Negotiating between the Ancient and Modern, the Han School and the Song School:Wang Xianqian's Study of the “Modern Text" of the Shi Jing

Although the philological models and methodologies of the Qian-Jia school became academically fashionable during the time of Jiaqing and Daoguang, Shi jing scholars approached the classical texts both linguistically and thematically. This paper examines the Shi jing studies of Wang Xianqian (1842-1917), aiming to reveal the complicated development of Shi jing studies from the time of Jiaqing and Daoguang periods to the Late Qing. First, a group of scholars laid more emphasis on the Modern texts of the Shi jing; secondly, philological scholars, regardless of the so-called “Ancient-text or “Modern-text factional debates,unanimously valued both texts as important sources in their studies; thirdly, the resurgence of the philological studies did not completely overcome the so called “Song school of learning in late Qing as has been suggested by many modern scholars. Scholars of the Song school carried forward the tradition of dealing mainly with the ultimate meaning, didactic objectives, and the literary sensations and styles of the Shi jing poems. Wang Xianqian's Shi sanjia yi jishu (A collection of the fragmented commentaries of the three Han schools of the Shi jing) and his opinions on classical studies thus reflect the complicated nature of the Shi jing studies from the Jiaqing period to late Qing.