Page 24 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

Among western scholars, two merit special mention: in Japanese on the origin, history, meaning, etc. of the Kanji (Chinese
characters) used in the Japanese language and on the impact of Chinese
- Léon Wieger (Georges Frédéric Léon Wieger 1856 – 1933) Born in characters on the Japanese language, society, etc.
Strasbourg Alsace-Lorraine in 1856, Wieger was a medical doctor and
Jesuit priest who spent most of his adult life in China. He wrote a number A good number of present-day specialists both within China and overseas
of books on Chinese language, Chinese folklore, Buddhism, Daoism, etc. continue to make valuable contributions to the study of ancient Chinese
and a well-received book on Chinese characters entitled ‘Caractères chinois’ bronzes from the point of view of epigraphy, history, religion, morphology,
which was later published in English as ‘Chinese characters: Their Origin, metallurgy, etc. Among these, Sarah Allan, R.W. Bagley, Noel Barnard, T.W.
Etymology, History, Classification and Signification’. Chase, Maud Girard-Geslan, Hayashi Minao, Li Xueqin, Ma Chengyuan,
Jessica Rawson and Leon Vandermeersch deserve special mention.
- Bernhard Karlgren (1889 – 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist
who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern
comparative methods and who for many years was the director of the
Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden. In his attempts
to classify ancient bronze vessels according to the style of the calligraphy in
which their inscriptions are written and their décor, Karlgren made a great

contribution to the study of ancient Chinese bronzes.

In Japan, two modern-day scholars have made an especially meaningful
contribution to the study of ancient Chinese bronze vessels and their
inscriptions:

- Umehara Sueji (梅原末治) (1893 – 1983). Deeply knowledgeable in the
archaeology of Japan and Korea as well as that of China, and specializing in
the study of ancient bronzes, Professor Umehara taught in the department
of archaeology of Kyoto University from 1933 to 1956. His studies and
numerous publications on the bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou, the
bronze mirrors of the Warring States, the Han and post-Han periods, as
well as his studies on Han dynasty lacquerware are remarkable for the
wealth of information and important detail contained therein, much of it

gathered on the spot by Professor Umehara during his visits to China in the
1920s and 30s.

- Shirakawa Shizuka (白川靜) (1910 – 2006) was one of the best known and
most respected modern-day Japanese scholars, who dedicated most of his
long life to the study of Chinese characters and inscriptions on ancient
bronzes as well as on their relevance to the social history of ancient China,
etc. In his ‘Kimbun Tsushaku’ ( 金文通釋) (Bronze Inscriptions Explained)
and ‘Kimbun Seikai’ ( 金文世界) (The World of Bronze Inscriptions),
Professor Shirakawa discusses the development of the study of bronze
inscriptions, the latest archaeological discoveries, advances in the study
of bronze inscriptions, and almost everything known concerning ancient
Chinese bronze inscriptions.
In addition to his work on Chinese bronze inscriptions, Chinese history,
writing, etc., Professor Shirakawa also authored scores of publications

24 25