Táng yīn bǐ shì 棠陰比事
Cases Compared in the Cypress-Shadow by 桂萬榮 (Guì Wànróng, 宋, 撰); cut-and-supplemented by 吳訥 (Wú Nè, 1372–1457, 明, 刪補)
About the work
A 1-juan Late-Southern-Sòng yí yù-genre casebook by Guì Wànróng, dated Qìngyuán 2 (1196), with Míng-period editorial revision by Wú Nè. The title — “Cases Compared in the Cypress-Shadow” — alludes to the Shī jīng’s “gān táng” (Sweet Pear-tree) ode that praises the Duke of Shào’s judicial wisdom under a pear-tree; “Táng yīn” (cypress-shadow / pear-tree-shade) is canonical for the judicial-administrative office. The work’s distinctive form pairs cases in 4-character couplets, making it pedagogically memorable. The frontmatter brackets to 1196.
Abstract
The Táng yīn bǐ shì completes the Sòng-period yí yù-genre triad with Yí yù jí (KR3c0006) and Zhé yù guī jiàn (KR3c0007). The work is the most popularly-circulated of the three.
The bibliographic record: Sòng shǐ yìwén zhì; SKQS Zǐbù — Fǎjiā lèi.
Translations and research
- Robert van Gulik (translator), T’ang Yin Pi Shih: Parallel Cases from under the Pear Tree, Sinica Leidensia 10, Brill, 1956. The standard English translation, by the famous diplomat-Sinologist.
Links
- Yí yù jí (KR3c0006), Zhé yù guī jiàn (KR3c0007) — the genre predecessors.
- Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
- Wikipedia
- Wikidata