Subtleties in the
relationship between
Ruan Yuan and
Duan Yucai have rarely been researched so far. Both proficient in ancient Chinese philology, Ruan and Duan were famous scholars during the Qian-Jia period (the reign of Emperor Qianlong and that of Emperor Jiaqing) of the Qing Dynasty. Ruan, 29 years younger than Duan, had respect for and trust in Duan due to his eminent scholarship. Although generally Duan got on well with Ruan, his deepest dissatisfaction with Ruan, who failed to appoint Duan as the compiler-in-chief of The Collation of Commentaries to the Thirteen Classics, was what he did in participating in the compilation of The Collation was taken advantage of by Ruan. In addition, Duan was bitterly disappointed that Ruan only finished inscribing one of the many volumes of Notes on An Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters, a failure to
complete the whole task Duan had entrusted to Ruan.According to the historical data and some analysis, the author thinks that there are three more causes for Duan's grudge against Ruan. First, Duan remained self-
important. Second, Duan
believed that Ruan should have been able to complete inscribing all the volumes of Notes on An Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters. Third, Duan believed that he was superior to Ruan in terms of scholarship. Given the relationship between Duan and Ruan, the positive
aspects constitute the primary and most important part, while the negative aspects are secondary and less. Duan's tremendous achievements in compiling The Collation as the real ″compiler-in-chief″ should be fully confirmed. At the same time, the important role Ruan played in doing the compiling shouldn't be disregarded.
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