ZhōngWú jìwén 中吳紀聞
Things Heard at Central-Wú (i.e. Sūzhōu) by 龔明之 (Gōng Míngzhī, 1091–1182) — zhuàn 撰
(The catalog metadata gives the surname as 襲 — a transcription error for 龔, as confirmed by the Sìkù tíyào, the autograph preface, and CBDB id 10199.)
About the work
A 6-juan Southern-Sòng anecdotal-biographical and topographical miscellany on Sūzhōu (Wújùn 吳郡 / Píngjiāng 平江, “ZhōngWú” — Central Wú), composed in Chúnxī 9 (1182) by Gōng Míngzhī at the age of 92 from his lodge “Qīyí táng” 期頤堂. The autograph preface explains that the author, born of a literati family long resident in Wú, dictated the work to his son Yù 昱 to record fine sayings, virtuous deeds, customs, persons, and topography of the region not recorded in the Píngjiāng tújīng nor in Fàn Chéngdà’s Wújùn zhì. Modelled on Fàn Chúnrén’s 范純仁 Dōngzhāi jìshì and Sū Shì’s Zhìlín — i.e. on the bǐjì tradition — the work mixes biographical anecdotes, ghost-and-dream stories, topographical notices, and humorous xiàoxuè. It is one of the principal Sòng-period sources for Sūzhōu local-historical biography of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Tiyao
We respectfully note: the ZhōngWú jìwén in six juan was composed by Gōng Míngzhī of Sòng. Míngzhī, zì Xīzhòng, hào Wǔxiū jūshì, native of Kūnshān; in the Shàoxīng era, by his prefectural-tribute and palace-examination, he was given the post of Gāozhōu wénxué; in early Chúnxī he was nominated for jīngmíng xíngxiū, given Xuānjiào láng, and retired on pension. This work selects from the elder gentlemen of Wú the fine sayings and virtuous deeds, with their customs and rénwén, things that the new and old tújīng and Fàn Chéngdà’s Wújùn zhì did not record; modelled on Fàn Chúnrén’s Dōngzhāi jìshì and Sū Shì’s Zhìlín, edited and arranged into a volume; the beginning and end are coherent, sufficient to assist fēngjiào.
The book was completed in Chúnxī 9 (1182), when Míngzhī was already aged 92 — one may say he was an old man who loved learning. By the late Sòng the book was already rarely transmitted. In the Yuán Zhìzhèng era, Lú Xióng of Wǔníng, when he revised the Sūzhōu zhì, sought it out and corrected it. At the end of the Míng, Máo Jìn of Chángshú first printed it; but it had many errors. His son Máo Yī later obtained the Yè Shèng Lùzhútáng archive copy and collated against it; juan 6 has one extra item on Zhái Chāo, and elsewhere there are many divergences. Hé Zhuō borrowed it for collation, doing very precise work. But Lú Xióng’s colophon says that his son Yù’s xíngshí (account of conduct) is appended at the end; the present two recensions both lack it — so the Yè recension is also not free of lacunae. We have followed the Máo Jìn recension. Respectfully proof-read in the sixth month of Qiánlóng 42 (1777).
Director-General compilers (chén /) Jǐ Yún, (chén /) Lù Xīxióng, (chén /) Sūn Shìyì; Director-General proof-reader (chén /) Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
The ZhōngWú jìwén is one of the most highly regarded Sòng bǐjì on Sūzhōu, by Gōng Míngzhī 龔明之 (1091–1182; CBDB 10199; zì Xīzhòng 希仲, hào Wǔxiū jūshì 五休居士), a native of Kūnshān 崑山. Gōng held minor office as Gāozhōu wénxué in the Shàoxīng era and was given honorary Xuānjiào láng upon retirement under early Chúnxī. The work was composed in his ninety-second year, completed Chúnxī 9 (1182, the year of his death), at his hermitage Qīyí táng (the “Hall of Reaching Centenarian Age”).
The work is the principal late-twelfth-century supplement to Fàn Chéngdà’s Wújùn zhì KR2k0017 for Sūzhōu local biography, anecdote, and folk culture; it preserves a substantial body of material on the late-eleventh and early-twelfth-century Sūzhōu literati, including details on Fàn Zhòngyān, the Fàn lineage, and the Yángshì and Húshì great families. Modelled formally on Fàn Chúnrén’s Dōngzhāi jìshì and Sū Shì’s Zhìlín, it includes biographical yánxíng, topographical notices, ghost-and-dream stories, and xiàoxuè (jests).
The textual history is complex: rare in Yuán; partially preserved by Lú Xióng 盧熊 of Wǔníng during his YuánZhìzhèng (1341–1367) revision of the Sūzhōu zhì; first printed at the end of the Míng by Máo Jìn 毛晉 (text full of errors); collated by Máo Yī 毛扆 against the Yè Shèng 葉盛 Lùzhútáng MS; further re-edited by Hé Zhuō 何焯. The Sìkù compilers used the Máo Jìn recension. Wáng Yù’s appended xíngshí (account of conduct) — recorded by Lú Xióng — is now lost.
The work is preserved in Wényuāngé Sìkù quánshū (vol. 589.11).
Translations and research
No comprehensive English translation. The work figures in studies of Sū-zhōu local society, Sòng bǐ-jì literature, and Wú-Yuè regional historiography. Critical editions: Zhōng-Wú jìwén edited in the Sū-zhōu shǐ-liào jí-běn (Sū-zhōu, multiple volumes); see Mǐ Bīn 米斌, Gōng Míng-zhī Zhōng-Wú jìwén yánjiū 龔明之中吳紀聞研究 (PhD dissertation, Sū-zhōu University, 2010). For the broader context see Joseph McDermott, A Social History of the Chinese Book (HKU Press, 2006), and Linda Walton, Academies and Society in Southern Sung China (Honolulu, 1999).
Other points of interest
The catalog metadata heading the work gives the author’s surname as 襲 — a not-uncommon transcription error for 龔 (the surnames being graphically close); the Sìkù tíyào and the autograph preface both give 龔. CBDB id 10199 follows 龔 as the correct form.
Links
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60745170 (Gōng Míngzhī)