Writings continue to fascinate

The charm of ancient Chinese writing not only captivates domestic researchers but also fascinates overseas scholars, including Kunio Hirose from Osaka in Japan.

Born in 1975 and now a professor at Iwate University's Center for Hiraizumi Studies, Hirose has researched ancient Chinese writing since 1998.

From 2008 to January this year, Hirose was a researcher at the Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Paleography at Fudan University in Shanghai. With his work mainly focusing on bamboo slips and silk manuscripts from the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-AD 220), he contributed to the sorting and interpreting of the Mawangdui silk manuscripts — specifically the medical classics.

Hirose's journey in ancient Chinese writing began unexpectedly.

At first, Hirose was a bachelor's student at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo, and he had no connection with ancient writing or the Chinese language. When his graduation was delayed to 1998, he encountered a reading lesson about the Chinese classic The Book of Rites at the university's Faculty of Letters, which focuses on humanity and society from a variety of perspectives.

Impressed by this extremely earnest student and his efforts to learn Chinese, the lecturer later introduced Hirose to his colleague Professor Tomohisa Ikeda, who guided him to the Mawangdui silk manuscripts and other ancient Chinese writings.

Then Hirose began to delve into the world of ancient Chinese writing. Since 1999, he completed postgraduate and doctoral programs and joined the Fudan center.

"I have always been interested in ancient characters and writings from around the world but was poor at learning foreign languages. However, when I happened to read a book about oracle bone inscriptions, I found myself able to understand the ancient books, thanks to the similarities in Japanese and ancient Chinese characters. Moreover, I have been fond of China's ancient history and philosophy since I was young and have read several Japanese translations of ancient Chinese classics," says Hirose.

Hirose is the main editor of three medical and healthcare books included in the two editions of the Mawangdui Bamboo Slips and Silk Manuscripts. In his research, Hirose made remarkable breakthroughs in identifying printed scripts, binding the silk pieces and decoding the texts.

"As the Mawangdui silk pieces were originally folded in a box, some characters were printed on the folded layers above or below. Though it is very challenging to not know how the silk pieces were unfolded at first, these printed scripts still played a critical role in helping understand the texts and identifying the original characters — especially those that were broken or missing," explains Hirose.

Despite the obstacles, Hirose has enjoyed the years studying the Mawangdui manuscripts and says he would insist on his research wherever he is.

"Among all the excavated ancient Chinese bamboo and silk manuscripts, the ones in Mawangdui are outstanding and extremely valuable as they have clear datelines and are well-preserved and rich in content," says Hirose. "There is no doubt that China is taking the lead in terms of ancient writing research. The interpretation of ancient characters and texts requires a sharp eye on character shapes and a good sense of language. From these aspects, it is difficult for overseas scholars to surpass their Chinese counterparts."

However, it is worth noting that some overseas researchers may sometimes boast unique advantages.

"Overseas scholars were not born or raised in China, which means they will not follow the way of thinking or living as Chinese natives. Instead, they tend to understand the ancient Chinese language in their mother tongue, which can enable them to look at questions objectively and think outside the box, noticing problems that Chinese scholars may take for granted," Hirose adds.