Abstract

Du Lintang Yangshishiqiao Gujinwenyi jiyi (讀林塘楊氏時喬古今文易記疑) is a reading record written by Sin Hudam after reading Yang Shiqiao’s Zhouyi gujinwen quanshu (周易古今文全書, Complete Writings of the Zhouyi in the Ancient and Present Period). Sin Hudam excerpted some parts of Zhouyi gujinwen quanshu and attached his own commentary. Yang Shiqiao had been so thoroughly ignored in the history of Zhouyi interpretation and the author of the Bibliography of Complete Collection of Four Treasuries(四庫全書總目提要) suspected that the ancient form of Chinese characters in Zhouyi gujinwen quanshu(周易古今文全書) was an arbitrary invention of Yang Shiqiao. However, Shin Hudam believed that the Guwen (古文, ancient writing) was undoubtedly based on ancient texts, and he sympathized with Yang Shiqiao’s efforts to restore the original Zhouyi of the ancient period. The current study verified whether Sin Hudam’s beliefs could be justified and whether the ancient form of the Chinese characters was indeed derived from pre-Qin (先秦) ancient sources. After comparing Xu Shen’s (許愼) Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字) and some recent excavations with Yang Shiqiao’s Guwen (古文, ancient writing), this study confirms that the ancient characters in Yang Shiqiao’s Zhouyi gujinwen quanshu are not arbitrary fabrications and that in many cases, it matches with the ancient Chinese characters found at Shuowen Jiezi. However, Yang Shiqiao was unaware that the loan words (假借字) were widely used, so his reconstruction is far from the original Zhouyi. This is a limitation of Yang Shiqiao’s time, and, at the same time, Sin Hudam’s limitation.