The transcribed ancient scripts refer to the ancient written materials that have been preserved through generations of transcriptions, the main body of which is the Warring States ancient texts, mainly in seal script and clerical script. The main source of the transcribed ancient scripts is the ancient scriptures and classics, which have been handed down through the ages. Therefore, the transcribed ancient script is a bridge between the ancient scripts and the heirloom literature.
In view of this, this dissertation takes the "ancient texts of scriptures" as the object of study, and selects 433 characters of eight Confucian "ancient texts of scriptures and classics” from the dictionaries like「hàn jiǎn」汗簡(The Bamboo Slips of The Han Dynasty), 「Gú Wén Sì Shēng Yùn」古文四聲韻(The Four Sound Rhymes of Ancient Script), 「Jǐ Zhuàn Gú Wén Yùn Hǎi」集篆古文韻海(The Sea of Rhymes of The Ancient Seal Script), 「Zēng Guǎng Zhōng Dǐng Zhuàn Yùn」增廣鐘鼎篆韻(The Expanded Rhymes of The Seal Script of Bronze Inscriptions),「Jǐ Zhōng Dǐng Gú Wén Yùn Xuǎn」 集鐘鼎古文韻選(The Selected Rhymes of Ancient Scripts of Bronze Inscriptions), 「Dìng Zhèng liù Shū Tong」訂正六書通(The Revision of The Six Scripts),「liù Shū Tōng zhí Yí」六書通摭遺( The Remains of The Six Scripts), as well as the ancient characters recorded in 「Chuán Chāo Gú Wén Zì Biān」傳抄古文字編(The Dictionary of The Transcribed Ancient Script) by Xu Zaiguo and 「Chuán Chāo Gú Wén Xīn Biān Zì Biān」傳抄古文新編字編(The New Dictionary of the Transcribed Ancient Script )by Liu Jianmin, including 14 characters from 「Gú zhōu yì」古周易(The Ancient Book of Changes), 11 characters from 「Gú máo shī」古毛詩(The Ancient Mao Poems), 9 characters from「Gú Zhōu lǐ」古周禮(The Ancient Rites of the Zhou Dynasty), 8 characters from 「Gú lǐ Jì」古禮記(The Ancient Book of Rites), 9 characters from 「Gú chūn qiū」古春秋(The Ancient Spring and Autumn), 19 characters from「Gú lún yú」古論語(Tthe Ancient Analects), 34 characters from 「Gú Er yá」古爾雅(The Ancient Erya), and 329 characters from 「Gú xiào jīng」古孝經(The Ancient Book of Filial Piety). This dissertation is divided into eight chapters to annotate and expound the origin and evolution of the structure of the characters one by one, providing reliable and convenient materials for future research on related issues.
There are three main innovations in this study: (1) For the first time, the forms of eight Confucian "ancient texts of scriptures"found in codices have been compiled and systematically verified, which is unprecedented and is expected to provide a new way of thinking for the study of ancient scripts. (2) This study makes full use of the new materials and incorporates the latest research results in the academic field. By comparing the forms of the ancient characters cited in the scriptures with those of other transcribed ancient scripts, the excavated Warring States scripts, as well as other ancient scripts, this study points out that the "character structure" and "character usage" are mostly consistent with those of the Warring States scripts, revealing that the early forms preserved in the ancient scripts are of great value, and that the sources are well-founded and are the basis for other studies. (3) Based on the previous two points, we can prove that these ancient scriptures do exist in transcribed ancient scripts.
The complete scriptures are rarely found in transcribed ancient script. This study hopes to provide a philological perspective on the transmission and dispersal of the ancient texts of scriptures based on morphological annotation, and to attempt to recover the chapters of ancient texts of scriptures, as well as to recover the ancient copy of The Ancient Book of Filial Piety.