Jīnxiè línláng 金薤琳琅
Bronze Brilliance and Pearly Splendour
by 都穆 (Dōu Mù, 1458–1525)
About the work
A 20-juan jīnshí compendium on Hóng Kuò’s Lìshì KR2n0017 model: 63 inscriptions reproduced in full kǎi-script transcription with critical apparatus on each. Coverage: 2 Zhōu, 6 Qín, 23 Hàn, 5 Suí, 27 Tang inscriptions. For the older inscriptions (Zhōu, Qín) Dōu reproduces what he could read from rubbings; for partially worn stelae he supplements with Hóng Kuò’s Lìshì readings rather than the original stones. This methodological hybrid was criticised by Qián Dàxīn 錢大昕 (Qiánjyántáng jīnshí wén báwěi 潛研堂金石文跋尾) for misreadings — e.g. the seventh of the Shígǔ wén 石鼓文 yóu 斿 entry has 夏 where the Stone Drums originals have (unusual character) and Xuē Shànggōng’s Zhōngdǐng yíqì kuǎnshí has 憂; the Huìjī 會稽 shíkè (Mount Kuàijī Qín stele) reads 辜 where the original has zuì 罪; the Tàishān shíkè (Mount Tài Qín stele) gives the line “jì tiānxià” 旣天下 without flagging that in Qínzhuànpǔ 秦篆譜 there is a píng 平 character between jì and tiānxià. These errors notwithstanding, the work preserves stele texts that have since further deteriorated — for example, the Zhēnyuán 9 (793) JiāngyuánGōngLiú miào bēi 姜嫄公劉廟碑 has lost over 30 characters since Dōu’s transcription. The work is therefore an important Míng-era textual witness.
Tiyao
[Translated and condensed from the Sìkù tíyào]
Compiled by Dōu Mù of the Míng. Mù is also the author of Rénwǔ gōngchén juéshǎng lù (already catalogued). The book imitates the Lìshì example: it gathers jīnshí texts and arranges them, with critical apparatus on each. Two Zhōu pieces, six Qín pieces, twenty-three Hàn pieces, five Suí pieces, twenty-seven Tang pieces. For ancient stelae the original text is reproduced; where decay has rendered them incomplete, Hóng Kuò’s Lìshì is drawn upon for filling — not strictly relying on the stone itself.
The Qiánjyántáng jīnshí wén báwěi discusses the Hán Chì zàoKǒngmiào lǐqì bēi 韓勑造孔廟禮器碑 entry: Dōu did not realise that the Lìshì records only the bēiyīn (back inscription), not the two side inscriptions; he wrongly merged the two-side inscriptions onto the back. He further criticises Hóng Kuò for omission. He also criticises the side-inscription readings — Hénán Yǎnshī 匽師 read as Hépǔ Tuìshī 退師, Rènchéng Kàngfù 任城亢父 as Sìchéng Jiāofù 俟成交父 — most jarring.
[Detailed list of errors of reading …]
But the book reproduces the stelae in full text. Some are now no longer fully recoverable. Jīnshí wén báwěi says: the Zhēnyuán 9 (793) JiāngyuánGōngLiú miào bēi, recorded here, has now lost over 30 characters. Useful for cross-reference. Dōu also has the Nánháo wénlüè in 6 juan; the last two juan reproduce the Jīnxiè línláng colophons — using Ōuyáng’s Jígǔbáwěi in wénjí practice. But Dōu’s prose is at the limit of preservation-worthiness; the stand-alone Jīnxiè línláng is the better witness.
Abstract
The Jīnxiè línláng is the most important mid-Míng jīnshí compendium and the principal Míng-era extension of Hóng Kuò’s Lìshì tradition. The catalog meta gives Dōu Mù’s lifespan (1458–1525); the work was compiled in his mature career (post 1499 jìnshì), set notBefore 1499 / notAfter 1525 here.
The work’s contributions:
- Hóng-Kuò-style full transcription of 63 Zhōu-Tang stelae.
- Witness to subsequent decay. For the JiāngyuánGōngLiú miào bēi and other inscriptions, Dōu’s transcriptions preserve characters now lost.
- Hybrid method. The combination of stone-reading and Lìshì-supplementation has methodological costs (criticised by Qián Dàxīn) but practical value where the alternative is incomplete text.
CBDB 34917 confirms 1458–1525.
Translations and research
No English translation. Studies:
- Qián Dàxīn 錢大昕, Qiánjyán-táng jīnshí wén bá-wěi 潛研堂金石文跋尾 (Qing) — extensive corrections.
- Yáng Rénkǎi 楊仁愷 and others on Míng jīnshí.
- Robert E. Harrist Jr., The Landscape of Words (Washington UP, 2008), on Míng inscription studies.
Other points of interest
The Sìkù editors’ note that Dōu’s Nánháo wénlüè 南濠文略 reproduces these jīnshí colophons in its last two juan — “using Ōuyáng’s Jígǔbáwěi in wénjí practice” — preserves an important point about the porosity of jīnshí and wénjí in Míng book production: the same colophon-corpus could circulate as both freestanding jīnshí book and as personal wénjí-section.
Links
- Wikipedia (中文): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/都穆
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15914145