Chapter 3 Section 3 The First Book of the Eight Years of the Anti-Japanese War

Dong Zuobin returned to Lizhuang from Chongqing, and was reprimanded by Fu Sinian. He knew that he was wrong, and he didn't dare to speak harshly. He began to live in seclusion in several houses in Lizhuang Lizhuang. With the help of the newly recruited trainee Liu Yuanlin and others, they put all their energy into the compilation of "Yin Ruins Characters B" and "Yin Calendar".In order to fully support this work, Fu Sinian specially approved the purchase of a kerosene lamp and a leather barrel of "foreign oil" from Chongqing, the capital of wartime, for the use of Dong Zuobin and his assistants in the late-night drive. Other researchers could only use tung oil lamps and stipulated that no He was "oiled" by Mr. Dong for various reasons.Because the tung oil lamps are smoky and dark, it is difficult to adapt to it every summer. On hot and sweltering nights, many people go to the head of the archway to chat with the light reflected in Dong Zuobin's studio. The figure of the material, together with the beads of sweat rolling on his forehead from time to time, was reflected in everyone's eyes.Faced with this situation, the chatter outside had to lower their voices time and time again, so as not to disturb this hard-working "God" (Southern Note: Because Dong Zuobin talked to his colleagues, the young researcher gave him secretly nicknamed "God").

Dong Zuobin's "Yin Ruins Inscriptions II" is mainly to organize and describe the oracle bone inscriptions obtained from the last three excavations (13th to 15th) of Yin Ruins.A total of 18,405 oracle bones with characters were unearthed in the last three excavations of the Yin Ruins, the most important of which was a whole pit of oracle bones with characters unearthed in Pit YH127 in Xiaotun Beidi.At that time, it was inconvenient to clean up the construction site, and even the mud and soil were transported to the Beiji Pavilion Building, where Shiyu lived in Nanjing, for finishing.Under the leadership of Dong Zuobin, it took 8 months of hard work by Hu Fulin and technicians Guan Deru and Wei Shanchen to clear up 17,096 pieces of oracle bone inscriptions. "In the past, most of the oracle bones handed down from generation to generation were fragmented, and it was difficult for scholars to know the 'full leopard' of the oracle bones. Now, there are more than 300 complete versions of the big tortoise in this pit alone, and there are even more conjugation materials. As a result, scholars have broadened their horizons and broadened their thinking.”

According to the original plan, the "Yinxu Characters B Series" (hereinafter referred to as "Compiled") edited by Dong Zuobin is divided into three series: the first, the middle and the second. and published in 1949.The third series was compiled after demobilization and returned to Nanjing, and was published in Taipei Arts and Culture Press in 1953. The arrangement style of "Bian B" is the same as that of "A Bian", but the oracle bone inscriptions collected are several times more, and a total of 9105 pieces of oracle bones with words are collected. "The materials collected are more than four times that of "A Bian". It is simple and clear; the content is novel and rich, and the value of research is far above that of "Part A". The publication of "Jia Bian" is another great contribution of epoch-making significance made by Dong Zuobin, Qu Wanli and others in oracle bone science. It is a pioneering work in the history of oracle bone studies. It not only reflects the brilliant achievements of the introduction of modern field archaeological methods into the field of oracle bone study, but also provides an example for the future description of oracle bone inscriptions excavated scientifically."

While presiding over the compilation of "Oracle Bone Inscriptions B", Dong Zuobin began to make the final sprint to the "Yin Calendar" that had devoted more than ten years of hard work.Previously, Dong Zuobin sighed deeply: "The Yin and Zhou Dynasties are a big mystery in the ancient and modern historiography circles. For more than two thousand years, there have been many different opinions, and they are still unresolved. Those who rule history avoid talking about it, or talk about it but can't." It is inevitable that there will be fallacies if one decides on one theory. In fact, due to the examination of the age, it must be experienced, and the experience is difficult, and it is difficult to study. However, the predecessors have discussed it separately, and the choice is not easy, and it is not easy to know what to do." Yin Ruins After the excavation, Dong Zuobin tried to verify the calendar of the Yin and Shang dynasties through the clues revealed by the oracle bone inscriptions, and then deduced the exact date from the calendar.Since the publication of "The Yin Calendar Seen in the Inscriptions" in the "Anyang Excavation Report" in 1931, after more than ten years of hard work, gratifying results have finally been achieved.

According to Xia Nai, a rising star of the Institute of History and Philology, among the "Four Halls of Oracle Bone", Luo, Wang, and Guo "Three Halls" have no experience in field archaeological excavations and cannot use stratigraphic knowledge to date, so they can only be regarded as "indoor archaeologists". ", the results obtained will have relatively irreparable shortcomings.Dong Zuobin is an oracle bone scholar who has personally participated in eight systematic excavations of the Yin Ruins in Anyang. It is also even better, and it becomes inevitable that the achievements achieved are above the top three.

In April 1945, Dong Zuobin completed Yin Lipu, a monumental masterpiece in the history of oracle bone studies, in a small room at the head of Lizhuang Chinliao Archway, and it was published in Lizhuang Town in the same year under the enthusiastic care of Fu Sinian.Due to the constraints of the conditions at the time, only 200 volumes of this "reasonable, reasonable, and heavenly" masterpiece were printed, and each volume was numbered, becoming a precious witness of a special era. After the "Yin Calendar" was drafted by Li Zhuang, before it was published and printed, Dong Zuobin made a copy and sent it to Chen Yinke, a master of history who was teaching at Yenching University in Chengdu, for advice.In his reply, Mrs. Chen fully affirmed Mr. Dong's creative achievements: "I read it in a hurry while I was ill. The immortal achievement can only be admired by clapping my hands together. Correcting the first end of the moon is unprecedented when I was teaching in Kunming. And, you feel that it is accurate and novel. The winter solstice is the point from the sun to the Tropic of Capricorn, so the next month, the Jian Chou month is the beginning of the year, which is most consistent with nature. The second is the Jianzi month that includes the winter solstice. Zhou followed Yin and replaced by Ziyue The ugly moon is the first month, and it is also suitable for the affairs." Next, Chen Yinke, with his extensive knowledge, talked about some specific issues in the works and the puzzling points in history: "If it is as the tradition says, Xia It seems difficult to explain why the Yin month was changed to the first month before the Shang Dynasty. Therefore, although there is evidence that the Yin month is the positive month in the literature of the Zhou Dynasty, it is still questionable whether it was left over from the Xia Dynasty. The calendar in Bin Feng’s July poems is inconsistent. It is very important to note that the "Day of One" and "Day of Two" are the old names of "Day of January" and "Day of February"? It is also related to Zuo Chuan Confucius' "The fire is still in the west, and the history has been passed." "When you join the school, you suspect that the Yin month is the correct one, which is the common calendar that the people have missed for a long time. So "Tuo Gu" belongs to Xia Yan?"

After Dong Zuobin received the letter, he carefully verified and revised the questions raised by Chen to make them more perfect.After the "Yin Calendar" was published in Lizhuang Stone Seal, Chen Yinke finished reading it, and wrote to Dong Zuobin again with surprise, praising: "In the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, the academic works should be respected as the first book. Also." Chen Yinke, who insisted on "independent spirit and free thinking" all his life, has never been as slippery, flattering and obedient as Guo Moruo in his life, and he really followed the "scholar's study and scholarship" advocated by him. With the standard of getting rid of the shackles of conventional truth, the truth can be carried forward", entering the world as a study.The evaluation of Dong's work this time should be sincere from the heart.Perhaps, it was thanks to the support and applause of academic masters like Chen Yinke who are strong and insightful that the upper echelons of the academic world and the highest authorities decided to publicly commend them, in order to demonstrate the unyielding will of Chinese scholars and their academic and cultural excellence since the Anti-Japanese War. Great contribution.After this great work was reported, Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing personally issued a commendation order:

Academia Sinica Dean Zhu Xun Jian: It was reported on July 4th in the thirty-fourth year that the book "Yin Calendar" written by Mr. Dong Zuobin, based on common examples and rigorous textual research, made the calendar of ancient history, which has been lost for many years, clear and well-organized. , There is an academic culture, sincerity is not superficial, good and deep, and I hope that it will be transferred from the academy to encourage. The subsequent history of Zhongzhong Noon Yangshimi proved that no matter it is Fu Sinian, Chen Yinke, Zhu Jiahua, or Chiang Kai-shek, the affirmation of Dong Zuobin's work achievements and the praise and encouragement of this work should be fair and just.Half a century later, in 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Guangzhi pointed out in an important paper in his later years, "The Anti-Japanese War and Academic Research-Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War": "In fact, from a The period from 1937 to 1945 was also the period when important works of Chinese humanities and social sciences were produced. For example, the important work "Yin Calendar" completed by my teacher Dong Zuobin during this period is very important to the Chinese archaeological circle. , is a book that breaks new ground and creates a new situation.” Zhang’s evaluation, Taiwanese scholar Wu Xingwen believes that “although this is not a complete summary of the coffin conclusions, we can see that Zhang Guangzhi’s ‘I love my teacher’ , I love the truth more"The true nature of a student and the spirit of seeking truth from facts are enough to leave a model for future generations."

Of course, in the face of the praise of Chen Yinke, Li Ji and other big names in the academic world, and even the encouragement of the highest authority, Dong Zuobin is no longer as excited and full of emotions as when Guo Moruo first boasted about himself. modesty.Speaking of this matter, Dong said: "Although I have spent ten years researching the book "Yin Calendar", I wrote it by hand in Lizhuang, Sichuan for one year and eight months, and it was printed into four major volumes. Charts occupy a total of 700,000 words. In my opinion, this is not a big deal. It is just a small attempt to further research methods in "Oracle Science". However, this small attempt is so difficult. Writing and printing is really the first draft. Sometimes public and private chores are collected, and every time I write a sentence, I put down my pen three times; Self-reviewing, shaking the head, and those who feel that there is a big mistake, they will supplement the heavy book, so the paste and scissors are not far away from the left and right. The joys and sorrows of it are only known to themselves."

The ups and downs of Dong's writings are not just self-knowledge. As the director of a school, Fu Sinian has witnessed Dong Zuobin's academic experience and life's hardships, and he has a deep understanding of the situation.In the preface written for this great book, Fu said affectionately: "The "Yin Calendar" is the book written by my friend Mr. Dong Yantang for ten years. Yantang is talented and energetic. People. Ten years of war, wandering between the southwestern lands, this spectrum consumes about one-third of its time, if one in four, but what one person can do every day is three or four for ordinary people, so if others do it, That is to say, they have the same talents and strengths, and if they don’t look at the garden pavilion, they may have to be disciplined. This is why all friends and friends are envious.” He also said: “Although Yantang has ruled oracle bone science for nearly twenty years, this will For twenty years, I have worked with Yu at the Academia Sinica, and Yu has witnessed every advancement of oracle bone science in the world, which is every advancement of Yantang... Today, Yantang's books are without the practice of similar books, and they are absolutely dogmatic subjects , and arrange it with all the inscriptions that can be seen, if it fits, it takes as much work as Mendlerev's beginning to make the atomic periodic table, and the matter is especially complicated."

At the end of the preface, Fu Sinian revealed a secret that had been buried in his heart for a long time: "I see that Yantang has been treating this for many years, walking alone, and feeling lonely, so I always tell my friends. Friends know this , I often argue with them unintentionally, in order to break the silence. I have also mentioned this list occasionally, so I contradict it, talk about it endlessly, and make it strange, so I am happy." Only when it comes to Fu himself After revealing this "secret", Dong Zuobin, Shi Zhangru, Dong Tonghe and other scholars who lived in Chinli'ao, Lizhuang, had a real insight into Fu Sinian's frequent debates and eloquence with others since he lived in Longtou Village, Kunming. , Putting on a groaning posture for what reason.In particular, Dong Tonghe, the tall young talent of Shiyu Institute who was praised by Shi Zhangru in his later years, known as "the first warrior", also had the opportunity to peek into the desolate temple hall in Longtou Village, Kunming. Fu forced himself to refute and most of them were defeated. In fact, he only wanted to "break the silence" and add some joy and fun to everyone.