Chen Yuan

Chen Yuan

Chen Yuan (November 12, 1880 - June 21, 1971), Han nationality, born in Xinhui County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province, is an outstanding historian, religious historian and educator in China.

Chen Yuan successively established Guangzhou Guanghua medical school, Beijing orphan work study Park and Beijing civilian middle school. He has been a professor and tutor of National Peking University, Peking Normal University and Furen University. From 1926 to 1952, he was president of Fu Jen University. From 1952 to 1971, he was president of Beijing Normal University. Before 1949, he also served as the director of the capital library and the Palace Museum. After 1949, he served as director of the second Institute of history, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has successively served as a member of the Standing Committee of the first, second and third National People's Congress.

Chen Yuan's main works include textual research on the Huahua culture of the people in the western regions of the Yuan Dynasty, explanations of collation, examples of historical taboo, Tongjian Huzhu biaowei, etc. in addition, his academic theses has been published. Chen Yuan and Chen Yinke are called "two Chen historiography", and two Chen, together with LV simian and Qian Mu, are called "four masters of historiography". Many of his works have become classics in the field of history. Some of them have been translated into English and Japanese and published in the United States, Germany and Japan. Chairman Mao Zedong called him "national treasure".

Life of the characters

family background

Chen Yuan, born on November 12, 1880 (October 10, the sixth year of qingguangxu), was a pharmacist in fugangli, Shitou Township, Xinhui County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. When he was a boy, he was influenced by the Confucian thought that "a good scholar is an official". He once took part in the imperial examination, but failed. Later, he studied for the purpose of practical application. In 1905, under the influence of Dr. Sun Yat Sen's democratic revolution, Chen Yuan and several young people with lofty ideals founded the current affairs pictorial in Guangzhou to fight against imperialism and Qing Dynasty with literature and pictures as weapons. In 1911, when the revolution of 1911 broke out, Chen Yuan and Kang ZhongLuo founded the "Sinian daily" to actively promote anti Qing. In 1912, Chen Yuan was elected to the house of representatives of the Republic of China. Later, because of the political chaos, he devoted himself to studying and teaching. He once believed in religion for a period of time, so from 1917, Chen Yuan worked hard to write the history of Chinese Christianity, so he wrote Yuan Ye Li Ke Wen Kao. Chen Yuan believed that Chinese Christianity was Nestorianism in the Tang Dynasty, followed by Yelikewen in the Yuan Dynasty, Catholicism in the Ming Dynasty and Jesuit after the Qing Dynasty. The so-called "Yeli Kewen" is the general name of Christianity in Yuan Dynasty. After the death of Yuan Dynasty, likewen disappeared in China. But as the history of religion, it is also a part of the history of world religion. Chen Yuan's work not only attracted the attention of Chinese literary circles, but also attracted the attention of international scholars and experts in religious history. Since then, he has written monographs "Huo Zoroastrianism into China" (1922), "Manichaeism into China" (1923), "Huihui into China history" (1927).

Research diversification

While studying the history of religion, Chen Yuan also paid attention to the history of the Yuan Dynasty, engaged in the collation and supplement work of the Yuan Dynasty, and used more than 200 kinds of relevant materials to write a textual research on the Huahua of the people in the western regions of the Yuan Dynasty, which has won high praise in the history circle at home and abroad. In the process of studying yuan Dianzhang, Chen Yuan used yuan edition to proofread Shen edition, and then used other editions to proofread each other. He found out more than 12000 false mistakes, derivations and reversals in Shen edition. Then he classified them and analyzed them, pointing out the causes of the mistakes. In 1931, he wrote yuan Dianzhang proofreading and annotation, also known as proofreading and annotation.

Experience events

Chen Yuan's achievements in textual research and Archaeology include "the collection of the history of the Old Five Dynasties" (1937), "twenty history Shuo run table" and "calendar of Chinese and Western Hui history". He read a lot of works about taboo in Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, and extensively collected and quoted more than 100 kinds of ancient books. He wrote the book "examples of taboo in history", which "intends to summarize the history of taboo, so that historians can have more ways and keys.".

After the Lugouqiao Incident broke out in 1937, Peiping was occupied by the Japanese army. Chen Yuan was in danger and was determined to fight against the enemy. In the University Forum, Chen Yuan talked about Gu Yanwu's rizhilu, who was not an official in the anti Qing Dynasty, and Quan Zuwang's jisaitingji, who was a national hero in the anti Qing Dynasty, in order to encourage himself and his students to love their country. At the same time, he also used historical research as a weapon to continuously publish historical works, attacking the enemy, the puppets and the traitors, showing his indomitable national integrity. During the eight years of the Anti Japanese War, Chen Yuan continuously wrote such religious history papers as the research on the emerging Taoism in Hebei Province in the Southern Song Dynasty, the research on the Buddhism in Yunnan and Guizhou in the Ming Dynasty, the monk's admonition in the early Qing Dynasty, the introduction to Chinese Buddhist Classics, and Tongjian Huzhu biaowei.

In March 1948, Chen Yuan was elected academician of Academia Sinica.

He was 69 years old when the people's Republic of China was founded in 1949. On the basis of mastering rich historical knowledge, deep research and writing, Chen Yuan quickly accepted new things. In the following ten years, he wrote more than 20 essays. However, during the cultural revolution, Chen Yuan was unfortunately placed under house arrest and died in June 1971.

In November 1951, after the third session of the first CPPCC National Committee, Mao Zedong held a state banquet in Huairen Hall with Chen Yuan. Mao Zedong introduced him to others and said, "this is Chen Yuan. He reads a lot and is a national treasure of our country."

Main achievements

academic achievements

Chen Yuan has profound research in Yuan history, historical philology, religious history and other fields, leaving us a rich heritage of more than ten monographs and more than 100 papers. In particular, his research on the history of religion is very extensive. He has done special research on the extinct foreign religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and yigeileye. He has also written many works on the rise and spread of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and other three world religions in China. He has also written special books on Taoism in China. His study of religious history is also an important part of the study of Chinese and foreign cultural communication history.

A study of religious history

It is a fact that people call Mr. Chen Yuan an expert in the history of religion. There is almost no religion he does not study. In addition to the four textual researches on ancient religions, Chen Yuan also wrote many books, such as the textual research on Huihui religion in China, the textual research on Buddhism in Yunnan and Guizhou in the Ming Dynasty, monk Zhengji in the early Qing Dynasty, the textual research on new Taoism in Hebei in the early Southern Song Dynasty, an introduction to the historical records of Chinese Buddhism, and the records of Shi Shi's suspicious years.

Chen Yuan's research on the four ancient religions in the history of the Republic of China is of great significance to the world.

Yuan Ye Li Ke Wen Jiao Kao, written in May 1917, has been revised and printed many times. Yilikewen is the general name of Christianity in Yuan Dynasty. In the past, it was thought that most of the materials of this religion were overseas, but there were no local classics. In addition to the history of the Yuan Dynasty, more than 60 kinds of materials, such as local chronicles, jinshilu, calligraphy and painting spectrum, are used to demonstrate that the obscure seven or eight hundred years, no one can teach.

Kaifeng Yici Leye jiaokao, written in November 1919. As soon as Kaifeng granted Leye religion, it was Judaism. The three inscriptions of the religion in the Ming and Qing dynasties have different opinions on when it spread to China. Chen Yuan used various methods to prove that Kaifeng Judaism did not come before the Song Dynasty. The records of Judaism in Chinese classics were only found in the history of the Yuan Dynasty, and there was no sign before the Yuan Dynasty. It also makes a detailed textual research on the similarities and differences between the two religions, the outline of the figures in the religion, the evolution of the temple, and the content and origin of the Scriptures.

A study of Huo Zoroastrianism in China, written in April 1922. Huo Zoroastrianism, also known as Huo Zoroastrianism, was introduced into China in the early Tang Dynasty. There were three kinds of foreign religions in Tang Dynasty, including Daqin, Mani and Huihui. In the Tang Dynasty, Islam was not flourishing, and there were few records. Because the other three religions were all from Persia, scholars in the Tang and Song Dynasties could not distinguish them clearly, and there were mistakes in the records. Scholars in Qing Dynasty such as Qian Daxin often confused them. In addition to describing the origin, rise and fall of huozoroastrianism, this paper also points out the mistakes in the records of the three religions in ancient books one by one and dialectically analyzes them.

A study of Manichaeism in China, written in 1923. Manichaeism was founded by Persian mani. It is a mixture of fire worship, Christ and Buddhism. Taking Dunhuang Manichaeism scriptures and other materials, Chen Yuan studies the Manichaeism's spread to China in 694 and its popularity in Tang, song, yuan and Ming Dynasties.

After the publication of the "four examinations of ancient education", high praise has been received. In addition to his later works, such as a textual research on the humanization of the western regions of the Yuan Dynasty and a brief history of Christianity's entry into China, these academic achievements in the study of religious history to expand the study of the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West were Chen Yuan's great contribution to the academic circles of the Republic of China, and also rare cutting-edge achievements that enabled the Chinese academic circles at that time to bring forth new ideas and integrate with the International Sinology.

Research on collation

When studying historical documents, Chen Yuan paid great attention to the collation of catalogues and the use of reference books.

Bibliography is a way of learning, and it is also a knowledge to master bibliography, book content, edition and related bibliography. If one wants to learn, he must master bibliography.

When he was young, Mr. Chen Yuan was familiar with the summary of Siku Quanshu and Zhang Zhidong's bibliographic questions and answers. Siku synopsis did a lot of work for scholars in the Qing Dynasty. It introduced every book and was very helpful for beginners. Today, it also needs to make good use of it. Zhang Zhidong's answer to bibliography was written in 1875, the first year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Mr. Chen Yuan read these two books very well, and asked students to read them well.

After the revolution of 1911, Mr. Chen Yuan came to Beijing and spent a long time studying Sikuquanshu. He has written two books. One is the list of sikushu and the other is the list of sikushu

Chinese PinYin : Chen Yuan