孔子集語

Kǒngzǐ jí yǔ 孔子集語

A Collection of Confucius’s Sayings compiled by 薛據 (Xuē Jù, zì Shūróng 叔容, fl. 1241–1260, 宋, 輯)

About the work

A two-juan compilation of Confucius’s sayings, drawn from over thirty pre-Sòng sources by Xuē Jù of Yǒngjiā. Xuē’s fánlì explicitly excludes four “quánshū” (the Wāng Zhuó 汪晫 Zēngzǐ and Zǐsīzǐ quánshū, the Kǒng cóngzǐ, the Kǒngzǐ jiāyǔ) plus four major early zǐ sources (Zuǒ shì, Zhuāngzǐ, Xúnzǐ, Lièzǐ) on the grounds that material from these is already widely accessible. The work draws from sources other than these — the Shǐjì, the Hàn shū, the Lǐjì, the Dà Dài lǐjì, the Hánfēizǐ, the Huáinánzǐ, the Hán shī wài zhuàn, etc. The SKQS tíyào notes some inconsistencies — the work cites Dà Dài lǐjì j. 12 despite the fánlì’s exclusion; the Hánfēizǐ and Huáinánzǐ are under-cited (a couple of items each, where the tíyào counts one or two dozen possible passages); the Shuōwén is incongruously cited for unrelated lexical material. The work was originally in 20 篇 / 20 juan; the SKQS-base has it conflated to 2 juan with 20 篇.

Tiyao

We respectfully submit that the Kǒngzǐ jí yǔ in 2 juan was compiled by Xuē Jù of the Sòng. Jù, zì Shūróng, was a man of Yǒngjiā. Held office to Zhèdōng chángpíng tíjǔ. Lín Déyáng’s Jìshān jí has the preface to “Two Mr. Xuē Collected Writings” saying: “the Xuē family’s learning has gone three hundred years; Yùchénggōng [Xuē Jù’s father] studied with Cíhú Yáng Jìngzhòng, cutting away the flowers and clinging to substance — preserving Chéngmén’s bequest. When the Wěixué jìn arose, alone he protected the Way, composing YīLuò yuánliú, each lineage with its biography. He further taught the bow-and-bow [the yúshàn: father-son transmission of learning] to his son Shūróng. The duke’s resolve was great and his strength firm — bearing the burden of the thousand-year heritage, mindful that the sage was distant and his words submerged, he made the Kǒngzǐ jí yǔ in 20 juan.” That is this book.

The present text however divides into 20 篇 in only 3 juan; presumably originally one 篇 was one juan, and later hands combined them.

The works listed total over 30 kinds. The fánlì says that Zēngzǐ, Dà Dài lǐjì, Kǒng cóngzǐ, Kǒngzǐ jiāyǔ — four complete books — and Zuǒ shì, Zhuāngzǐ, Xúnzǐ, Lièzǐ are not drawn from; only those seen in other ancient books are taken.

But the Kǒngzǐ shìjiā is in the standard history, no different from the Kǒng cóng and Jiāyǔ. And though it says the Dà Dài lǐjì is not recorded, the Yán Shūzǐ dì shí’èr draws one passage from it — self-contradicting his own fánlì. As to drawing on the Shuōwén’s “shǔ kě wéi jiǔ, hé rù shuǐ yě” (millet may make wine, the grain falls in water) and “yī guàn sān wéi wáng” (one threading three is wáng), or “推一合十為士” (push one combined with ten is shì) — these and several similar lines are joined into one item, the meaning not running through — most disorderly.

Other works such as Hánfēizǐ Shuōlínxià, Nèi chǔshuō shàng/xià, Wài chǔshuō zuǒshàng / xià, Nán yī, Nán sān — passages worth taking are nearly twenty; this book draws only three. Huáinánzǐ Dàoyìng xùn, Zhǔshù xùn xià, Qísú xùn, Xiūwù xùn, Tàizú xùn, Yàoluè — passages worth taking number over a dozen; this draws only three. The other gaps and omissions can be inferred.

[Tíyào continues; abbreviated.]

Respectfully revised and submitted, [date].

General Compilers: Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅.

Abstract

The Kǒngzǐ jí yǔ is a substantial late-Southern-Sòng compilation of Confucius-attributed sayings from non-canonical sources, parallel to (and in some ways more conservative than) Yáng Jiǎn’s earlier Xiānshèng dà xùn (KR3a0063). The composition window: bracketed by the catalog meta’s “fl. 1241–1260” (which probably refers to Xuē Jù’s office-holding period as Zhèdōng chángpíng tíjǔ). The frontmatter brackets to 1241–1260.

The substantive position has methodological gaps the SKQS tíyào sharply criticises, but as a Sòng kǎozhèng-style anthology it remains the principal companion to the Xiānshèng dà xùn in late-Sòng Lǐxué attempts to recover authentic Confucius materials. The original 20-juan recension was conflated to 2 juan / 20 篇 in transmission.

The bibliographic record: Sòng shǐ yìwén zhì; Wénxiàn tōngkǎo; SKQS Zǐbù — Rújiā lèi. A separate Qīng-period compilation also titled Kǒngzǐ jí yǔ by Sūn Yìràng 孫詒讓 — a much fuller modern recension — supersedes Xuē for scholarly purposes.

Translations and research

• No substantial English-language secondary literature located on Xuē Jù’s Kǒng-zǐ jí yǔ specifically.
• For the broader Confucius-saying compilation tradition: studies of Kǒng-zǐ jiā-yǔ and Kǒng cóng-zǐ (Robert Kramers, Yoav Ariel) provide context.

Other points of interest

The Yáng Jiǎn / Xuē Jù pair forms a methodological dyad in late-Sòng Confucius-saying compilation: Yáng’s xīnxué-aligned (KR3a0063) and Xuē’s kǎozhèng-aligned approaches, both ultimately superseded by Sūn Yìràng’s Qīng-period work. The Xuē Yùchéng / Xuē Jù father-son scholarly lineage is itself an interesting late-Sòng case of Cíhú Yáng Jiǎn’s xīnxué line crossing into a more kǎozhèng-oriented compilation tradition.

Links

• Lín Déyáng 林德暘, Jìshān jí (containing the ÈrXuē xiānshēng wénjí xù).
• Xiānshèng dà xùn (KR3a0063) — the parallel earlier compilation by Yáng Jiǎn.
• Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
• Wikidata