Bulletin Summer 1977

Q. Your works have always been widely acclaimed and I understand that only recently an article of yours had a great impact on Japanese scholars. A. I delivered a lecture on "Viewing the Literature o f the Ch'in Dynasty from Unearthed Data of Y ü n-mung (雲夢）” at the Hong Kong University in October 1976. The lecture was rendered into Japanese and Professor Hibino Takeo, Emeritus Professor o f Kyoto University, saw the article and published it in T ô h ô gakuh ô ( 東方學 ) w ith small revisions. I was really surprised when Pro­ fessor Hibino told me that the article has evoked great interest in the study of the Ch'in Dynasty in Japan. And Professor Yoshikawa K5jir5, Chairman o f T5h5 Gakkai ( 東方學會)， has invited me to be a member o f their Society. Q. It seems that every research project o f yours involves many years o f hard work. A. Learning and research is a painstaking enterprise, involving years o f data collection and intensive study o f the subject and its related fields. It would be naive to think that a subject may be thoroughly studied w ithin one or two years' time. It is my conviction that research is a long process, and not only must we surpass our predecessors in our endeavours but also be prepared to be sur­ passed by our successors and even ourselves in future. We can improve ourselves only through hum ility and by being aware o f our own lim ita­ tions: we can learn only when we know our own ignorance. Q. Apart from academic research, your accomplish­ ments in poetry, calligraphy and painting, as well as zither-playing, are well-known. It can truly be said that the essence o f traditional Chinese men o f letters finds full expression in you. A. I do not think I deserve such compliments. I can only say that it is true that my interests are many, some for self-cultivation, some as pastimes. I have found from experience that learning and art are intimately related. Learning is the accumu­ lation o f knowledge and art is the personal ex­ perience o f a certain knowledge. Comprehensive learning w ill help to advance artistic and literary creation, for learning is like the soil which nurtures all creative activities. For me, writing poetry is a hobby, and I have a habit of writing poems during my travels. Calli­ graphy, painting and zither-playing are means of self-cultivation. I am only an amateur in these