MUZIChinese Matrix
Scholars › Philosopher / Thinker
Master Sinologist, Pioneer of Modern Literary Aesthetics, and Formulator of the Dual-Evidence Method
Mural of the cultural record “Shadow Puppet Theatre”, which this person is tied to.
Also known as Wang Jing'an · Jing'an · Guantang · Master Guantang · Renjian Cihua Zuozhe
Eminent polymath and Tsinghua mentor who synthesized Western philosophy and Chinese classicism in Renjian Cihua, pioneering the transformative 'Dual-Evidence Method' in archaeology and history.
Dates 1877 - 1927
The Chinese Wikipedia entry on Wang Guowei lists his works including Honglou meng pinglun, Renjian cihua and Song-Yuan xiqu shi, and says that early in his career he worked on philosophy and aesthetics, with scholarship covering literature, aesthetics, history, philosophy, epigraphy, oracle bones and archaeology.
The Chinese Wikipedia page says he moved oracle-bone study from philology towards history, using the inscriptions to check records such as the Shiji, and proposed the two-evidence method combining excavated material with transmitted texts. He published Yin-Zhou zhidu lun in 1917, wrote Gushi xinzheng, and taught at Tsinghua's research institute from 1925 to 1927.