Zhūzǐ chāo shì 朱子抄釋
Selections from Master Zhū, Annotated by 呂柟 (Lǚ Nán, 1479–1542, 明)
About the work
A two-juan abridgement-and-gloss of Zhū Xī’s writings — the fourth and final of Lǚ Nán’s chāo shì tetralogy. Composed in Jiājìng bǐngshēn (1536) when Lǚ was Guózǐjiàn jìjiǔ (Director of the Imperial Academy). The shortest of the four chāo shì (compared to Zhāngzǐ in 6 juan and Èr Chéng in 10 juan) — reflecting a deliberately tighter selection from the vast Zhū Xī corpus. Lǐ Jìngdé’s Yǔ lèi alone runs to 140 juan; Lǚ’s 2-juan selection is a radical compression. Where Mid-Míng Zhūzǐxué anthologists routinely produced volumes of polemical selection in the xīnxué dispute, Lǚ explicitly avoids polemic — picking only the qièyào zhī cí (essential words) and not engaging in attack. The single exception is his note on the line on Lù Jiǔyuān’s yì jiàn (positions): Lǚ adds “the Lùshì in the end is close to Chán” — preserving a discriminating shìfēi judgment without sustained polemic.
Tiyao
We respectfully submit that the Zhūzǐ chāo shì in 2 juan was composed by Lǚ Nán of the Míng. This compilation was during Jiājìng bǐngshēn (1536) when Nán served as Guózǐjiàn jìjiǔ. Among Sòng Confucians, Zhūzǐ wrote the most and his biàn lùn are also the most. At the time, the disciples’ records: Chí lù, Ráo lù, Ráo hòu lù, Jiàn lù and other prints. Lí Jìngdé pruned and divided 140 juan — already this vast, one can imagine.
This text by Nán abstracts only 2 juan — fewer than Zhāngzǐ and Èr Chéng. But Zhūzǐ’s learning unrestricted, with disciples likewise unrestricted in lecturing. Lí-shi Yǔ lèi takes 26 mù to compass the rough — and even so still has unfinished; readers feel rivers without ford. Further, early-year and late-year positions sometimes differed; disciples either added or subtracted by their own intent — also often differing among themselves. Readers cannot determine taking-and-rejecting.
Míng men in succession selecting and recording — almost everyone has one volume — but the main intent lies in winning-and-losing contention, distinguishing factional positions; merely borrowing Zhūzǐ’s name, never truly making clear of the Dào.
Nán made this book — only abstracting qièyào zhī cí (essential words), not given to attack. On xuéwèn dàzhǐ (the great bearing of learning), turning to be concise and clear. But on the line “argue yì jiàn with Lù Zǐjìng”, he annotates beneath: “Lùshì in the end is near Chán” — so the discrimination of shìfēi he does not lack rigour.
Respectfully revised and submitted, tenth month of the forty-sixth year of Qiánlóng [1781].
General Compilers: Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅.
Abstract
The Zhūzǐ chāo shì is the fourth and last of Lǚ Nán’s chāo shì tetralogy. Composition is precisely datable to Jiājìng bǐngshēn (1536). The frontmatter brackets to 1536–1536.
The substantive method — qièyào selection without polemical attack — distinguishes Lǚ from contemporary Mid-Míng Zhūzǐxué anthologists who used Zhū Xī selection as a vehicle for anti-Yáng-míng polemic. The 2-juan compactness is methodologically deliberate: Lǚ takes the smallest possible footprint to convey the essence.
The bibliographic record: Míng shǐ yìwén zhì; Wényuāngé shūmù; SKQS Zǐbù — Rújiā lèi. The four chāo shì together form Lǚ’s complete Mid-Míng Lǐxué-canonical project, paralleling Yǒnglè’s Xìnglǐ dà quán (KR3a0078) but in private rather than imperial format.