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欽定重刻淳化閣帖釋文

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Text ID
KR2n0035
Date
1769–1769
Dynasty
清

Qīndìng chóngkè Chúnhuàgé tiè shìwén 欽定重刻淳化閣帖釋文

Imperially Endorsed Re-cut Calligraphic-Models’ Transcriptions, with Corrections

by 于敏中 (Yú Mǐnzhōng, 1714–1779), 王際華 (Wáng Jìhuá, 1717–1776), and 裘日修 (Qiú Rìxiū, 1712–1773), by imperial command

About the work

A 10-juan imperial collation and re-cutting of the Chúnhuà gétiè shìwén (the philological transcription apparatus of the imperial Chúnhuà gétiè 淳化閣帖, 992/993). The Qiánlóng emperor in 1769 (Qiánlóng 34) ordered a comprehensive re-cutting of the Chúnhuà gétiè using the imperial holding’s Chúnhuà 4 (993) bestowal-copy to Bì Shìān 畢士安 — judged the finest early-impression copy in the Qing imperial collection — as base. Yú Mǐnzhōng and the other senior officials carried out the collation. Each piece was checked against the standard Sòng/Yuán/Míng commentaries (Liú Cìzhuāng KR2n0015, Huáng Bósī KR2n0014, Jiāng Kuí KR2n0019, Shī Sù 施宿, Gù Cóngyì KR2n0031, Wáng Shù KR2n0044, etc.), variants from the Dàguān Tàiqīnglóu recension etc. were collated, zhuànlìxíngcǎo glosses placed alongside each character, and a separate dìngyì 訂異 (variant-ascertainment) note added beside each disagreement. The Qiánlóngxuānjì 淳化軒記 imperial preface plus the four-character imperial caption Yùmíng Yùngǔ 寓名蘊古 head the work. In 1778 (Qiánlóng 43), shìláng Jīn Jiǎn 金簡 — observing that the stones were enclosed in the imperial palace and unavailable to the public — printed the collation in jùzhēnbǎn 聚珍版 (movable-type) form. The result is the most authoritative Qing-imperial edition of the Chúnhuà gétiè transcription apparatus; later Gétiè studies all key to it.

Tiyao

[Translated and condensed from the Sìkù tíyào]

In Qiánlóng 34 (1769) imperial command. The imperial-court holding of the Sòng Bì Shìān-bestowed Chúnhuà gétiè was to be carefully corrected and re-cut on jade. The head-piece carries the imperial four-character caption Yùmíng Yùngǔ and the imperial Chúnhuàxuān jì preface. The end of the imperial command has the original old colophons and the various ministers’ postscripts. The order of the old tiè follows the original cutting; for dynasty-and-era sequence and authorial caption, all are evidenced from the historical record, edited with reference to calligraphic standard, so as not to depart from Chūnqiū yì (the principle of the Spring and Autumn, i.e. accurate dating).

Each juan reverently follows the imperial brush’s discriminations, displaying the right balance. Drawing on the views of Liú Cìzhuāng, Huáng Bósī, Jiāng Kuí, Shī Sù, Gù Cóngyì, Wáng Shù, and others — and collating with the Dàguān Tàiqīnglóu recension. Zhuàn, zhòu, xíng, cǎo — all transcriptions are placed beside each character; further dìngyì notes for each, distinguishing right from wrong, separating clear from doubtful — truly the highest standard of the calligraphy realm.

In Qiánlóng 43 (1778) the shìláng Jīn Jiǎn, observing that the stones were in the palace and could not be widely seen except by imperial bestowal, reverently transcribed the shìwén and requested its movable-type jùzhēn printing — so that its calligraphic principles could be widely known. Thereby it spread to the world.

[The tíyào ends with a long encomium to the imperial editorial achievement, contrasting it favourably with the SòngMíng successors.]

Abstract

The Qīndìng chóngkè Chúnhuàgé tiè shìwén is the Qing imperial collation of the Chúnhuà gétiè transcription apparatus, completed in 1769 and printed in jùzhēn form in 1778. It supersedes all earlier shìwén editions and remains the standard Qing-imperial reference. The catalog meta dates “Qiánlóng 34” (1769) — set as both notBefore and notAfter here.

The Sìkù catalog title gives 欽定重刻淳化閣帖釋文 (with 重刻 “re-cut”) whereas the Zinbun gives 欽定校正淳化閣帖釋文 (with 校正 “corrected”). Both refer to the same work; the Kanripo follows the WYG colophon’s 重刻.

The work’s contributions:

  1. Comprehensive collation. All major Sòng-Míng-Qing shìwén commentaries are collated against the imperial Bì Shìān-recension witness.
  2. Methodological standard. Dìngyì (variant-ascertainment) format.
  3. Imperial endorsement. As an imperially commissioned work with the Qiánlóng emperor’s personal preface and four-character caption, the work carries the highest scholarly authority of its time.
  4. Public dissemination. Jīn Jiǎn’s 1778 jùzhēn printing made the work available beyond the palace.

The three principal compilers: Yú Mǐnzhōng (1714–1779, jūnjī dàchén), Wáng Jìhuá (1717–1776), Qiú Rìxiū (1712–1773), all senior cabinet officials with editorial responsibilities during the Sìkù decade.

Translations and research

No English translation. Studies:

  • Liú Sháng 劉薔, Tiānlù línláng yánjiū 天祿琳琅研究 (Běijīng dàxué, 2012), with material on the imperial Gétiè programme.
  • Yáng Rénkǎi 楊仁愷, Zhōngguó shūhuà 中國書畫.
  • Robert E. Harrist Jr., The Landscape of Words (Washington UP, 2008).

Other points of interest

The 1769 collation and 1778 printing are part of the Qiánlóng emperor’s broader cultural-imperial programme of consolidating and re-establishing the orthodox calligraphic canon — alongside the Tiānlù línláng shūmù KR2n0009 book-collection, the Sānxītáng fǎtiè 三希堂法帖 and Mèyīngdiàn fǎtiè 墨硯殿法帖 calligraphy programmes, and the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書 itself. The Chúnhuàxuān 淳化軒 — Qiánlóng’s pavilion housing the re-cut stones — was a key node in this imperial cultural geography.

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