Zhǔgōng jiùshì 渚宮舊事
Old Affairs of the Riverside Palace by 余知古 (compiler)
About the work
A late-Táng regional historiographical compilation by Yú Zhīgǔ 余知古 (fl. early 9th c.), originally in 10 juǎn, focused exclusively on the affairs of the JīngChǔ 荊楚 region from the legendary Yùxióng 鬻熊 (founder of the Chǔ ancestral line) through the Táng dynasty. The title comes from the Zhǔgōng 渚宮, the Chǔ royal “Riverside Palace” mentioned in the Zuǒzhuàn and located by Kǒng Yǐngdá in the southern district of the Chǔ capital Yǐng 郢. The Sìkù base text preserves only 5 juǎn (down to the Jìn dynasty) — the remaining 5 juǎn (Sòng, Qí, and onward) were already lost by the late Southern Sòng — together with a one-juǎn bǔyí 補遺 of fragments collected from other sources by the Sìkù compilers.
Tiyao
Also entitled Zhǔgōng gùshì 渚宮故事. Composed by Yú Zhīgǔ 余知古 of Táng. His title is given as Court Gentleman for Comprehensive Duty, Examining Editor of the Heir Apparent (jiāngshì láng shǒu tàizǐ jiàoshū 將仕郎守太子校書); his native place is unknown. The book begins with Yùxióng 鬻熊 (legendary ancestor of the Chǔ ruling house) and runs down to the Táng. All the events recorded concern JīngChǔ 荊楚 — hence the title. The “Riverside Palace” 渚宮 is named in the Zuǒzhuàn; Kǒng Yǐngdá 孔穎達’s zhèngyì locates it south of the Chǔ capital Yǐng. It is presumably the foundation of King Chéng of Chǔ 楚成王. Yuè Shǐ 樂史 in the Tàipíng huányǔ jì 太平寰宇記 makes it the foundation of King Xiāng 襄王 instead, but on what grounds is unclear. The book was originally in 10 juǎn and is so listed in the Xīn Tángshū “Yìwén zhì.” The present recension preserves only 5 juǎn, ending with the Jìn dynasty. Cháo Gōngwǔ 晁公武’s Jùnzhāi dúshū zhì records the Zhǔgōng gùshì in 10 juǎn — so at the start of the Southern Sòng it was still complete; by Chén Zhènsūn 陳振孫’s Shūlù jiětí the description matches the present text — so the 5 juǎn covering Sòng (i.e. Liú Sòng), Qí, and after must have been lost in the late Southern Sòng. Táo Zōngyí 陶宗儀’s Shuōfú 說郛 of the Yuán excerpts more than ten passages from this work, of which the post-Jìn portion accounts for seven — these were probably extracted from a leishu and not from a then-still-extant complete text. The Xīn Tángshū “Yìwén zhì” notes that he was a man of the Wénzōng 文宗 reign (827–840). It also lists a Hànshàng tíjīn jí 漢上題襟集 in 10 juǎn under Duàn Chéngshì 段成式, Wēn Tíngyún 溫庭筠, and Yú Zhīgǔ — so he wrote and traded poems with Duàn and Wēn. Since this present book is entirely about Chǔ affairs and is presumably the product of his time on the Hàn River, no further question on dating arises. Chén Zhènsūn was already in error to call him a man of the Hòu Zhōu (post-Táng); the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo citation of the Dúshū zhì drops the character “Yú” 余 from his name and gives “composed by Zhīgǔ of Táng” — even more grossly mistaken. The 5-juǎn text is preserved as it stands; fragments from other works are gathered into a separate bǔyí 補遺 in 1 juǎn and appended at the end.
Abstract
The Zhǔgōng jiùshì of Yú Zhīgǔ 余知古 (fl. Wénzōng reign, 827–840) is the earliest substantial regional historiographical compilation devoted to the JīngChǔ 荊楚 region (modern HúběiHúnán) to survive from the Táng. It runs in principle from the legendary Chǔ ancestor Yùxióng 鬻熊 through the Táng, organized chronologically; what survives is the first half (5 juǎn, ending with Jìn) plus a 1-juǎn Sìkù-compiled bǔyí. The author belongs to the Wénzōng-era literary circle around Duàn Chéngshì 段成式 and Wēn Tíngyún 溫庭筠 (both of whom co-authored the literary compendium Hànshàng tíjīn jí 漢上題襟集 with him), and the present work is presumably the product of his service on the Hàn River. The work was complete in 10 juǎn through Cháo Gōngwǔ 晁公武’s time (early Southern Sòng) but had been reduced to its present 5 juǎn by Chén Zhènsūn 陳振孫’s Shūlù jiětí in the late Southern Sòng. Sīmǎ Guāng drew on the work for the Zīzhì tōngjiàn. Date bracket here is set conservatively from the start of Wénzōng’s effective reign (830) to the end of Yú Zhīgǔ’s likely active life. The Sìkù editors take pains to correct several persistent bibliographic errors: Chén Zhènsūn’s mistaken classification of the author as Hòu Zhōu, and the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo’s loss of the surname character.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
- The work is most often cited in modern scholarship through Wáng Wénjǐn 王文錦 et al., eds., Zhǔgōng jiùshì jiàozhù 渚宮舊事校注, in collected Táng historiographical materials.
- Brief notice in Endymion Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual (5th ed.), §40.
- The Sìkù bǔyí assembled here remains the most accessible collection of fragments from the lost second half of the work.
Other points of interest
The Zhǔgōng jiùshì is a rare instance of a sustained Táng-period local-historiographical work surviving (even partially) for the Chǔ region, and it is therefore important for early-Chǔ legendary genealogy and ritual lore that survives nowhere else in continuous form.