Yù zuǎn xìnglǐ jīng yì 御纂性理精義
Imperially Compiled Refined Meaning of Nature-and-Principle imperially commissioned by 聖祖 (Kāngxī, 1654–1722, 清); compiled by 李光地 (Lǐ Guāngdì, 1642–1718, 清, 奉敕纂)
About the work
A 12-juan abridgement of Hú Guǎng’s Yǒnglè-period Xìnglǐ dà quán shū (KR3a0078, 70 juan), commissioned by Kāngxī and supervised by Lǐ Guāngdì, completed in Kāngxī 53–54 (1714–1715). The work is the standard Qīng imperial Lǐxué canon, replacing the Yǒnglè dà quán in official-curricular function. The abridgement reduced the Yǒnglè original’s 70 juan to 12, removing what the Kāngxī court considered “zhīlí” (digressions) and retaining the “gāng yào” (essentials). Lǐ Guāngdì’s editorial method follows Zhū Xī’s Jìnsī lù selection-method but applied to the larger Yǒnglè corpus.
The SKQS tíyào of the Yǒnglè dà quán (KR3a0078) explicitly endorses the Yù zuǎn jīng yì abridgement: “菁華既擷, 所存者僅其糟粕矣” — the essence has been gathered up [in the Jīng yì], leaving only the dross [in the Dà quán]. This Qīng-court verdict reflects the imperial canon-formation of the early eighteenth century.
Abstract
The Yù zuǎn xìnglǐ jīng yì is the principal Qīng imperial Lǐxué canon and the official-curricular replacement for the Yǒng-lè-period Xìnglǐ dà quán. Composition window: precisely datable to Kāngxī 53–54 (1714–1715). The frontmatter brackets to 1714–1715.
The substantive method: Lǐ Guāngdì’s selective abridgement of the 120-author / 70-juan Yǒnglè corpus into a 12-juan core text. The work served as the official text for the Lǐxué portion of the imperial guózǐjiàn curriculum and the provincial guānxué through the rest of the Qīng.
The bibliographic record: SKQS Zǐbù — Rújiā lèi. Substantial Korean / Japanese reception — Yi T’oegye and other late-Korean Sǒngnihak scholars used the Jīng yì alongside Korean adaptations.
Translations and research
- Wing-tsit Chan, “The Hsing-li ching-i and the Ch’eng-Chu School of the Seventeenth Century”, Comparative Studies in Society and History — the principal Western critical study.
- On-cho Ng, Cheng-Zhu Confucianism in the Early Qing: Li Guangdi and Qing Learning (2001) — major treatment of Lǐ Guāngdì’s role.
- Standard modern Chinese reproductions of the SKQS WYG.
Links
- Xìnglǐ dà quán shū (KR3a0078) — the Yǒnglè corpus from which this is abridged.
- Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
- Wikipedia
- Wikidata