王懿荣,甲骨文之父

2022-11-18 05:00武眉凌李卓曦
走向世界 2022年43期
关键词:甲骨龙骨甲骨文

武眉凌 李卓曦

世界上為数不多的人类古老文明里,唯有中华文明千年不辍,这是因为我们的文字从未断绝。而一百二十多年前的一天,一片甲骨文的出现则重塑了中国信史的开端,指引着后人在黄土之中寻找祖先们曾走过的路。

如果没有甲骨文的发现和研究,中国人或许至今都不能认清自己的文明得以传承的源头。正因甲骨文的发现,“甲骨文之父”王懿荣的名字,也会永远地留在中国的历史长河里。

提起烟台福山古现村的王氏家族,可谓是当地名门。自明朝初年,一世祖王忠因出任山东登宁场盐大使而定居古现村,至王懿荣已是第十六代,数百年间英才辈出。然而,就在王懿荣五岁那年,祖父王兆琛于山西巡抚任上获罪,贬戍新疆,家产被抄,以致家道中落。可这一切并没有动摇王家书香门第的本色,在母亲谢氏的悉心教导下,王懿荣不但熟读经史,科考入仕,更继承了其父王祖源的志趣,痴迷于金石文字之学,自称“好古成魔”。

那时的王懿荣,纵然是节衣缩食、典当家财,也要尽可能地收藏古代彝器,鉴赏研究,孜孜以求,是名满京都的金石学家。大概正是这样执着严谨的学术精神,终让王懿荣在一堆草药渣子里发现了足以改写中国历史的甲骨文。

光绪二十五年(公元1899年)的夏天,王懿荣感染风寒却百药无效,病症久久不得缓解。十分器重王懿荣的光绪皇帝闻得此信,遂派太医前去探视,而太医开出的药方上写着一味极为罕见的药材——龙骨。王懿荣的家人在北京城内几经寻找,才从宣武门外菜市口的西鹤年堂买回了龙骨。王懿荣不知龙骨究竟是什么宝贝药物,便命人取来一看,发现都是些古旧的龟甲、骨头片。然而,就是王懿荣这不经意的一眼,穿越了中华历史三千年。

在那些甲骨碎片上,王懿荣发现了许多似篆非篆的奇异纹络,有着深厚金石学功底的他当即意识到,这些带有刻字纹样的甲骨碎片,绝不是单纯的药材。于是,王懿荣开始有心收购各种“龙骨”药材,对那些有着形似刻痕的甲骨片进行编号并拓片成册。与此同时,王懿荣对照《史记·龟策列传》《周礼·春官》的文字记载,开始研究、破译这些抽象而单调的文字符号,最终找到了商代几位国王的名字,并由此抽丝剥茧,慢慢地整理出一段段尘埋泥土中的古老历史:这些甲骨文正是记录殷商王朝时君王祭天祈福、发布政令、征伐方国的史料,是中国最古老的文字,也是现代汉字的鼻祖。

甲骨文的发现,将中国有考据可信的历史提早了一千年,那些甲骨文字刻下的,是中国文明的破晓时间:汉字的起源和发展,青铜器铭文中悬而未决的疑问,都得到了崭新的研究方向。故此,王懿荣被后人尊为“甲骨文之父”,“甲骨学”也成为了二十世纪中国三大显学之一。

据说,今天的北京锡拉胡同21号院便是王懿荣旧时故居。从烟台归来后,我曾特意去寻访,却只见一片红墙小楼,再无半点百年前的形貌,而王懿荣殉节的古井也早没了踪迹。至于他在福山古现村的旧时家园也不复当初模样,到处都是城市开发的欣欣向荣。但我却以为,纵然与王懿荣有关的遗迹再难寻觅,他的治学品格、爱国情怀却是永存的,他敢于铁肩担道义的不朽精神更可以超越时空、贯通古今。这种精神,也一直积淀在烟台人的血液里,筑造了一代又一代烟台人的骨骼。而我也始终坚信,烟台的山川沧海会永远铭记,那些发生在这里的故事,还有那些从这里走出去的人。

The Chinese civilization is the only one that goes on endlessly for 1,000 years among a small number of ancient human civilizations in the world because our characters never disappear. The appearance of oracle bone inscriptions sometime 120 years ago reshaped the beginning of recorded history and guided later generations to seek the track of their ancestors from loess.

Without the findings and researches of the oracle bone inscriptions, the Chinese might fail to recognize the origin of the inheritance of their own civilization. Due to the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions, the name of Wang Yirong, father of oracle bone inscriptions, will always be kept in the course of the Chinese history.

Regarding the Wang’s family in Guxian Village, Fushan, Yantai, it is locally famous. Wang Zhong, its ancestor in the first generation, settled in Guxian Village when he acted as an official in charge of salt in Dengning of Shandong. Talents were cultivated for centuries before Wang Yirong, a descendent in the 16th generation. However, when he was five years ago, Wang Zhaochen, his grandfather, was found guilty in his term as a governor in Shanxi. He was banished to Xinjiang and deprived of his property leading to the fall of his family. Nevertheless, all this did not change the attribute of the Wang’s family as a scholarly one. Under the careful guidance of his mother, Wang Yirong was conversant with classics and history, passed the imperial examination, and became a governmental official. He also inherited the hobby of Wang Zuyuan, his father, and fell for the study of the inscriptions on ancient bronzes and stone tablets. As he said, he was crazy about ancient relics.

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