﻿ARCHEOLOGY 
  IN 
  CHINA 
  LIANG 
  455 
  

  

  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  later 
  Sung 
  dynasty, 
  which 
  corresponds 
  to 
  the 
  

   twelfth 
  and 
  thirteenth 
  centuries, 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  Yuan 
  and 
  Min 
  dynas- 
  

   ties, 
  a 
  change 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  academic 
  atmosphere 
  in 
  China; 
  

   scholars 
  began 
  to 
  devote 
  their 
  attention 
  to 
  metaphysics, 
  so 
  that 
  while 
  

   many 
  people 
  followed 
  the 
  prevailing 
  fashion 
  of 
  dabbling 
  in 
  philoso- 
  

   phy, 
  few 
  cared 
  to 
  enjoy 
  the 
  loneliness 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  fate 
  of 
  the 
  scholar 
  

   pursuing 
  unpopular 
  studies. 
  As 
  a 
  result, 
  archeology 
  was 
  neglected. 
  

  

  But 
  in 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  Ch'ing 
  dynasty 
  the 
  enthusiasm 
  for 
  

   the 
  study 
  of 
  archeology 
  began 
  to 
  revive. 
  In 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  Ch^ien 
  

   Lung's 
  reign 
  (circa 
  1765) 
  some 
  scholars 
  began 
  to 
  direct 
  their 
  atten- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  this 
  subject. 
  A 
  glance 
  at 
  the 
  Bibliography 
  of 
  the 
  Chinese 
  

   Imperial 
  Collection 
  of 
  Literature 
  will 
  tell 
  us 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  58 
  boolcs 
  

   relating 
  to 
  bronzes 
  and 
  stones. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  150 
  years 
  from 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  Ch'ien 
  Lung's 
  reign 
  to 
  the 
  

   present 
  marvelous 
  progress 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  archeology. 
  

   The 
  whole 
  field 
  has 
  been 
  divided 
  up 
  and 
  specialization 
  has 
  resulted 
  

   in 
  increasing 
  accuracy. 
  Famous 
  scholars 
  like 
  Yuan 
  Yuan, 
  Weng 
  

   Fang-kang, 
  Wang 
  Ch'ang, 
  Sun 
  Hsing-ye, 
  Ch'ien 
  Ta-hsin, 
  Li 
  Tsung- 
  

   han, 
  Wu 
  Yung-kuang, 
  Pao 
  K'ang, 
  Lu 
  Yao-t'ung, 
  Huang 
  I, 
  Chen 
  

   Chieh-chih, 
  Wu 
  Shih-fang, 
  Liu 
  Hsin-yuan, 
  Wu 
  Ta-cheng, 
  Wang 
  

   I-yung, 
  Tuan 
  Fang, 
  Wu 
  Yuan, 
  Pan-Tsu-yin, 
  and 
  living 
  scholars 
  

   like 
  Lo 
  Chen-yu, 
  Wang 
  Kuo-wei, 
  and 
  Ma 
  Meng 
  have 
  enriched 
  our 
  

   knowledge 
  of 
  archeology. 
  There 
  are 
  numerous 
  other 
  scholars 
  whose 
  

   names 
  I 
  shall 
  not 
  enumerate. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  last 
  150 
  years 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  books 
  on 
  archeology 
  is 
  

   truly 
  astonishing. 
  I 
  am 
  familiar 
  with 
  at 
  least 
  400 
  books 
  which 
  I 
  

   consider 
  as 
  valuable 
  contributions 
  to 
  this 
  subject. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  

   articles 
  dealing 
  with 
  this 
  subject, 
  which 
  are 
  scattered 
  through 
  the 
  

   different 
  collections 
  of 
  essays, 
  is 
  legion. 
  These 
  writings 
  are 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  patterned 
  after 
  the 
  works 
  of 
  Ouyang 
  Hsiu, 
  Chao 
  Ming-ch'eng, 
  

   and 
  Hsueh 
  Shang-kung, 
  of 
  the 
  Sung 
  dynasty, 
  but 
  the 
  arrangement 
  

   is 
  much 
  better, 
  and 
  a 
  more 
  careful 
  classification 
  has 
  been 
  made. 
  

  

  Some 
  works, 
  for 
  instance, 
  reproduce 
  all 
  the 
  characters 
  inscribed 
  

   on 
  the 
  objects 
  of 
  antiquity. 
  Others 
  give 
  faithful 
  pictures 
  of 
  their 
  

   original 
  shape 
  and 
  form, 
  and 
  still 
  others 
  divide 
  the 
  material 
  into 
  

   different 
  kinds 
  and 
  record 
  for 
  each 
  object 
  of 
  each 
  kind 
  the 
  year, 
  the 
  

   place, 
  the 
  time 
  it 
  was 
  yielded 
  from 
  the 
  soil 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  discovered, 
  

   or 
  whether 
  a 
  certain 
  object 
  is 
  lost 
  or 
  is 
  still 
  in 
  existence. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  v/ritings 
  which 
  deal 
  with 
  a 
  special 
  period. 
  Notes 
  on 
  

   Metals 
  and 
  Stones 
  of 
  the 
  Two 
  Han 
  Dynasties 
  treats 
  not 
  only 
  of 
  the 
  

   two 
  dynasties 
  in 
  question 
  but 
  also 
  the 
  whole 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  

   up 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  it 
  was 
  written. 
  There 
  are 
  other 
  works 
  which 
  

   treat 
  of 
  only 
  one 
  locality. 
  " 
  Notes 
  on 
  Metals 
  and 
  Stones 
  of 
  West 
  

   and 
  East 
  Chekiang," 
  for 
  example. 
  

  

  