鹽谷溫先生（1878-1962），明治11年（1878）出生於漢學世家。學習院、第一高等學校畢業後，進入東京帝國大學文科大學漢學科就讀，森槐南為其中國戲曲小說領域的啟蒙先生。1906年，28歲的鹽谷溫開始擔任東京帝國大學副教授。同年留學德國，有感於歐洲戲曲小說於學術研究的崇高地位，遂決意以研究中國戲曲小說為畢生職志。1909～1912年於中國遊歷，師從湖南長沙葉德輝先生研讀《西廂記》、《琵琶記》等戲曲名作。返國後，於1919年出版《支那文學概論講話》，這是依詩、散文、戲曲、小說等文學體裁為類所編寫的第一部文學概論，在中國有多種譯本。此外，先生又以發現《全相平話》和《三言》的白話小說價值為其重要建樹。鹽谷溫任職東京大學教席期間，培育了後繼英才；名作家芥川龍之介、川端康成亦曾於鹽谷教授課堂認真聆講。本文爬梳鹽谷溫之出身、啟蒙、遊歷、師承及相關著作，廓描明治末至昭和初年其領導東京帝國大學中國俗文學研究之概況，掘探這位對中國戲曲小說研究深具影響力的日本漢學先鋒。

Shionoya On (1878-1962) came from a distinguished family of scholars of Chinese classical studies. While studying at Tokyo Imperial University, he took the class taught by Mori Kainan and became interested in Chinese drama and fiction. In 1906, he became an assistant professor at Tokyo Imperial University. From 1906 to 1909, he studied in Germany, where he learned that drama and fiction held a prominent position in the studies of literature in Europe. From 1909 to 1912, he stayed in China and studied Chinese drama under Ye Dehui in Changsha. In 1919 he published The Outline of Chinese Literature, the first research work in this field organized according to the literary genres, including poetry, drama and fiction. Several translations of this book appeared in China. His significant contributions included the rediscovery and study of Completely Illustrated Pinghua and Three Collections of Vernacular Stories (San yan). In the field of education, he brought up the next generation of scholars. Famous authors, Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Kawabata Yasunari also listened to his lectures with big interest.