Ěryǎ shū 爾雅疏
Sub-commentary on the Ěryǎ by 邢昺 (Xíng Bǐng) and colleagues, by imperial command (奉勅撰)
About the work
A ten-juàn sub-commentary (shū 疏) on Guō Pú’s annotated Ěryǎ, prepared by Xíng Bǐng 邢昺 (932–1010) and a board of court scholars at the order of Sòng Zhēnzōng. It is the standard zhèngyì 正義-style sub-commentary on the Ěryǎ and the version that became canonical when the Ěryǎ was incorporated into the Thirteen Classics of the Shísānjīng zhùshū 十三經注疏.
Abstract
Sòng Zhēnzōng commissioned the work because the existing Ěryǎ sub-commentaries by Sūn Yán 孫炎 and Gāo Lián 高璉 — both pre-Táng — were judged “shallow and incomplete” (淺略). Xíng Bǐng was Hànlín shìjiǎng xuéshì and zhíjiǔ of the Imperial Academy when the project was undertaken; the team included Dù Hào 杜鎬 (drafting officer), Sūn Shì 孫奭 and others. Their preface (preserved here in juàn 0) states that they took the Classics as the documentary base and Guō Pú as the master commentator. The work was presented in Xiánpíng 2 (999) and printed at the National Academy in Xiánpíng 4 (1001); thus the standard date range for completion is 999–1010 (Xíng Bǐng’s death). Together with Guō Pú’s commentary, this shū circulates as the core of the standard Ěryǎ zhùshū 爾雅注疏 transmitted in the Sìbù congkān facsimile from a Sòng print. The composition reflects the early-Sòng campaign of imperially-sponsored sub-commentaries which also produced Xíng Bǐng’s Lúnyǔ shū, Xiàojīng shū and Lǐjì shū under the same general program.
Translations and research
- Coblin, W. South. 2015. “The Erya.” In Early Chinese Literature, a Reference Guide (ECLL).
- Zhū Zǔyán 朱祖延, ed. 2014 (1996–99). Ěryǎ gǔlín 爾雅詁林. Hubei jiaoyu — incorporates Xíng Bǐng’s shū in full.
- Lǐ Jiànguó 李建國. 2003. Hànyǔ xùngǔ-xué shǐ 漢語訓詁學史. Shanghai: Shanghai cishu — assesses Xíng’s editorial method.
- Endymion Wilkinson. 2022. Chinese History: A New Manual, §6.2.1.2.