'ien. The SWCT says “p'ien means to split a piece of wood.” Under the graph ch'iang it says “Ch'iang is a reversed form of p'ien. It is pronunced ch'iang.” See Yu-ts'ai, TuanShuo-wen chieh-tzu chu (Shanghai: Shangwu, 1936), 7.69Google Scholar. In the Liu-shu-ku, Tai T'ung quoting Li Yang-ping says “(If one splits a piece of wood into two pieces), the right piece is called p'ien, and the left piece is called ch'iang.” Tai T'ung rejects this theory. See Liu- shu-ku, Ssu-k'u ch'uan-shu chen-pen, liu-chi, (Taipei: Shang-wu, 1975), 21.7bGoogle Scholar.

Wu Ch'i-ch'ang considers ch'iang as a tray. In fact, Wu's explanation is based on an explanation by Wang Kuo-wei. Wang argues that either or was a picture of a tray standing up on a side. Later, when the horizontal tray became commonly used, the vertical tray graph was discarded. See “Yin-hsü-shu-ch'i chieh-ku ,” Wen-che chi-k'an , 3.2 (1933), 33Google Scholar, and Wanq Kuan-t'ang hsien-sheng ch'uan-chi, pp. 137-41.

14. Wu Ch'i-ch'ang, “Yin-hsü shu-ch'i chieh-ku,” p. 33.

15. Yen I-p'ing suggests this possibility in his “Shih ,” CKWT 8 (1962), 7Google Scholar. Shih-ching 209 has a line that reads “Some [sacrificial meats] were displayed, and some were measured.” The Mao commentary says “Shang means ‘to adjust’ [‘to measure’]. There is some speculation that the word shang meaning ‘to measure [the water and heat]’ of the Mao-shih is a later form of this graph. See Mao-shih chu-shu in the chu-shu, Shih-san-chihg, (Kyoto: Chubun, 1971), p. 1005Google Scholar. What perhaps is refered to here is a practice mentioned in the Chou-li: “The cook takes charge of supplying the tripods and cauldron in order to give the (proper) measurement of water and heat.” Cheng Hsüan (127-200 A.D.) comments: “The cauldron Is a vessel used for the purpose of cooking meats and dried fish. Once it is done, it is then placed on the top of the tri pod and one measures [adjusts] the amount [of water and heat],” See Chou-li chu-shu, Shih-san-ching chu-shu, p. 1425. Yen I-p'ing argues that the meat was actually put on top of the tripod before the meat was done.

Note that the interpretation of Mao-shih 209 is problematic. See Karlgren, Bernhard, “Glosses on the Siao Ya Odes,” BMFEA, 14 (1942), #660Google Scholar.

16. Chen-yü, Lo, Tseng-ting Yin-hsü shu-ch'i k'ao-shih , (n.p. Tung-fang hsüeh-hui ), p. 131Google Scholar.

17. Fang-p'u, Chu, Chia-ku-hsüeh “Wen-tzu-p'ien ,” (Shanghai: Shang-wu, 1934), 7.7bGoogle Scholar.

18. Mao-shih 235 has the line “… their libations were presented in the capital [of the Chou].” Mao-shih 272 has a similar usage:

“We present our offerings.” See Karlgren, Bernhard, “Glosses on the Ta Ya and Sung Odes,” BMFEA, 16 (1944), #761Google Scholar.

19. Yen I-p'ing, “Shih pp. 6b-7a.

20. Ibid., p. 9.

21. The graph has been transcribed in many different forms. Wang Hsiang transcribes it as without giving its meaning. See Fu-shih Yin-ch'i lei-tsuan (T'ien-chin: T'en-chin Museum, 1925), 14a. Lo Chen-yü also transcribes it as or and says it means a petty official. See Tseng-ting Yin-hsü-ch'k'ao-shih, pp. 103-4. T'ang Lan transcribes it as and . He says that this is the chou form of the modern character chien ‘difficulty’. He argues that all of these graphs were pronounced almost the same in old Chinese. See Ku-wen-tzu-hsüeh t'ao-lun , Preface (Hongkong: T'ai-p'ing, 1965), p. 8Google Scholar. Hu Hou-hsüan accepts T'ang Lan's theory; see Chia-ku-hsüeh Shang-shih lun-ts'ung,” “Yin-tai Kuei-fang k'ao ,” (Ch'eng-tu: Chi-lu ta-hsüeh yen-chiu so, 1944), p. 4a. Kuo Mo-jo offers a different interpretation. He says “This is a pictograph of a person kneeling beside a drum.” The old form of this graph was . The Shuo-wen says “One guards the drum in order to keep watch at night. The graph derives from a drum and is pronounced ch'i … The graph is the original form of .” See Pu-tz'u t'ung-tsuan k'ao-shih (Tokyo: Bunkyū Shoten , 1933), 3.87b–88bGoogle Scholar. Kuo Mo-jo also quotes the Chou-li and the Ch'un-ch'iu-chuan to prove that ch'i means ‘to concern’. Therefore, according to Kuo, the phrase should read “there will be no imminent (coming) difficulties.” However, Kuo does not give any proof for his identification of the bone graph and the character in the Shuo-wen. Al though the element of the graph was replaced by of the graph , it is very possible that it is merely a variant of It still needs further study.

22. Pin was an important diviner during the Wu Ting Period. See Tsung-i, Jao, Yin-ta i chen-pu jen-wu t'ung-k'ao (Hongkong: Hongkong Univ. Press, 1959), p. 241Google Scholar. Tung Tso-pin estimates that the Wu Ting Period was from 1339 to 1281 B.C. See Chung-kuo nien-li tsung-p'u (Hongkong: Hongkong Univ. Press, 1960), pp. 87–94Google Scholar. Here is a table which shows the date of rule of the Shang kings.

See Chang, Tsung-tung, Der Kult Der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakel inschriften (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1970), p. 21Google Scholar.

23. Ta was a diviner of the Wu Ting and Tsu Chia time. See Jao pp. 811-2 and Tung, pp. 87-99.

24. Fu was a diviner of the Lin Hsin and K'ang Ting Periods. See Jao p. 1149 and Tung pp. 100-1.

Also see Kuo-wei's, Wang “Yin-jen i-jih wei-ming chih so yu-lei ,” Yin-li cheng-wen , Wang Kuan-t'ang hsien-sheng ch' uan-chi, pp. 1945–52Google Scholar.

25. Lo Chen-yú, Yin-hsü wen-tzu lei-pien, (n.p. chueh-ting pu-i-hsuan, 1926?), 3.14a-b.

26. Tseng-ting Yin-hsü shu-ch'i k'ao-shih, p. 92. Ch'en Huan-pang agrees with Lo Chen-yü, but further argues that is the ku-wen form of See Yin-hsü shu-ch'i k'ao-shih hsiao-chien, , (n.p., 1925), p.11b. Wu Ch'i-ch'ang also agrees with Lo Chen-yü, but he suggests that chui may be a synonym of chan (to divine). See “Yin-hsü shu-ch'i chleh-ku,” 3.4 (1934), 660Google Scholar.

27. Hsing-wu, Yü, Shuang-chien-ch'ih Yin-ch'i P'ien-chih (Peking: Ta-yeh, 1940), p. 43aGoogle Scholar.

28. Kaizuka Sh1gek1f 0p. cit., p. 377.

29. Ibid., p. 377 and p. 493.

30. Meng-chia, Ch'en, Yin-hsü pu-tz'u tsunq-shu, p. 596Google Scholar.

31. Tso-pin, Tung, Yin-li-p'u, 1.4aGoogle Scholar.

32. Yen I-p'ing identifies as liao. He says that is ‘scattered wood” and the circle indicates that the scattered wood have to be bundled. It means one bums the bundled wood in front of ancestral tablet. See “,” CKWT, 17 (1965), 5bGoogle Scholar.

34. See Yin-tai chen-pu jen-wu tung-k'ao, p. 565, p. 783, p.811, p. 845, p. 902, p. 923, p. 972, p. 1020, p. 1029, p. 1101; and Meng-chia's, Ch'enYin-hsu pu-tzu tsung-shu, p. 190Google Scholar.

35. The material is based on Shima Kunio's, Inkyo bokuji sōrui , (1967; rev. ed. Kyoto: Kyūko Shoin, 1971), pp. 154–5Google Scholar.

36. This graph hui often appears in the oracle bone inscriptions, and has been a subject of much controversy. In 1951, I keda Suetoshi published the article “Kenji ko ” which summarizes the conflicting views of eleven Chinese scholars. Ikeda includes the following chart that summarize the different hypotheses regarding hui:

1). The hypothesis of fu and hui.

3). The hypothesis of the graph ch'ang.

4). The hypothesis of the graph chih.

See “Kenji Kō ,” Kōkotsugaku , 1 (1951), 9Google Scholar.

After Ikeda's study, two later articles also have attempted to analyze hui. The first one is Wang Hsien-t'ang “Shuo t'a-hs1en ,” in which he concludes that hui is a picto-graph of a spindle. See CKWT, 34 (1969), 3bGoogle Scholar. The second is Han Yao-lung's “Chia-ku pu-tz'u chung, hui wei yung-fa t'an-chiu .” He agrees with Wang Hsien-t'ang that the original form of hui is a spindle. However, it never occurs in the oracle bone inscriptions in this sense. It was used in the sense of wei, to which he ascribes a number of functions sucfi as 1) an introductory particle; 2) a grammatical particle; 3) equivalent to ch'i (indicating “uncertainty”); 4) a preposition (meaning “at”). See CKWT, 43 (1972), 2–3Google Scholar. Yen I-p'ing considers that all usages of hui could be explained as the equivalent of wei. See Mei-kuo Na-erh-sen mei-shu-kuan ts'an chia-ku-pu-tz'u k'ao-shih, p, 4. Dr. Hsü seems to sbare this view, but he ends up actually listing at least seven distinct usages in his work.

37. I would question why t'ien in this sentence is construed as “hunting ground.” In a paralel example (B1961 ), Dr. Hsü renders t'ien as a verb “to hunt”, I think t'ien is also a full verb here.

38. Serruys, Paul L.-M., “The Language of the Shang Oracle Inscriptions,” T'oung Pao, 50 (1974), 25Google Scholar.