Another book that influenced him was L'histoire et des méthodes, edited by Charles Samaran, which
helped him combine insights from historical geography, historical linguistics, archaeology, and epigraphy to develop a
multidisciplinary approach to paleographic studies. Professor Venture sincerely encouraged young Chinese scholars to learn more languages
and to cultivate a multidisciplinary perspective.
After arriving in Hong Kong, I continued my academic work—attending classes, writing papers, and participating in conferences. In my spare
time, I read How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier and
Bill Manley,
along with several related papers, and gained a basic understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Given my background in oracle bone
and bronze inscriptions from early China, I immediately began drawing comparisons between these two writing systems.
For example, the use of multiple graphs to represent a single word in Egyptian bears similarities to the structure of early
Chinese writing. Moreover, the way Egyptian inscriptions describe royal women—as “wife of X, daughter of Y, mother of Z”—closely
resembles the way Western Zhou bronze inscriptions identify noble women through their clan and kinship ties.
As Jean-François Champollion, the founder of modern Egyptology, was a French paleographer, this naturally deepened my
interest in French Egyptology, French culture, and the French language.
Driven by my admiration for Champollion, I also read a popular biography titled The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the
Hieroglyphs,
written by British archaeologists Lesley and Roy Adkins. The
book describes how, despite Champollion's brilliant mind and personal dedication, he faced numerous obstacles: he had to navigate the
complex relationship with his elder brother (who supported him financially), as well as with provincial officials such as Fourier
and other political figures.
More importantly, at that time in France and Britain, several scholars were competing to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.
When Champollion requested access to original materials from Thomas Young, this British scholar refused. Later, after
Champollion successfully cracked the code, Young subtly implied in his own writings that Champollion did not acknowledge using his research.
As a young paleographer myself, I deeply understand the critical importance of access to primary materials in paleographic
research. This made me feel great sympathy for Champollion and strong disapproval of Dr. Young's narrow-mindedness. I admire Champollion all
the more for being able to achieve this historic breakthrough solely through his own intelligence and perseverance, despite
facing such setbacks.
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