The Study on the Development of Commentary
A Focus on the Phenomenon of Transition and Cross-boundary
Abstract
This dissertation focuses on the phenomenon of "transition" and "cross-boundary" arising from the development of commentary. In the development process of commentary, there are connections among critics, and commentary texts presented by them are inherited and changed in terms of terminology and commentary methods, which is a phenomenon of "gradual change" or “transition”. On the other hand, critics often use the same concept or terminology in Jing Bu(經部), Shi-pu(史部), Zi-Bu(子部), and Ji-Bu(集部), crossing the four academic boundaries when performing their commentary. This is the "cross-boundary" phenomenon that this paper intends to explore.
The writing of this thesis is divided by dynasties, in which critics who highlighted the phenomenon of transition and cross-boundary are specified. First, take a macro view of the development characteristics of various generations of critiques, and then further explore the critics who reflected the characteristics of a generation of critiques. Through the analysis of their critique works, construct their critique characteristics, or have new understandings from the past in academic circles. While performing the analysis, the spotlights are shed on the ancient literature critic Liu Chen-weng (劉辰翁) in Song Dynasty, Li Zhi (李贄) and Sun Kuang (孫鑛) in Ming Dynasty, and He Zhuo (何焯) and Wu Qi (吳淇) in Qing Dynasty. The research of the above-mentioned critics not only interprets their criticizing methods and characteristics, but also pays special attention to the inheritance and influence, including the acceptance or reaction of the critics of previous generations, to see the "gradual development" of commentary. In addition, another focus of the discussion is the analysis of the characteristics of "cross-boundary" of a generation or representative critics. Whether it is used in commentary methods or terminology, the cross-border application, presenting the phenomenon of "cross-boundary" in the development of commentary, is the focus of this thesis. It is hoped that the above research will highlight the continuity of the development of commentary, especially the transition and cross-boundary as an important phenomenon, in order to clarify the development of the commentary.