Jīnshílín shídì kǎo 金石林時地考
Investigation of Periods and Places in the Forest of Inscriptions
by 趙均 (Zhào Jūn, 1591–1640)
About the work
A 2-juan late-Míng jīnshí register that draws on a long sequence of earlier compendia (Huáng Bósī’s Dōngguān yúlùn 東觀餘論, the Xuānhé shūpǔ 宣和書譜, Zhèng Qiáo’s Tōngzhì Jīnshí lüè 金石略, Zhū Chángwén’s Mòchí biān 墨池編, Ōuyáng Xiū’s Jígǔ lù KR2n0012, Hóng Kuò’s Lìshì KR2n0017, the Jīnshí zǒngyào 金石總要, the Lùzhútáng bēimù 菉竹堂碑目, Wáng Shìzhēn 王世貞’s Jīnshí bá 金石跋, and assorted other catalogues) plus inscriptions encountered in person, and arranges them on Chén Sī’s Bǎokè cóngbiān KR2n0024 model — geographically by jūnshěng (prefecture-province) plus chronological dating — for the convenience of those wishing to examine particular stelae. The Sìkù editors note specific lapses (e.g. for NánZhílì, the work omits the Tang CénJūn Dézhèng bēi 岑君德政碑 and four other Tang stelae; for Fújiàn, the Yùzhěn Lántíng 玉枕蘭亭 is mistakenly attributed to Chǔ Suìliáng 褚遂良) but also notes useful corrections to other works’ errors. As a Míng-era register the work is closer to current administrative geography than Chén Sī’s Northern-Sòng-derived framework — making it more navigable in mid-late Míng.
Tiyao
[Translated and condensed from the Sìkù tíyào]
Compiled by Zhào Jūn of the Míng. Jūn, zì Língjūn, of Wúxiàn. Son of Hánshān Zhào Yíguāng. Yíguāng’s liùshū learning, although somewhat over-creative in interpretation — his Shuōwén chángjiàn drew criticism — was strong on zhuànlì technique. Jūn inherited the family learning and was passionate about jīnshí collecting.
This book takes [the various sources listed above], plus modern continuations and what he had personally seen, and arranges them on Chén Sī’s Bǎokè cóngbiān model: organised by jūnshěng, separated by period, for easy seeking-out.
The work has lapses — for NánZhílì, no Tang CénJūn Dézhèng bēi and four other stelae; for Fújiàn, the Yùzhěn Lántíng attributed to Chǔ Suìliáng (in fact Tang) — and minor failures of evidential check. But it has corrections of others’ errors that are useful. The Míng era is not far from us; compared with Chén Sī’s records, this work is much more directly applicable.
Abstract
The Jīnshílín shídì kǎo is one of the most useful late-Míng jīnshí topographical compendia, drawing the working repository of a Sūzhōu-area jīnshí connoisseur into a usable two-juan reference. The catalog meta dates 1591–1640 are Zhào Jūn’s lifespan; the work is from his mature career, set notBefore 1620 / notAfter 1640 here.
The work’s contributions:
- Synthesis of the SòngMíng jīnshí tradition. Zhào draws on a comprehensive sequence of earlier compendia — the working bibliography of any late-Míng jīnshí student.
- Mid-late Míng administrative-geography updating. Where Chén Sī’s framework is rooted in Northern Sòng prefectural geography (no longer current after centuries of administrative reorganisation), Zhào’s framework is contemporary and immediately usable.
- Personal-eye inscriptions added. Zhào supplements the secondary sources with stelae he had personally examined — especially Sūzhōu-area material.
CBDB 132154 confirms 1591–1640.
Translations and research
No English translation. Studies:
- Lǐ Cǎihóng 李彩紅 et al. on late-Míng Sūzhōu jīnshí circles and the Hánshān Zhào tradition.
- For Zhào Yíguāng’s Shuōwén chángjiàn: Endymion Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, on Míng philology.
- Robert E. Harrist Jr., The Landscape of Words (Washington UP, 2008).
Other points of interest
The Sìkù editors’ moderate reservations about Zhào Yíguāng’s philological method — “rather over-creative” — are extended in milder form to the son. The Hánshān Zhào household was a major Sūzhōu jīnshí and liùshū centre in the late Míng, with several family figures (including Zhào Yíguāng’s wife Lù Qīngzǐ 陸卿子) involved in zhuànlì and antiquarian work.
Links
- Wikipedia (中文): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/趙均
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15914131