On Jao Tsung-i's Achievements in 'Changes' Scholarship and Cultural Awareness

Abstract

饶宗颐的易学论述颇多,他注重在目录学、简帛学、甲骨学等领域开展融合研究,实现了马王堆帛书《易》和《易》卜溯源研究的开创性贡献,晚年又基于易学提出'新经学'与文化自觉的主张。饶宗颐长期秉持易学地域文化观、殷夏源流观、文化全局观等治学理念以及朴学和'古史五重证'的治学方法。其学术理念与实践展现了通达的文化视野与深厚的学术功底,堪称治《易》之典范。 Jao Tsung-I(1917-2018) achieved a lot in the study of Changes, focused on the fusion of the fields of bibliography, bamboo-slip and silk manuscripts, as well as inscriptions on oracle bones, and realized the pioneering contribution to the study of the origin of the Mawangdui silk manuscript of Zhouyi and the origin of divination in the Yi. In his later years, he proposed the concept of 'New Classical Studies' and cultural awareness based on the study of Yi. Rao had long adhered to the views that the Changes originally belonged to a regional culture, which could be traced back to the Xia(2070-1600 BCE) and Yin(1600-1046 BCE) dynasties, and thought Changes scholarship ought to be regarded a holistic culture. In addition, he attached importance to philology and the 'fivefold certification of ancient history'. His academic concepts and practice manifest a panoramic cultural perspective and profound academic foundation, which can be regarded as a model for the study of Yi.