宋名臣奏議

Sòng míngchén zòuyì 宋名臣奏議

Memorials of Famous Officials of the Sòng by 趙汝愚 (編)

About the work

A monumental 150-juàn thematic anthology of 1,630 memorials by 241 Northern-Sòng officials, edited by Zhào Rǔyú 趙汝愚 (1140–1196). The work was begun during Zhào’s Jiǎshǒu Mǐnjùn (Acting Prefect of Fújiànjùn) tenure and presented in the zházǐ of Chúnxī 13 / 11 (1186), with later expansion at Jǐnchéng (Chéngdū). The collection covers the period from Jiànlóng 1 (960) through Jìngkāng 1 (1126) — i.e. the entire Northern Sòng — and is organized in 12 thematic divisions: Jūndào 君道 (the way of the ruler); Dìjì 帝系 (imperial genealogy); Tiāndào 天道 (Heaven’s way); Bǎiguān 百官 (the officials); Rúxué 儒學 (Confucian learning); Lǐyuè 禮樂 (rites and music); Shǎngxíng 賞刑 (rewards and punishments); Cáifù 財賦 (fiscal administration); Bīngzhì 兵制 (military system); Fāngyù 方域 (regions); Biānfáng 邊防 (frontier defence); Zǒngyì 總議 (general discussion). The 12 divisions contain 114 sub-categories, and each memorial is annotated with the author’s office at the time of submission and the year-and-month of submission — making the work both a thematic resource and a chronological archive.

Tiyao

Míngchén zòuyì, 150 juàn, edited by Zhào Rǔyú of the Sòng. — At the head is the Chúnxī 13 (1186) zházǐ (memorial-of-presentation) saying: “I once filled out the ranks of the Three Halls (Sānguǎn) and was able to view the Four Storehouses of the Imperial Library and the records of successive court historians of the loyal-and-good-and-able officials’ instructive-memorials; I gathered and arranged them, accumulating more than a thousand juàn. The text was confused, exhausting to consult. From my acting-prefecture of the Mǐnjùn (Fújiàn) onward, taking advantage of administrative leisure, I divided the matter by category: I removed duplications and unsuitable entries, and was left with several hundred juàn; I arranged into more than a hundred categorical headings, beginning with Jiànlóng (960) and reaching to Jìngkāng (1126). After several months of working through, I roughly saw the beginnings and ends. If I do not cut the verbose and present the essential, the imperial nighttime perusal will be exhausted. I wish further to select from this the most refined and most essential, those most pertinent to the principles of governance, and to copy ten juàn at a time and submit them in succession.” — Also there is the Chúnyòu gēngxū (1250) preface by Shǐ Jìwēn 史季溫, saying it was begun in the Mǐnjùn and the memorial submitted at Jǐnchéng — passing through the years it has been repeatedly winnowed and only thus has become this work; the selections are therefore not casual. The author himself says it is “above usable for understanding the gain-and-loss of the times and the openings-and-closings of the avenue of remonstrance; below usable for furnishing the bureaus with their precedent-records.” Its principal aim is “to supply for the gaps in the histories” — not boastful flair. — The work divides into 12 main headings: Jūndào, Dìjì, Tiāndào, Bǎiguān, Rúxué, Lǐyuè, Shǎngxíng, Cáifù, Bīngzhì, Fāngyù, Biānfáng, Zǒngyì — and 114 sub-categories. At the end of each piece is annotated the author’s office and the year-and-month of submission — extremely thorough. — The zházǐ and Shǐ Jìwēn’s preface both call the work Míngchén zòuyì, while this recension is titled Zhūchén zòuyì. Could it be that, because Dīng Wèi 丁謂, Qín Huì 秦檜 et al. are included, the title was changed? — Zhū Zǐ yǔlù records: “Zhào Zǐzhí (Rǔyú) wished to compile the memorials by category; Master [Zhū Xī] said: ‘Better to compile by-person.‘” From this we see — when one compiles the older edition’s Jīngyì (canon-extracts), the by-person editing has the principle of beginning-and-end intent; if reorganized topically, the parts are scattered and the full meaning lost. — But this collection still divides by theme not by person, not following Zhū Xī’s view. By person, one can comprehend a person’s life — the right-and-wrong, gain-and-loss in full — for the moralist’s use. By matter, one can investigate ancient and modern — the changes and abuses of an institution — for the statesman’s use. Speaking impartially: Zhào Rǔyú’s vision was the larger. — Reverently presented in the sixth month of Qiánlóng 42 (1777). Chief Editors: Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì. Chief Collator: Lù Fèichí.

Abstract

The Sòng míngchén zòuyì — also titled Zhūchén zòuyì in the WYG recension and Sòngcháo zhūchén zòuyì in the modern reprint — is the principal classified anthology of Northern-Sòng memorial literature. The 150 juàn, 12 divisions, 114 categories, 1,630 memorials, and 241 named officials make it the largest single-dynasty zòuyì anthology of any premodern dynasty. The work fills a critical archival role: the Sòng shílù, qǐjūzhù, and most other contemporary state archives are entirely lost (with the partial exception of KR2f0003); the Sòng míngchén zòuyì is the principal carrier of Northern-Sòng official-state-decision documentation. The Beijing University punctuated edition (1999, 2 vols., Shanghai Guji) is the standard modern edition, with author and topic indexes in the second volume. The Sìkù tíyào’s preserved record of the editorial debate between Zhào and Zhū Xī — by-theme vs. by-person — is one of the most consequential explicit Sòng-period editorial-method discussions; the Sìkù editors decisively side with Zhào.

Translations and research

• Beijing daxue Zhōngguó zhōnggǔ-shǐ yánjiū zhōngxīn, Sòng-cháo zhū-chén zòu-yì 宋朝諸臣奏議 punctuated and collated edition (Shanghai Guji, 1999). The standard modern edition.
• Charles Hartman, “The Making of a Villain: Cài Jīng and Sòng Historiography,” HJAS (1998) — uses the work extensively.
• Hilde De Weerdt, Information, Territory, and Networks: The Crisis and Maintenance of Empire in Song China (Harvard, 2016).
• Robert Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750–1550” (HJAS 1982) — uses the zòu-yì corpus.
• Wilkinson 2018 §62.3.7.

Other points of interest

The Sìkù tíyào’s record of the by-theme-versus-by-person editorial debate between Zhào Rǔyú and Zhū Xī (preserved in the Zhūzǐ yǔlù) is one of the most explicit pieces of Sòng-period editorial-philosophy discussion. The Sìkù editors’ decisive endorsement of Zhào’s by-theme approach — “Zhào Rǔyú’s vision was the larger” — is itself a notable methodological statement.

Links

• Wikidata: Songchao zhuchen zouyi
• Wilkinson 2018 §62.3.7.