A "stupid" valued 100,000 ancient scholar Jiang Yubin deciphered the "reward" oracle bone inscription
Jiang Yubin inspected the original piece of oracle bone conjugated by himself
"Tun" Oracle
Jiang Yubin speaks at the International Symposium to Commemorate the 120th Anniversary of Oracle Discovery
Jiang Yubin's thesis explains the relationship between the two "tun" forms of the Shang Dynasty script and its interpretation of the "tun" form
"My language may still be relatively obscure and not suitable for mass communication."
After receiving the interview invitation, Jiang Yubin, a young researcher at the Fudan University Unearthed Documents and Ancient Writing Research Center, expressed his concerns and thoughts to the reporter. Before the Spring Festival of 2020, he frequently received invitations from the media for interviews, which he had never devoted himself to.
This sudden attention has to start with the "one word worth 100,000".
In October 2016, the Museum of Chinese Characters issued an announcement of the "Outstanding Achievement Award Program for Oracle Interpretation of Oracles": those who decipher Oracles that have not yet been interpreted will be awarded 100,000 yuan per word; those who have made new interpretations of the controversial Oracles, The single word reward is 50,000 yuan.
In the three years since the announcement, only one person has succeeded. This person is Jiang Yubin.
On June 21, 2018, the Museum of Chinese Characters released the first batch of winners of the Oracle Oracle Interpretation Outstanding Achievements Award. Jiang Yubin won the first prize for the paper "The "Stupidity" of Oracle Inscriptions and Related Issues", with a prize of 100,000 yuan.
Although he won this highest award in 2018, it was not until the end of last year that coincided with the 120th anniversary of Oracle's discovery that Jiang Yubin and his deciphered stories began to receive frequent attention from the public and the media.
On November 1, 2019, the "Commemoration of the 120th Anniversary of Oracle Discovery" was held in the Great Hall of the People. Unknowingly, Oracle Research has gone through 120 years in China.
For professional scholars like Jiang Yubin, regardless of whether the media and the public are concerned, they always insist on what they should do in their field.
As rigorous as he is, 42-year-old Jiang Yubin insists on answering questions unique to his scholars of ancient writing. He sorted out the questions into written text and landed on the nib and paper, to avoid deviations and misunderstandings to the greatest extent.
This "stupid" is not stupid
As we all know, Chinese characters are a combination of form, sound, and meaning. When they are specifically used, they may have different usages and meanings. To decipher ancient texts, academics generally call it "examination" or "interpretation", that is, to recognize unrecognized texts and to read through sentences that cannot be read.
Jiang Yubin gave an example: "The "and" in ancient writings is similar to the writing of later generations, and it can be recognized that it is "and", which is word recognition; but sometimes it depends on its context, such as "first and "high and yellow emperor", It's literally impossible to read. If you know'and' here is the'ancestor' that means grandfather and ancestor, read'ancestor ``high ancestor Huangdi', you will understand. This is'read'."
What about the oracle bone script he interpreted? After reading the pictures, many netizens ridiculed that this is like a tree branch or a flying duck... No matter how you think about it from any angle, you never think that the word will have anything to do with "stupid". Jiang Yubin's thesis "Release the "Stupidity" of Oracle Bone Inscriptions - Concurrently on Related Issues", for the first time, made a complete interpretation of the word from multiple angles of form, sound and meaning.
The abstract of his thesis begins like this: "The number of Yinxu dictionary words is used before the name of the chaotic Fangguo. It is unclear. According to the detailed font comparison, the word can be confirmed as "tun", which is mainly used for stupidity. 'stupid'."
The font is "tun", but when interpreted, it becomes a "stupid" word that seems completely irrelevant. Jiang Yubin further explained that during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, there were some turbulent and restless Fanguo countries that needed to be settled by logging. So, what do these ancient countries generally refer to in ancient books? Jiang Yubin said: "For example, the turbulent Yifang is called'Stupid Yifang'; the turbulent Yufang is called'Stupid Yufang'. This way, Oracle's stupid interpretation is interpreted, and the homeopathic solution of the Western Zhou Jinwen's stupidity is solved. ', like'Stupid Huaiyi' stupid 猃狁', these are the Fangguo tribes that were first unrested and then conscripted."
As soon as this kind of interpretation appeared, the sentence was read through, and it completely corresponded to the sayings in the ancient books of the pre-Qin period, such as "Stupid I Have a Miao" in "Mozi", "Stupid Yin" in "Shangshu", "Book of Songs" "Stupid Man Jing" in the Chinese version, and "Stupid State" in Tsinghua's "Fate". In addition, the writing of the Western Zhou Jinwen changed slightly, which is consistent with the ancient stupidity listed in Shuo Wen Jie Zi.
In order to make the readers understand clearly, Jiang Yubin also explained it in a more popular way as far as possible: "'Stupid' originally meant'moving'. In ancient times, some turbulent and restless tribes of Fangguo were called'stupid states', etc. .'Stupid' has a derogatory meaning, and the meanings of'stupid' and'clumsy' which are commonly used by people are actually developed later."
Jiang Yubin's thesis successfully read the oracle bone sentences using this method of interpretation. At the same time, it also further interpreted the relevant forms in the Western Zhou Dynasty inscriptions and ancient scripts, and cleared up the barriers of understanding that were formed due to the obstruction of the interpretation of the word "stupid". It can also solve some of the problems and improve these reflections. Dynasty and Fang Guo The utilization efficiency of tribal relations materials.
Jiang Yubin's series of interpretations formed a complete chain of evidence, interlocking and verifying each other. This also solved some problems in the ancient books. Once the research results were launched, they were justified and supported by review experts.
"Explaining ancient text is like piercing through window paper"
Mr. Yu Shengwu, a famous Chinese scholar of ancient writings, once said that studying ancient writings is like breaking through window paper. Why did Jiang Yubin pierce the window paper?
Jiang Yubin believes: "Not because of how good I am, but because I am too lucky." In Jiang Yubin's view, the key evidence for cracking the bottleneck is often an accidental moment, and this moment happened to happen to him.
For some time, Jiang Yubin has been stuck on this word and cannot be solved. He spent a lot of time, studied almost all relevant materials, and considered many interpretation possibilities, but he did not make any substantial progress. One day, after completing another wave of desk information work, the dawn suddenly appeared, and several key evidences hit Jiang Yubin. These evidences all led him to connect the character to be interpreted with the words "tun" and "chun". Finally, he confirmed that the font that he did not know was "Tun"! The word "stupid" in Oracle inscriptions was just deciphered by Jiang Yubin.
After I figured it out, Jiang Yubin's work efficiency improved a lot, and it took only a week to write the first draft of the thesis. There is a common practice among ancient writing scholars, which is to send their articles to their peers and ask them to make judgments and make comments. Before sending it, Jiang Yubin was already confident that the basic views and conclusions he interpreted were certainly correct, because various evidences had been proved by themselves.
"As long as you notice the key pieces of evidence and are sensitive to those pieces of evidence, it can be said that many colleagues can solve this problem. Now that the opportunity is given to me, I am very lucky. The ancient stupid Fangguo tribe needs to calm down. Now I will take this "Stupid" is resolved, and of course I am happy." For Jiang Yubin, boring and long can't really hit him, and there will be no breakthrough to make him frustrated.
20 years of studying "the harder the more you want to learn"
Jiang Yubin's undergraduate degree is Chinese. Although the learning content of the Chinese major is broad and has not been refined to the direction of ancient writing research, for Jiang Yubin, these four years are just particularly valuable and have profoundly influenced his professional pursuit and learning methods.
Recalling the four years of university time spent at Qufu Normal University, Jiang Yubin felt deeply: "I think there are at least two points that I miss so much. First, I received good thinking training and exercise through courses such as literary theory and modern literature. To improve the ability to think; second, the school's academic style is excellent, and I have read some books in a down-to-earth manner."
It is precisely because of the accumulation of a large amount of writing that Jiang Yubin gradually found his true interest in the vast Chinese world-the fields of ancient Chinese and ancient documents, and he has formed an indissoluble bond with Oracle inscriptions.
At that time, as a college student, Jiang Yubin understood his future path. He began to consciously read the introductory books of ancient philology, and a strong desire for knowledge occupied his thoughts: "I especially want to know the early appearance of our Chinese characters. And there was a careful thought at that time, wasn’t it difficult to learn Oracle? But the harder I am, the more I have to learn."
Later, Jiang Yubin was admitted as a graduate student of Chinese classical literature, and naturally chose the direction of oracle bone inscriptions. He studied ancient writings under the guidance of ancient writing expert Professor Dong Lianchi, focusing mainly on oracle bone writing. At that time, Jiang Yubin often borrowed books from his teacher Dong's house. When he was interested in the book, he went to find it, and then took it home to read it.
"Teacher Dong guided me to read the original materials of Oracle and read "Collection of Oracle". Everyone thinks that the seventh volume of "Collection" is the most difficult. Because it is difficult to read, it is necessary to look up the information from many parties and look at more research. In the process Not only did he exercise himself, but also realized that the so-called hard-to-read materials were actually the riches that the predecessors paid less attention to."
As soon as there were some discoveries in oracle bone conjugation and font classification, Jiang Yubin became more confident, and later went to Jilin University to follow the archaeologist and ancient scriptologist Mr. Lin Yun to pursue a doctorate.
"At this stage I have a little foundation in the study of ancient writings, it is considered an entry, and I can study the original materials and research works of ancient writings wholeheartedly. At that time, the academic atmosphere of the Institute of Ancient Books in Jilin University was strong, and I was able to get guidance from famous teachers and masters He is always stimulated by the latest viewpoints. Of course, the experiences in other stages also have their own effects, but they can’t keep up with these three years, and the time, energy and environment are excellent."
Looking back on his education journey along the way, Jiang Yubin felt that every step he took was pragmatic and worthwhile.
There are still more than 3,000 unearthed oracle bones to be cracked
121 years ago, Wang Yirong, an official of the late Qing Dynasty and a lithologist, discovered the oracle bone inscription on the oracle bones unearthed in Anyang, Henan. This is generally regarded as the first discovery of the oracle bone inscriptions. According to the statistics of scholars, there are more than 4,300 words in the Oracle dictionary on the market. After 120 years of continuous research by several generations of research scholars, there are only about 1500 words that can be determined, and there are only about 1300 deciphered words that have reached consensus. This means that among the oracle bone scripts that have been discovered and unearthed, there are still 3,000 that have not been cracked.
"The fundamental reason for the interpretation of the "difficulty" of the Oracle bone script is that the known information is too limited, from the known bridge to the unknown, and many of them are hidden." Jiang Yubin said, "The Oracle bone is a long time ago, more than 3000 years ago. Many changes have taken place in the form and usage of the text, and our understanding of the language and cultural situation at that time and the historical and cultural outlook is still inadequate. The text materials found now are only a very small part."
Jiang Yubin's research is like constantly opening bridges of time and space. But it was accompanied by serious, long and quite boring time for the average person.
Since modern times, there are not many experts and scholars like Jiang Yubin who are committed to deciphering Oracle, but Oracle's deciphering work has gradually entered the bottleneck. The simple and easy characters have been deciphered and deciphered. Most of the oracle bone inscriptions that could not be deciphered are complicated and unwritten.
Jiang Yubin introduced, "Tang Lan, a well-known ancient literary scholar, once said that when interpreting ancient scripts, "mass production in large quantities" is superior to "manufactured products" that are interpreted one by one. Mr. Tang pays attention to the methods of interpreting ancient scripts. Comet "broom" Jin and so on have solved a large series of related texts in a row. Over the past 100 years, the oracle bone text has been more and more fully organized, and many excellent scholars have gradually released some texts with mature research conditions. But today, the results of batch interpretation like Tang Lan have rarely been seen; relying on the reading of unearthed documents and handed down ancient books to discover new clues and thus new interpretations of oracle bone script. There is also less. The reason is that, as mentioned earlier, in the face of unliteracy, the known information we obtain is not enough, and the relationship from known to unknown is more secret."
He gave another example: "The oracle bone inscription has a word "you" with a few slashes, which has appeared 2,000 times. Although scholars have some understanding of its usage and possible pronunciation, it has not been confirmed. Mr. Li Xueqin and others have repeatedly cited this example, hoping that scholars can read it as soon as possible."
Bitterness is all in the subjective heart
Orthopedics needs to open up the way forward, needs fresh materials, and even needs a steady stream of backup talent input.
In addition to his own research, Jiang Yubin is also engaged in teaching. He particularly emphasizes the two points of "interested" and "working hard", hoping that students will focus on developing the ability to read ancient books and read original materials of ancient texts.
"Research on ancient scripts such as oracle bone inscriptions takes a long time to accumulate, and it is indispensable to sit on a cold bench and work hard. If there is a lack of interest and perseverance and endurance, I am afraid it is unsustainable in this field."
This is how Jiang Yubin views his field. As long as he is really interested, he is willing to work hard and use proper methods. Studying ancient scriptures such as oracle bone inscriptions will always yield considerable results.
"When I take an oracle bone class, I usually go step by step and try to arouse the interest of students. For example, I tell them the font classification of oracle bone inscriptions, so I first take some works written by later generations or different contemporary people, so that everyone can appreciate the characteristics of handwriting Differences, understand the method of identifying handwriting. Then cut into the case of handwriting analysis of Oracle Bone Words. Through specific operations, everyone finds it very interesting and observes very carefully, so that I feel very close to the font classification theory."
In the process of cultivating students, Jiang Yubin emphasized the frequency of students' hands-on practice and the habit of turning a lot of books. Only when you are really familiar with the original data can you get closer to the truth. In this regard, he specifically cited the example of oracle bone conjugation.
"When I am studying oracle bones, I need to collect Oracle materials comprehensively. I have done some oracle bone conjugation work. I think that oracle bone conjugation is one of the means to cultivate hands-on practical ability. I think it can be used as a part of academic training. Ways to cultivate a careful, meticulous style and a keen sense."
The oracle bone conjugation is an important work to organize the oracle bone. It refers to the process of restoration research based on the characteristics, such as the color, texture, edge, and handwriting of the oracle bone picture, combined with the bone version, time, and diction content.
Mr. Huang Tianshu, one of the leading figures in the oracle bone industry, also said that the first piece of oracle bone conjugation is very important for graduate students who are new to oracle bone. Jiang Yubin felt, "The overwhelming majority of oracle bone conjugation is easy to verify. Almost right is right. Wrong is wrong. Once the conjugation is discovered, the conclusion can be quickly learned. It is not like a problem that needs to be demonstrated. It needs to be considered repeatedly. It makes people feel a sense of accomplishment immediately, and they can’t stop it, so they can read and study oracle bone materials with greater enthusiasm. Many of the students trained by Mr. Huang started from oracle bone conjugation."
He said that scholars who really have experience in oracle bone conjugation will often gain in observing the characteristics of text and interpreting text, refining font characteristics and dividing types, paying attention to special or similar phenomena, and summarizing laws.
At the end of the interview, Jiang Yubin specifically mentioned that the Ministry of Education recently launched a "strong foundation plan" for the college entrance examination reform, selected a part of "first-class universities" to build colleges and universities to carry out pilot projects, highlighting the supporting and leading role of basic disciplines, combined with the characteristics of colleges and universities , Physics, chemistry, biology and history, philosophy, Chinese language and literature (the direction of ancient writings) and other basic disciplines professional enrollment. As the only three-level discipline, the ancient writing major is juxtaposed with several other disciplines.
"This reflects the country's emphasis on and support for the research of ancient scripts such as Oracle, and we should take advantage of this trend and further strengthen the exploration of the training model for the research of ancient scripts such as Oracle."
My colleagues in the field of orthopaedics often joked that studying ancient Chinese characters such as oracle bone inscriptions is making fun in bitterness. This is also Jiang Yubin's profound experience in the past 20 years. He quoted Liang Qichao's words-bitterness is all in the subjective heart, not in objective matters . In Jiang Yubin's worldview, as long as he is interested, there is no so-called "bitterness", only "joy". There are many words to be read in Oracle, and he looks forward to one day more scholars will be able to release more Oracle keywords.
Text/Reporter Lei Ruotong
Photo courtesy of Jiang Yubin