What are the characteristics of Ming and Qing philology and evidence studies?

1. The study of evidence in the Qing Dynasty originated in the early Qing Dynasty, and was gradually formed by Peng Zheng because of his opposition to the empty and sparse style of learning in the late Ming Dynasty, which reached its peak in the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods and occupied the dominant position of academic thought, so it was called the "Qianjia School";

2. Although the emergence of Qianjia examination or Sinology is related to the Qing Dynasty's cultural specialization, its contribution to the history of Chinese culture should be said to be huge;

3. Have a more down-to-earth scientific attitude, and develop objective and precise research methods, that is, the method of examination;

4. The Confucian classics, which have been classics of traditional Chinese culture for more than 2,000 years, have been edited and interpreted in a timely manner;

5. A large number of exegetical masterpieces were born.

The study of the Qing Dynasty is also known as the "Puxue" of Duan Demolition, because it is also known as "New Sinology" because it is under the banner of restoring the ancient literature and scriptures of the Han Dynasty. The study of evidence in the Qing Dynasty was a reaction against the Song and Ming dynasties. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, some people of insight learned from the pain and deeply reflected on the historical lessons of the change of ownership.

They believe that the theoretical deviation caused by the empty talk of life and detachment from reality in the Song and Ming dynasties is one of the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. In order to avoid the misunderstanding of the Song and Ming dynasties, they advocated re-excavating the Confucian essence from the classics.

The founder of the Qing Dynasty was Gu Yanwu, an outstanding thinker in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Gu Yanwu (1613 1682) was a native of Ning, his first name was Jiang, he was a pseudonym Jiang Shan, a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu, and a scholar called Mr. Tinglin. After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, he destroyed his family with his hometown and his brothers to relieve the hardships and organized the righteous army to resist the Qing.

After the fall of Jiangnan, he has been traveling all over the country to contact the righteous people. He once told Ming Xiaoling ten times, and was ready to do something to restore his sight. In his later years, he went deep into the northwest and lived in Huayin and Fuping, and devoted himself to academic research.

He refused the Qing court's recruitment many times, and did not hesitate to fight to the death, once said: "What do you ask for, you owe a death, if you must force each other, you will be martyred." In response to the Song and Ming Dynasty's "empty words of clear insight", he put forward the slogan of "scripture is science".

He "drew on the past to prepare for the present", advocated the application of the world, advocated practical learning, hated empty talk, and demanded that Confucianism be regarded as "the origin of the country's chaos and the fundamental plan for the people". He pointed out that in the time of Confucius and Mencius, there was no simple science, and science was originally contained in the scriptures. This tradition continued until the Han Dynasty, and the Han Confucian rule of the scriptures paid attention to the exegesis of famous objects, and still did not deviate from the purpose of applying them to the world.

It was only in the Song Dynasty that Confucianism attached itself to the classics and talked about righteousness, and in the Ming Dynasty, it even developed to the extent that "the book is not viewed, and the talk has no roots". He denounced Wang Xue's end stream for "ignoring the poverty of the four seas, and talking about danger and subtlety all day long." In his view, the reason why Song and Ming theory became empty and sparse is because of his acceptance of Buddhist Zen learning, thus leaving the Confucian tradition of practical learning.

During the Qianjia period, the study of evidence developed into a specialized study. Under the conditions of strict cultural bans, the Qianjia school gradually abandoned the spirit of Wang Tanyun and others of Gu Yanwu and others, and embarked on the road of studying for the sake of evidence. The style of study of the Wu school represented by Huidong is "erudite" and "ancient"; The style of study of the Anhui school represented by Dai Zhen is "seeking truth from facts" and "no sign or no belief".

Since they only relied on the opinions of Han Confucianism, especially the theories of Xu Shen and Zheng Xuan, the "seeking truth from facts" they spoke of was very different from what we call seeking objective laws today. Although they have made great contributions to the collation of ancient academic culture, they have been contemplating the past, detached from reality, and drowning in tedious research, in the final analysis, to whitewash the peace of the feudal rulers.