Dú shū zhā jì 讀書劄記
Reading Notes by 徐問 (Xú Wèn, zì Yòngzhōng 用中, hào Yǎngzhāi 養齋, d. 1550, 明)
About the work
An eight-juan yǔlù-style notebook by Xú Wèn, composed during his tenure as Provincial Governor of Guìzhōu, recording question-and-answer with his disciples. Substantively conventional Mid-Míng Zhūzǐxué — citing classical and Lǐxué-canonical positions on astronomy, calendrical learning, geography, xìnglǐ metaphysics, and the Sìshū / Wǔjīng. The work’s distinctive feature is its sustained polemic against Wáng Yángmíng’s xīnxué — particularly the gǔběn Dà xué (the original “ancient” Dà xué) reading, the qīn mín (loving the people, vs. xīn mín “renewing the people”) gloss, the gé wù (investigation of things) gloss, and the zhī xíng hé yī (unity of knowledge and action) doctrine — point by point. Per the SKQS tíyào, the polemic is preserved in the second 冊 (= juan 5) of the text, written at the prompting of Huáng Cáibó 黃才伯 (= Huáng Zuǒ 黃佐) of Guǎngzhōng. The polemic is moderate in tone, framing Wáng’s positions as huò wèi (some claim) and jìn xué shì xué (current studies, world-studies) rather than naming Wáng directly — reflecting the Mid-Jiā-jìng dominance of Yángmíngxué. The catalog meta dates the work to 1602, presumably an error — the work belongs to Xú’s working life (1502–1550).
Tiyao
We respectfully submit that the Dú shū zhā jì in 8 juan was composed by Xú Wèn of the Míng. Wèn, zì Yòngzhōng, hào Yǎngzhāi, was a man of Wǔjìn. Jìnshì of Hóngzhì rénxū (1502); rose to Nánjīng Hùbù shàngshū; titled Zhuāngyù. The book was made when Wèn was Provincial Governor of Guìzhōu, recording his exchanges with his subordinates as occasion arose. What he discusses on astronomy, calendar, mountains-and-rivers, xìnglǐ, Liù jīng and Sìzǐ (Four Masters) all hold to the senior Confucians’ established positions.
In discussing learning, all comes back to ChéngZhū, with sustained dismissal of Wáng Shǒurén’s learning. Like the gǔběn Dà xué, qīn mín, gé wù, zhī xíng hé yī — each item refuted in turn. Wèn once wrote to Luó Qīnshùn saying: “Wángshì’s learning derives from Xiàngshān; to this day it dazzles the world. The 2nd 冊 of the Dú shū zhā jì opens with a refutation; this came from Guǎngzhōng shìdú Huáng Cáibó’s prompting.” Cáibó is the zì of Huáng Zuǒ. The “2nd 冊” he refers to is precisely juan 5 of this text.
Examining the items refuted: most are framed in the form huò wèi (some claim), again called jìn xué shì xué (recent studies, world-studies), and never explicitly attacking [Wáng’s] name. At this time Wáng-school was at its height; therefore Wèn did not wish openly to extort. But what he picks out can mostly hit the heart of the matter — quite unlike those who shout and force argument. Among Míng-period yǔlù, this is sober and not over-extended.
[Tíyào continues; abbreviated.]
Respectfully revised and submitted, eighth month of the forty-second year of Qiánlóng [1777].
General Compilers: Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅.
Abstract
The Dú shū zhā jì is a useful Mid-Míng Lǐxué-loyalist polemic against the Wáng Yángmíng xīnxué — composed when Yáng-míng-school dominance made direct attack difficult, and methodologically more careful than the polemics of the late-Míng anti-Wáng generation. Composition window: bracketed by Xú’s working life from his 1502 jìnshì through his 1550 death. The frontmatter brackets to 1502–1550. The catalog meta’s date 1602 is anomalous and presumably erroneous.
The Lǐxué-loyalist position is methodologically careful: substantive doctrinal critique paired with rhetorical caution about not naming Wáng explicitly. The pairing with Luó Qīnshùn’s parallel work (KR3a0084) makes Xú and Luó the two principal Mid-Míng Zhūzǐxué defenders.
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 Mid-Míng anti-xīn-xué polemics and within Wú Pèng-shèng / Sūn Yǔpèi’s writings on Mid-Míng Lǐxué.
Other points of interest
The Xú Wèn / Luó Qīnshùn pair represents the two principal Mid-Míng Lǐxué defenders against Wáng Yángmíng. Their differences in tone are interesting: Xú’s careful framing in huò wèi form, vs. Luó’s direct fùlù exchange-letters with Wáng. Both are responses to the same polemical context; Luó’s directness stems from his higher official status (Nánjīng Lìbù shàngshū) and his personal contact with Wáng.
Links
- Luó Qīnshùn, Kùnzhī jì (KR3a0084) — the parallel Mid-Míng anti-Wáng-Yáng-míng work.
- Huáng Zuǒ 黃佐 (Cáibó) — the prompter of Xú’s polemic, separately a major Mid-Míng scholar.
- Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
- Wikidata