Abstract
Yu Yue(俞樾) (1821–1907) was a renowned master of Confucian studies during the late Qing dynasty, leaving behind a substantial body of work. Presently, academia largely focuses on Yu Yue's two Pingyi (《平議》) and Examples of Doubtful Passages in Ancient Books (《古書疑例舉例》), neglecting his other writings and viewing him solely as a philologist, which hampers a comprehensive understanding of Yu Yue's academic contributions. In fact, Yu Yue's scholarship extended beyond philological exegesis to include innovative philosophical insights, particularly in the field of Gongyang studies (《公羊》學). This paper aims to explore Yu Yue's thoughts on Gongyang studies, not only discussing the well-studied Qunjing Pingyi (《群經平議》)but also meticulously examining Yu Yue's other writings to comprehensively organize and analyze his Gongyang studies.Chapter 1: Introduction. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section discusses the research motivation, scope, methodology, and materials, while the second section provides a literature review. Given the scarcity of specialized works on Yu Yue's Gongyang studies, previous research has failed to fully reveal the essence and uniqueness of Yu Yue's Gongyang academic thoughts. The motivation of this study is to fill this gap. The research scope includes the following key issues: 1) The origins and influences of Yu Yue's Gongyang academic thoughts. 2) The positions of the Spring and Autumn Annals (《春秋》) and the Gongyang Commentary (《公羊傳》) in Yu Yue's Confucian studies, the relationship between the Spring and Autumn Annals and the three commentaries (三《傳》), and Yu Yue's perspectives and attitudes towards these two classics. 3) The distinctive features of Yu Yue's interpretation of the writing style of Spring and Autumn Annals (《春秋》書法). 4) The characteristics of Yu Yue's Gongyang thoughts. 5) The relationship between Yu Yue's Gongyang studies and his Confucian Classics studies. These issues constitute the focal points of this study.
Chapter 2: “Late Qing Political Situation and Yu Yue's Academic Contributions and Life Overview”. This chapter is divided into three sections: “Shifts in Academic Discussions,” “An Overview of Qing Dynasty Gongyang Studies,” and “An Overview of Yu Yue's Academic Contributions and Life.” The first section delves into the political and scholarly landscapes of the late Qing dynasty, briefly outlining the historical context in which Yu Yue lived, including the challenges faced by the Qing government and the influences on contemporary scholarship, especially focusing on the transformations in Qing dynasty academia. The second section provides an overview of the revival of Gongyang studies in mid-Qing dynasty and the various scholars of Gongyang studies in Changzhou (常州). The third section details Yu Yue's life and academic contributions, elaborating on his education, writings, significant events, and seeking the origins of his Gongyang thoughts and the reasons for his scholarly transformations, as well as discussing his academic attitudes to illuminate his approach to scholarship.
Chapter 3: “Tracing the Origins of Yu Yue's Gongyang Studies and His Attitudes toward the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Gongyang Commentary”. This chapter is divided into two sections: “Tracing the Origins of Yu Yue's Gongyang Studies” and “Attitudes Towards and Perspectives on the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Three Commentaries.” The first section is further divided into two parts: the first part investigates the earliest instances of Yu Yue engaging with Gongyang studies and related discourses, while the second part examines Yu Yue's academic influences, highlighting the impact of the Changzhou school (常州學派) of thought, particularly Song Xiangfeng (宋翔鳳). The second section is also divided into two parts, discussing Yu Yue's perspectives on various classics and analyzing why he favored the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Gongyang Commentary, as well as elucidating the reasons behind his preference for the Spring and Autumn Annals among the Thirteen Classics(《十三經》) and his reverence for the Gongyang Commentary among the three Commentaries.
Chapter 4: “Interpreting the Spring and Autumn Annals through the Concept of ‘Respecting the King’(「尊王」) - Yu Yue's Interpretation of the writing style of Spring and Autumn Annals”. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section, “Yu Yue's Concept of ‘Great Unity’(「大一統」)”, analyzes Yu Yue's concept of “Great Unity” and highlights his emphasis on the principle of “Respecting the King”. The second section, “Interpreting the writing style of Spring and Autumn Annals through ‘Respecting the King’”, examines how Yu Yue interprets the writing style of Spring and Autumn Annals through the concept of “Respecting the King” using various writing style examples.
Chapter 5: “The Distinctive Features of Yu Yue's Gongyang Thought”. This chapter is divided into three sections, focusing on Yu Yue's elaboration and characteristics of different Gongyang doctrines: “Attributing Kingship to Lu” (「託王於魯」), “The Theory of the Three Successive Dynasties”(「三統說」), and “The distinctions between ‘Yi and Xia’ (「夷夏之辨」) and the ‘Theory of the Three Generations’ (「三世說」)”. “Attributing Kingship to Lu” is the most deeply explored and extensively explained theory in Yu Yue's Gongyang studies. He believed this theory runs through the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Annals and used it to interpret various events in the classic. Yu Yue's discussion of the “Theory of the Three Successive Dynasties” extensively draws upon Dong Zhongshu's (董仲舒)theories to explain passages in the classics related to the “Two Kings”(「二王」) and “Three Kings” (「三王」). Yu Yue's differentiation between “Yi and Xia” combined with the “Theory of the Three Generations” suggests that as time progresses, the distinction between “Yi and Xia” becomes more stringent, diverging from the views of other scholars of the Gongyang school. This approach signifies a commitment to traditional academic and resistance to the gradual influx of Western ideas.
Chapter 6: “Yu Yue's Interpretation of the Classics through the Gongyang Thought”. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section, “The Trend of Interpreting the Classics through the Gongyang School in the Changzhou School of Thought”, highlights the practice of interpreting the classics through the lens of the Gongyang Studies, originating in the Changzhou school of thought and later becoming a prevalent trend through scholars like Liu Fenglu (劉逢祿). The second section, “Yu Yue's Trend of Interpreting the Classics through the Gongyang Thought”, analyzes Yu Yue's approach to studying the classics, emphasizing his inclination towards exploring new perspectives rather than strictly adhering to traditional interpretations, leading him to adopt the method of interpreting the classics through the Gongyang Thought. Furthermore, by examining examples of Yu Yue using the Gongyang Thought to interpret various classics, it becomes evident that Yu Yue often interprets passages related to the Spring and Autumn Annals in the Analects(《論語》) and Mencius (《孟子》) through the lens of the Gongyang, contrary to the common perception in academia that views the Gongyang Thought as a rigid framework for interpreting the classics.
In conclusion, this thesis explores Yu Yue's Gongyang thought through five main avenues: tracing the origins and influences of his Gongyang studies; analyzing his reasons for favoring the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Gongyang Commentary; discussing his tendency to interpret calligraphy in the Spring and Autumn Annals through the concept of “Respecting the King”; examining the distinctive features of his Gongyang studies; and evaluating his approach to interpreting the classics through the Gongyang thought. It is hoped that this study on Yu Yue's Gongyang thought will contribute to a comprehensive understanding and grasp of Yu Yue's scholarship and late Qing academic thought as a whole.
| Date of Award | 6 Dec 2024 |
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| Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
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| Supervisor | Chia Hui LU (Supervisor) & Pang Fei KWOK (Co-supervisor) |