Sōngyáng shíkè jíjì 嵩陽石刻集記
Compiled Records of the Stone Inscriptions of the South Slope of Mount Sōng
by 葉封 (Yè Fēng, 1623–1687)
About the work
A 2-juan local jīnshí compendium with 1-juan Jìyí 紀遺 (lost-record) appendix, compiled by Yè Fēng in 1673 (Kāngxī 12, guǐchǒu) during his magistrature of Dēngfēng (Hénán). The catalog meta title is 崇陽 (Chóngyáng); the actual work title is 嵩陽 (Sōngyáng) — Dēngfēng 登封 lies south (yáng) of Sōngshān 嵩山, so the title means “stones-of-the-south-slope-of-Sōng”. The catalog meta has 崇 for 嵩 — a transcriptional slip; the work itself is 嵩陽石刻集記.
The work reproduces stele-inscription texts in full, focusing on those from the Sōngshān region (Hàn through Míng): the Tàishì shénquè míng 太室神闕銘, Kāimǔmiào shíquè míng 開母廟石闕銘, Shàoshì shéndào shíquè míng 少室神道石闕銘 (three Hàn ceremonial-pillar inscriptions); the Tang Wǔ Zétiān fēngsìtán bēi 武則天封祀壇碑 and Xiàrì yóu Shícóng shī 夏日遊石淙詩; etc. Many of these are not in the Ōuyáng / Zhào / Hóng compendia. The Sìkù editors note that Gù Yánwǔ’s Jīnshí wénzì jì KR2n0037 and Jǐng Rìjùn’s Shuōsōng 說嵩 Jīnshí lèi 金石類 both draw on this work substantially.
The Sìkù editors also note specific corrections: the Kāimǔmiào shíquè míng contains “chóng yuē” 重曰 (the chǔcí 楚辭 Yuǎnyóu “say it again” formula); Yè misread yuē 曰 as rì 日, mistakenly treating that line as a date. Pān Lěi noted further omissions: the Tàiān 2 HòuWèi Zhōngyuèmiào bēi 後魏中嶽廟碑 (now in Dēngfēngxiàn) and the Tiānbǎo 14 Shàolínsì huánTiānwángshīzǐ jì 少林寺還天王師子記 (now at Shàolínsì) should have been included.
Tiyao
[Translated and condensed from the Sìkù tíyào]
Compiled by Yè Fēng of the present (Qing) dynasty. Fēng, zì Jǐngshū, of Huángzhōu. Shùnzhì jǐhài (1659) jìnshì, official to gōngbù Yúhéngsī zhǔshì. This compilation was made in Kāngxī guǐchǒu (1673) when Fēng was magistrate of Dēngfēng. Dēngfēng is south of Sōngshān; hence the recorded inscriptions are titled “Sōngyáng”.
When the work first appeared, Gù Yánwǔ and Pān Lěi had comments. Gù said: “The Kāimǔmiào shíquè míng has chóngyuē 重曰 — Jǐngshū misread 曰 (yuē) as 日 (rì), and so treats this line as a date.” Pān Lěi added: “The HòuWèi Tàiān 2 Zhōngyuèmiào bēi (now in Dēngfēngxiàn), and the Tiānbǎo 14 Shàolínsì huánTiānwángshīzǐ jì (now at Shàolínsì) — Jǐngshū’s Shíkè jíjì does not include these.” Both points are correct.
But Gù’s Jīnshí wénzì jì draws on this work many times; Jǐng Rìjùn’s Shuōsōng 說嵩 Jīnshí lèi uses this work in full.
[The remaining tíyào discusses the comparative-historical place of the work in the jīnshí genre and notes that the work corrects the Eastern-Wèi Sōngyángsì stele’s misreadings 東 / 柬, 矩 / 短, 馴 / 巡, 苑 / 菀, 洋 / 庠 — and rates Yè in the Liú Yuánfǔ / Xuē Shànggōng class.]
Abstract
The Sōngyáng shíkè jíjì is the most important early-Qing local jīnshí monograph, focused on the Sōngshān region of Hénán (the historical religious centre of Daoist and Buddhist activity). The catalog meta dates 1623–1687 are Yè’s lifespan; the work was compiled in 1673 (Kāngxī 12) during his Dēngfēng tenure, set notBefore 1673 / notAfter 1687 here. The catalog meta title 崇陽 is a transcriptional slip for the actual 嵩陽.
The work’s contributions:
- Sōngshān local jīnshí. Comprehensive coverage of the inscriptions of one of China’s most religiously and politically important mountain regions.
- Three Hàn ceremonial-pillar inscriptions. The Tàishì, Kāimǔmiào, and Shàoshì stone-pillar inscriptions are central monuments of Hàn-era state-religion; Yè preserves them in full.
- Tang Wǔ Zétiān coverage. The Wǔ Zétiān fēngsìtán bēi and Xiàrì yóu Shícóng shī are major Tang imperial monuments; this work is a primary source for them.
- Eastern-Wèi Sōngyángsì bēi corrections. Yè’s textual collation produces several improvements over earlier transmissions.
The companion Sōngshān zhì 嵩山志 in 21 juan (a comprehensive Sōngshān gazetteer) is mentioned in Wáng Shìzhēn’s epitaph for Yè.
CBDB 73061 confirms Yè Fēng 1623–1687.
Translations and research
No English translation. Studies:
- Hummel (ed.), Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing Period, s.v. “Yeh Feng”.
- James Robson, Power of Place: The Religious Landscape of the Southern Sacred Peak (Nanyue) in Medieval China (Harvard Asia Center, 2009) — the comparable mountain-cult regional studies for Nán-yuè.
- Endymion Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, on Qing local jīnshí.
- Robert E. Harrist Jr., The Landscape of Words (Washington UP, 2008).
Other points of interest
The Sìkù editors’ explicit acknowledgement of the work’s influence on Gù Yánwǔ’s Jīnshí wénzì jì and Jǐng Rìjùn’s Shuōsōng — together with the comparison to Liú Yuánfǔ and Xuē Shànggōng — places Yè among the principal early-Qing jīnshí practitioners despite his comparative obscurity to later scholarship.
Links
- Wikipedia (中文): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/葉封
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15914157