修县志以申学:李馥的托古改制之路

Compiling County Records to Promote One's Studies:Li Fu's Road of Systematic Reform on the Pretext of Confucius Classics

清末民初湖南祁阳(今祁东部分)公羊学家李馥,乃公羊学大师王间运之弟子。王闿运湖南湘潭人,主《春秋公羊传》,崇今文经学,倡学以致用,门下廖平(康有为之师,梁启超之师祖),民国风云人物杨度、夏寿田,国画大师齐白石,戊戌六君子之杨锐、刘光第,同盟会元老刘揆一,均大有作为。独李馥之学鲜有人问津,其原因不在于其未得王闿运之公羊学中"托古改制"之学问,而是未能因时变异其学,真正通经以致用。而其修县志等治史方法,虽貌似经世致用之宋学,实又固守训诂三代旧制以为今用的汉学方法。清末民初,宋学乃潮流之学,李馥处潮流之末端,被社会淘汰是必然的。

Li Fu,the Gongyang scholar of Qiyang County(now part of Qidong) of Hunan Province during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican Period,was a disciple of the Gongyang master Wang Kaiyun.Wang Kaiyun was from Xiangtan of Hunan Province,an authority on The Spring and Autumn Gongyang Zhuan,who held the contemporary interpretations of Confucius classics in high esteem,and promoted the practical application of academic studies.His disciples,including Liao Ping(Kang Youwei's teacher,and Liang Qichao's teacher's teacher),Yang Du and Xia Shoutian who were key characters during the Republican Period,Qi Baishi the great master of Chinese traditional painting,Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi among the Six Gendemen of the Wuxu Reform,and Liu Kuiyi,one of the founding fathers of Tong Meng Hui,are all men of great influence.It was only Li Fu's studies that were left alone with few followers,the reason of which was not that he did not get the essence of Wang Kaiyun's Gongyang Studies of systematic reform on the pretext of Confucius classics,but that he was unable to change his thoughts with the advancement of time and really apply classical studies to practical matters.Therefore his methods of history studies through compilation of county records,though seemingly belong to the Song school of thoughts that promote practical application of classical studies,were in fact the methods of the Han school of thoughts that stick to textual research and interpretations of the ancient systems.During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican Period,the Song school of thoughts was the popular trend,yet Li Fu placed himself at the end of that trend and was bound to be sifted out by society.