Chinese annals in the western observatory : an outline of western studies of Chinese unearthed documents Since the beginning of the twentieth century hundreds of thousands of documents of all sorts have been unearthed in China opening whole new fields of study and transforming our modern understanding of ancient China. While these discoveries have necessarily taken place in China Western scholars have also contributed to the study of these documents throughout this entire period. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the contributions of these Western scholars to the field of Chinese paleography and especially to study of oracle bone inscriptions bronze and stone inscriptions and manuscripts written on bamboo and silk. Each of these topics is provided with a comprehensive narrative history of studies by Western scholars as well as an exhaustive bibliography and biographies of important scholars in the field. It is also supplied with a list of Chinese translations of these studies as well as a complete index of authors and their works. Whether the reader is interested in the history of ancient China ancient Chinese paleographic documents or just in the history of the study of China as it has developed in the West this book provides one of the most complete accounts available to date Frontmatter CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES PREFACE TO THE CHINESE EDITION PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION CONVENTIONS INTRODUCTION 1. AN OUTLINE OF WESTERN STUDIES OF CHINESE PALEOGRAPHY AN OUTLINE OF WESTERN STUDIES OF CHINESE PALEOGRAPHY: BIOGRAPHIES BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WESTERN SCHOLARSHIP ON CHINESE PALEOGRAPHY 2. ENGRAVED IN SHELL AND BONE: NARRATIVE ENGRAVED IN SHELL AND BONE: BIOGRAPHIES ENGRAVED IN SHELL AND BONE: BIBLIOGRAPHY 3. CAST IN BRONZE AND STONE: NARRATIVE CAST IN BRONZE AND STONE: BIOGRAPHIES CAST IN BRONZE AND STONE: BIBLIOGRAPHY 4. WRITTEN ON BAMBOO AND SILK: NARRATIVE WRITTEN ON BAMBOOK AND SILK: BIOGRAPHIES WRITTEN ON BAMBOO AND SILK: BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHINESE TRANSLATIONS OF WESTERN STUDIES OF CHINESE UNEARTHED DOCUMENTS INDEX OF AUTHORS