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limited amount of material could hardly convince even one's own self.  Viewed from these points, collecting at this time is certainly even more important than study.  So at the risk of exhausting my own financial resource, I despatched curio-dealers from Shantung(山東) and Ch'ang-shih(廠肆) to Chung-chou(中州) to do the collecting.  In a year's time, more than ten thousand pieces were obtained.  Still I was not satisfied^[[,]]I sent again my nephew Tzû-ching(子敬) and my wife's brother Fan Chao-Ch'ang(范兆昌) to Huan-yang(洹陽) to dig: the finds soon doubled the original number........."(殷虛書契前編序)
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The above quotation gives one a general idea of the gradual development of Lo's interest on this work as well as his method of working.  He continued in the preface to say that while he was preparing for the first issue of the work, the revolution broke out, and he was forced to leave the country.  About 50-60% of the collection were damaged during the travelling.  Fortunately the rubbing of what he considers the best pieces were still preserved.  The first eight volumes are a reproduction of these rubbings.

The first three volumes of Yin-hsü Shu-ch'i Ch'ien-pien was at first published in litho type in Kuo-hsüeh Ch'ung-k'an(國學叢刊) in 1911; in the year following they were reproduced in colotype together with the remaining five volumes.  The preface from which the above extract was made was written in 1912.  The publication of this book marked a new chapter in the study of these relics.  From this time on Lo published at different intervals a series of additional rubbings as well as his studies.  The influence exerted by this publication on the younger generation of classicists was the most profound.  In this atmosphere, the late Professor Wang Kuo-wei(王國維) took the best advantage and also achieved the most valuable results.  One of the great merits of Lo Chen-yu's method of work is that he actually tried to break the bound of traditional antiquarian's scope.  For instance he made an attempt to see the site himself.  In 1915 he visited An-yang and wrote the following in his published Diary:

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"30th(3rd mth):  This day I arrived at An-yang about ten in the morning and stayed in the Jen-ho-ch'ang Inn(人和昌栈).

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