夏小正戴氏傳

Xià xiǎo zhèng Dàishì zhuàn 夏小正戴氏傳

The Dài Tradition on the Xià Lesser Annals

by 傅崧卿 (注)

About the work

A Northern Sòng to early Southern Sòng monograph edition of the Xià xiǎo zhèng 夏小正 chapter of the DàDài Lǐjì KR1d0076 in 4 juàn by Fù Sōngqīng 傅崧卿 (zì Zǐjùn 子駿, native of Shānyīn 山陰, jìnshì of Yuányòu period; reached Jǐshìzhōng). The Xià xiǎo zhèng is the principal pre-Hàn agrarian-calendrical text — a month-by-month record of stellar, meteorological, biological, and ritual phenomena — preserved as a chapter of the DàDài Lǐjì but with sufficient internal complexity (the text is structured as an ancient core text accompanied by an early zhuàn commentary, mingled together in the transmitted DàDài recension) that it became the focus of independent scholarly attention from the Sòng onward. Fù Sōngqīng’s contribution is the first systematic separation of jīng (the ancient core) from zhuàn (the commentary), modelled on Dù Yù’s editorial separation of the Chūnqiū canonical text from the Zuǒzhuàn.

Tiyao

We respectfully submit that Xià xiǎo zhèng Dàishì zhuàn in four juan was composed by Fù Sōngqīng of the Sòng. [Fù] Sōngqīng — zì Zǐjùn, a man of Shānyīn — held office reaching Jǐshìzhōng. The Xià xiǎo zhèng is one piān of the DàDài Lǐjì. The Suí jīngjí zhì first separately catalogued the Xià xiǎo zhèng one juan apart from the DàDài Lǐjì, with an annotation saying “composed by Dài Dé.” [Fù] Sōngqīng’s preface says: “the Suí [court] heavily rewarded the seeking of lost-books; in submitting books one therefore [made] much in order to win the rewards-and-silk; therefore [the imperial editors] separated the piān heading and made this — the relevant officials accepted this and did not further discriminate, and the zhì-makers did not further examine [it].” On principle this could be the case.

But examining Wú Lù Jī’s 陸璣 Shī cǎomù niǎoshòu chóngyú shū — it says: “the DàDài Lǐ Xià xiǎo zhèng zhuàn says: ‘Fányóuhú yóuhúpángbó […]‘” — then in the Three Kingdoms period there already was a zhuàn by name. [I] suspect: the old recension of the DàDài Lǐjì originally had the Xià xiǎo zhèng text but no zhuàn; Dài Dé made the zhuàn for it which circulated separately, and so [it] formed its own juan. Therefore the Suí zhì separately marked it. Later Lú Biàn made the DàDài Lǐjì annotation, beginning to draw the zhuàn into the book; therefore the Táng zhì no longer catalogued [it separately]. Further the Suí zhì — based on the Qīlù — is most-thoroughly precise; cannot fail to know that the Xià xiǎo zhèng is a book of the Three Dynasties, [and instead] casually inscribe “composed by Dài Dé” on it. [I] suspect under “Xià xiǎo zhèng” should be characters “Dàishì zhuàn”; or “composed by Dài Dé” should be made “Dài Dé zhuàn”; the present recension is mistakenly missing one character — also cannot be fixed.

Examining the Xiǎo Ěryǎ — also is one piān of the Kǒng cóng — because it has Lǐ Guǐ’s annotation, then [it was] separately catalogued. This is also a side-evidence. [Fù] Sōngqīng — taking [it] as Suí-period erroneous-separation — perhaps not [right].

Only this piān — repeatedly transmitted-and-copied — zhuàn and the běnwén (canonical text) [are] mixed-up-and-mingled into one. [Fù] Sōngqīng began to imitate Dù Yù’s edited-sequence of the Zuǒshì Chūnqiū precedent — listing the canonical text in front and listing the zhuàn below; each month each formed a piān — and appending annotation. Further with the Guān-huì-collection version and the Jí-xián-suǒ-collection DàDài Lǐjì version [he] cross-collated for similarities-and-differences, annotating at the bottom. The Guān version annotation [contained] twenty-three places — also collectively appended-and-recorded, titled jiù zhù (old annotation) to differentiate.

Apparently this book’s separation of jīng from zhuàn began with [Fù] Sōngqīng. Zhūzǐ composing the Yílǐ jīngzhuàn tōngjiě KR1d0085 — taking the Xià xiǎo zhèng and dividing-and-analysing canon-and-commentary — really followed his example. The detail of [Fù] Sōngqīng’s interpretation also begins from him. Jīn Lǚxiáng’s Tōngjiàn qiánbiān annotation in fact has nothing surpassing it.

On this book [Fù] Sōngqīng can be said to have laid foundations for Confucians. People praise extravagantly Zhūzǐ’s edited-fixed recension and [Jīn] Lǚxiáng’s continuation-annotation, but do not credit-as-originator [Fù] Sōngqīng — apparently [in] the school-of-learning houses each honours what they have heard; [this is] not a public verdict.

[Some textual remarks on dating and chapter assignment:] In [the Xià xiǎo zhèng] like the first month’s “the dòu-handle is hung downwards”, the fifth month’s “the shūyún will jiānzhū (intervene)”, the ninth month’s “chén connecting at rì”, the eleventh month’s “at this time the rì — all things not connecting” — all should be canonical text but are erroneously listed in the zhuàn; the first month’s “first-uses chàng” [namely explaining “the new-year jìlěi” passage] saying “clearly using chàng to jì, from this beginning” — should be zhuàn but is erroneously listed in the canonical text — all not entirely-resolved. Yet the DàDài learning — those who study it are rare; the Xià xiǎo zhèng text-and-phrasing being concise-and-archaic — especially difficult to read. [Fù] Sōngqīng alone examined-and-checked the old text, obtained…

[final summary line:]

His credit cannot be discarded.

Respectfully revised and submitted, [date].

General Compilers: Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅.

Abstract

Fù Sōngqīng’s Xià xiǎo zhèng Dàishì zhuàn is the founding work of the standalone Xià xiǎo zhèng commentary tradition. The chapter is the principal pre-Hàn agrarian-calendrical text — a month-by-month record organised around stellar configurations, weather, biological signs (animal and plant phenology), and ritual activity — and is one of the most archaic and linguistically difficult texts in the entire ritual corpus. Fù’s editorial intervention (separating ancient core jīng from later zhuàn commentary, modelled on Dù Yù’s ChūnqiūZuǒzhuàn edition) was decisive for all subsequent scholarship on the text: Zhū Xī’s Yílǐ jīngzhuàn tōngjiě KR1d0085 explicitly follows Fù’s separation, and Jīn Lǚxiáng’s 金履祥 Tōngjiàn qiánbiān annotation depends on Fù’s text-critical work.

The Sìkù tíyào’s biographical-scholarly verdict — “his credit cannot be discarded” (qí gōng bù kě fèi yě 其功不可廢也), with the explicit complaint that “the school-of-learning houses each honours what they have heard” and unjustly credits Zhū Xī and Jīn Lǚxiáng for what was Fù Sōngqīng’s foundational work — is a notable instance of the Sìkù editorial position favouring originality-of-research over school-affiliation.

The dating bracket 1110–1130 reflects Fù Sōngqīng’s adult scholarly career — he is recorded by the catalog meta as fl. 1111–1121 (Sòng Zhènghé to Xuānhé period). The standard biographical sources record his jìnshì in the Yuányòu period (1086–1093) and his peak career under Huīzōng. The work cannot be tied to a precise year within his career.

Translations and research

• Sūn Yírǎng 孫詒讓, Dà-Dài Lǐjì jiāo-bǔ 大戴禮記校補 — the standard Qīng-evidential text-critical edition (incorporating Fù Sōng-qīng’s editorial work).
• Yáng Tiānyǔ 楊天宇, Lǐjì yìzhù 禮記譯注 (Shànghǎi gǔjí, 1997) — modern critical translation.
• Bruno Schindler, “Das Hsia-Hsiao-Cheng”, in Asia Major (Sinological Studies in Honor of Friedrich Hirth, 1923), 1–48 — early German philological-translation of the Xià xiǎo zhèng.
• Heiner Roetz, Confucian Ethics of the Axial Age (SUNY Press, 1993) — modern critical reception.

Other points of interest

The Xià xiǎo zhèng’s archaic linguistic features and its close parallels with shamanistic-agrarian calendars in early-China and across Inner Asia have made it a focus of philological-anthropological interest in modern scholarship. The text predates the Yuèlìng of the Lǐjì and is generally regarded as the most archaic surviving Chinese calendrical text. Fù Sōngqīng’s Sòng-period editorial work made the text accessible to the subsequent commentarial tradition; its modern reception runs from Sūn Yírǎng’s late-Qīng evidential edition through the present day.

Links

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xia_Xiao_Zheng
• Chinaknowledge: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Classics/dadaili.html