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朱子五經語類

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Text ID
KR1g0027
Date
1725–1725
Dynasty
清

Zhū zǐ Wǔ jīng yǔ lèi 朱子五經語類

Master Zhū’s Classified Sayings on the Five Classics by 程川 (撰)

About the work

An 80-juàn mid-Qing topical re-extract by Chéng Chuān of Zhū Xī’s recorded sayings on the Five Classics and the Dà Dài lǐ jì, drawn from Lí Jìngdé 黎靖德’s compendium Zhū zǐ yǔ lèi 朱子語類. The arrangement is by jīng (Yì 40 juàn; Shū 9; Shī 7; Chūnqiū 3; Lǐ 21 — totaling 80) with each jīng opened by a general-discussion section, then a critical-discussion section on previous interpretations, then the canonical-text-following sequence. Each entry notes the disciple-recorder’s name, the year of recording, and Zhū’s age at that time — a useful prosopographic apparatus for tracking the development of Zhū’s thought across his career. The work was completed in 1725 at the Fūwén Academy in Hángzhōu.

Tiyao

Your servants having respectfully examined: the Zhū zǐ Wǔ jīng yǔ lèi in 80 juàn was edited by Chéng Chuān of our reigning dynasty. Chuān’s style name was Fūqú, sobriquet Chūntán; he was a man of Qiántáng. Bóxué hóngcí nominee in Qiánlóng 1 (1736). This book was completed in Yōngzhèng yǐsì (1725), while Chuān was studying at the Fūwén Academy. He took Zhū Xī’s sayings on the Five Classics from the Yǔ lèi 語錄, arranged by zhōu and bù, with each topic gathered together, for ease of reference. Yì in 40 juàn, Shū in 9, Shī in 7, Chūnqiū in 3, Lǐ in 21.

In the past, Zhū Xī’s grandson Zhū Jiàn 朱鑑 had once edited the Wéngōng Yì shuō in 23 juàn, and the Shī zhuàn yí shuō in 6. Our dynasty’s Lǐ Guāngdì has the Zhū zǐ Lǐ zhuǎn in 5 juàn. But the Shū and the Chūnqiū have no specialized works — only various authors citing scattered passages to weigh against the various traditions. Moreover those works each select by their own opinion and do not give a complete picture, nor do they record the year and disciple, providing no way to investigate the chronology and development. Lí Jìngdé’s Yǔ lèi compilation gathers comprehensively without omission, but does not undertake topical arrangement, and one cannot quickly find one’s bearings.

Chuān’s editing places at the head of each Classic the general discussion, then the critique-of-the-old-readings section, then arranges the rest by canonical-text sequence; under each entry he notes the recording disciple, and at the head of each entry he notes the year and Zhū’s age. The categorization is exceedingly clear. Some records may have lost the truth, or differ across recordings — Chuān has not always identified each variation; but for cross-referenced topical reading and cross-collation, the strengths and weaknesses of the various positions become visible.

The Sānlǐ portion is followed by the Dà Dài lǐ jì — which seems anomalous. Examining: this work has been catalogued in the lǐ category by all the historical zhì (bibliographies). Shǐ Shéngzǔ’s Xuézhāi zhàn bì records that in the Sòng the Dà Dài jì was joined to the Shísān jīng and called the Shísì jīng (Fourteen Classics) — though Shǐ does not specify the era; nonetheless the report cannot be a fabrication. Moreover the Dà Dài jì shares much textual matter with the Sānlǐ and is useful as cross-evidence — its appendage at the end is no occasion for suspicion. Respectfully collated and submitted in the leap fifth month of the forty-sixth year of Qiánlóng (1781). — Editors-in-chief: your servants Jǐ Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì. — Chief proof-reader: your servant Lù Fèichí.

Abstract

The Zhū zǐ Wǔ jīng yǔ lèi is the most useful Yōngzhèng-era topical re-arrangement of Zhū Xī’s recorded sayings on the Five Classics. Three points of distinction:

(1) The prosopographic apparatus. Each entry notes the disciple-recorder’s name, the year of the recording, and Zhū’s age — making the work a useful chronological tool for tracking the development of Zhū’s classical thought. (Zhū’s Yì readings, for example, evolved substantially between his early xiàngshù phase, his middle yì lǐ phase, and his late Běn yì; Chéng’s apparatus makes this development visible.)

(2) The treatment of the Shū and Chūnqiū. As the Sìkù tíyào notes, Zhū Xī never produced specialized commentaries on the Shū or the Chūnqiū (Cài Shěn’s Shū jí zhuàn was technically a son-disciple’s product; Hú Ānguó’s Chūnqiū zhuàn preceded Zhū). The Chéng Chuān compilation is therefore the principal vehicle for accessing Zhū’s substantive Shū and Chūnqiū readings — for these two Classics it is virtually the only thing of its kind.

(3) The Dà Dài lǐ jì appendix. The Sìkù tíyào’s defence of the Dà Dài appendix — citing Shǐ Shéngzǔ’s Xuézhāi zhàn bì on the Sòng “Fourteen Classics” — is interesting evidence of how the Sìkù compilers thought about marginal canonical inclusions. The Dà Dài lǐ jì was indeed elevated to canonical status briefly in the Sòng, and its inclusion here reflects that semi-canonical status.

The dating is precise: Yōngzhèng 3 yǐsì = 1725. The work was incorporated into the Sìkù in 1781.

Translations and research

  • Hángzhōu fǔ zhì 杭州府志 — local gazetteer with biographical entry on Chéng Chuān.
  • Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. Confucian Discourse and Chu Hsi’s Ascendancy. UHP, 1992.
  • Bol, Peter K. Neo-Confucianism in History. HUP, 2008. Pages on the development of Zhū Xī’s classical thought and the categories of his disciple-records.
  • Adler, Joseph A. Reconstructing the Confucian Dao: Zhu Xi’s Appropriation of Zhou Dunyi. SUNY Press, 2014. Background on Zhū’s evolving classical positions.

Other points of interest

The work is one of the principal sources for cross-referencing Zhū’s classical readings against his philosophical writings — the topical arrangement makes it possible to set the yǔ lèi passages alongside the Wén jí (collected works) for any given canonical text and any given philosophical concept. This is precisely what the high-Qing scholars (Lǐ Guāngdì, Mù Tiānyán) used the work for.

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