Lǐxué lèi biān 理學類編
A Topical Compilation on Principle Studies by 張九韶 (Zhāng Jiǔsháo, zì Měihé 美和, 1314–1396, 明)
About the work
An eight-juan topical compilation by Zhāng Jiǔsháo of Confucian-classical sayings on philosophical-cosmological topics, completed in Zhìzhèng bǐngwǔ (1366) — late Yuán, before Zhāng entered the Míng. Originally titled Gé wù biān 格物編 (“On Investigating Things”); Wú Dāng 吳當 of Línchuān, on examining the work, judged the title insufficient (the work covers only one aspect of gé wù) and renamed it. The structure: Tiān dì 天地 (1 juan), Tiān wén 天文 (2 juan), Dì lǐ 地理 (1 juan), Rén wù 人物 (1 juan), Xìng mìng 性命 (1 juan), Yì duān 異端 (1 juan). The bulk of citations are from the six Northern-Sòng daoxué sages — Zhōu Dūnyí, Chéng Hào, Chéng Yí, Zhāng Zǎi, Shào Yōng, Zhū Xī — supplemented by 53 secondary sources (from Xúnzǐ down to recent Yuán writers). Zhāng adds his own yì (interpretation) at the close of each section.
The work is methodologically distinctive in its substantial Yì duān chapter (j. 8) — refuting yīnyáng divination, xiàngshù (physiognomy), chènwěi, etc. — paralleling Xiè Yìngfāng’s Biàn huò biān (KR3a0073) but with broader doctrinal-cosmological scope. Zhāng’s free use of post-Sòng biji sources (Hóng Mài’s Róngzhāi wǔbǐ, Luó Dàjīng’s Hélín yùlù) without doctrinal ménhù preference is also noted.
Tiyao
We respectfully submit that the Lǐxué lèi biān in 8 juan was composed by Zhāng Jiǔsháo of the Míng. Jiǔsháo, zì Měihé, later took the zì as míng; hence the Míng shǐ Sòng Nè zhuàn fù writes “Zhāng Měihé”. Was a man of Qīngjiāng. At the end of Yuán, several times recommended but did not take office. In Hóngwǔ 3 (1370), on recommendation appointed Xiànxué jiàoyù; promoted Guózǐjiàn zhùjiào; transferred Hànlín biānxiū; retired and went home. Later again recalled to court for jiào shū (proofreading); on completion was sent home.
This compilation was finished in Zhìzhèng bǐngwǔ (1366) — composed before he entered the Míng. The original was titled Gé wù biān. Línchuān Wú Dāng, on seeing it, took the gathered discussions of tiān dì guǐ shén rén wù xìng mìng (Heaven-Earth, spirits, persons-things, nature-mandate) as one branch of gé wù, not enough to exhaust the meaning of gé wù; and so changed it to the present title.
In all: Tiān dì 1 juan, Tiān wén 2 juan, Dì lǐ 1 juan, Rén wù 1 juan, Xìng mìng 1 juan, Yì duān 1 juan. Takes Zhōu, Chéng, Zhāng, Shào, Zhū — six masters’ words — as the principal, supplemented by 53 schools from Xúnzǐ on. Then at the end of each 篇, draws out his own view. What he selects mostly takes the essential without elaborate citation; the threading and order is therefore quite refined. Of earlier-period sources like Yáng Xióng, Gǔ Yǒng, Huáinánzǐ, and recent sources like Hóng Mài’s Róngzhāi wǔbǐ, Luó Dàjīng’s Hélín yùlù, all are gathered for parallel observation and mutual verification — also not falling into the schools’ factional vision.
The yì duān chapter, on yīnyáng, xiàngshù, chènwěi and the like, criticises clearly and pointedly — particularly able to break popular confusion. The Míng shǐ records that those who held the Imperial Academy in early Míng include Sòng Nè, Wáng Jiāhuì, Gōng Xiào — and Jiǔsháo with Niè Hóng and Bèi Qióng were also famous Confucians; in Hóngwǔ they served in turn as bóshì, zhùjiào, xuélù. Hence his pupils came to many achievements; one knows his personal practice and leadership did no shame to the master’s standard, distinct from those who delivered only high theory.
[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 Lǐxué lèi biān is a useful late-Yuán Confucian-cosmological compilation, anticipating the much larger Yǒnglè-period Xìnglǐ dàquán (KR3a0078) by half a century. Composition window: precisely datable to Zhìzhèng bǐngwǔ (1366) by Zhāng’s own statement. The frontmatter brackets to 1366–1366.
The substantive position — Lǐxué-orthodox in citation but methodologically open to non-Lǐxué sources (Yáng Xióng, Huáinánzǐ, Hóng Mài, Luó Dàjīng) — places Zhāng among the more catholic late-Yuán Lǐxué-aligned scholars. The substantial yì duān chapter on superstition is a useful early-Míng witness, paralleling Xiè Yìngfāng’s Biàn huò biān (KR3a0073). The work was widely consulted in early-Míng Guózǐjiàn education, where Zhāng held office.
The bibliographic record: Míng shǐ yìwén zhì; Wényuāngé shūmù; SKQS Zǐbù — Rújiā lèi.
Translations and research
- No substantial English-language secondary literature located.
- The work is treated within studies of late-Yuán / early-Míng Lǐxué topical compilations.
Other points of interest
The Wú Dāng renaming — from Gé wù biān to Lǐxué lèi biān — is a small but interesting case of pre-modern Chinese editorial intervention in titling: Wú judged the original title overstated the gé wù ambition, and the renaming establishes the work in its Lǐxué topical-anthology genre. The case illustrates the early-Míng Lǐxué sensitivity to géwù terminology — the same term that Wú Rúyú had glossed zhèng wù a century earlier (KR3a0066) and Wáng Yángmíng would soon make foundational.
Links
- Míng shǐ j. 137 (Sòng Nè zhuàn附 / Zhāng Měihé).
- Xiàojīng yáo zhǐ / Lǐxué lèi biān — Wú Dāng’s role in renaming.
- Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
- Wikidata