Dai Zhen's Academic Standpoint and Practice

The aim of the scholarly research on the Chinese characters in the Qing Dynasty is to seek for argumentation of the Chinese classics and doctrines of the sages through written language, phonology, interpretation of words and textual research. As the most famous scholar and thinker in the middle Qing Dynasty, Dai Zhen not only won respect for his brilliant academic achievements, but also flew his own colours in the academic and ideological circles then with his systematic and profound Yi Li theory, and had become one of the few sinologists who paid attention to textual research and also had their own ideas. However, through his academic standpoint and practice, it may be found that he began with I annotate Jing, but ended up with Liu Jing annotates me. While showing clearly his academic characteristics, this particular academic style reflects both the scientificity and limitations of the aim of Sinology.