| Abstract |
The value of the preservation of documents in Siku Quanshu has always attracted attention. Compared with the value of the documents, transcription which is indeed the basic part to create the series of books has not received much attention. Three of the seven sets of Siku Quanshu, Wenyuan Pavilion, Wensu Pavilion, and Wenjin Pavilion, which were transcribed during the Qianlong period, belonged to “Beisi Pavilion” that was originally planned to be read to the royalty. It took more than 3,000 scholars who were good at writing to transcribe. The performance of transcription of the classics was either stated in brief as the Pavilion Style (Guange Ti) or thought to be the same handwriting under the regulation of the court. Both of these assumptions are not true. The purpose of this article is to reflect on this misconception and to explain that the name of the Pavilion Style (Guange Ti) does not help understand the manuscript situation of Siku Quanshu. In terms of the practical concept of writing, the respectful attitude that was emphasized when transcribing books is quite relevant to the Confucianism education in Qing Dynasty. Manuscripts (regular script in small characters) appear to be neat and tidy; as a matter of fact, there is a wide variety of penmanship styles. This paper uses Wenyuan Pavilion version as an example to specifically distinguish the types of handwriting and to have a deeper understanding and arrangement of this manuscript masterpiece. |
