Sǔnpǔ 筍譜
Treatise on Bamboo-Shoots by 釋贊寧 (Shì Zànníng, 撰)
About the work
A one-juàn early-Northern-Sòng monograph on bamboo-shoots (sǔn 筍), the prized edible young growth of bamboo culms — a major component of Chinese cuisine and a culturally-rich food. By the great Wú-Yuè-and-Sòng Buddhist monk-historian Zànníng 贊寧 (919–1001), best known as the compiler of the Sòng gāosēng zhuàn 宋高僧傳. The work is structured on the model of Lù Yǔ’s Chájīng (KR3i0019), with five chapter-categories: yī zhī míng 一之名 (Names); èr zhī chū 二之出 (Origins / Geographical); sān zhī shí 三之食 (Eating); sì zhī shì 四之事 (Affairs / Classical Anecdotes); wǔ zhī shuō 五之說 (Discussions).
The attribution to Zànníng is established by Chén Zhènsūn’s Shūlù jiětí, the Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì, and most authorities; an alternative attribution to the contemporary monk Huìchóng 惠崇 (in Cháo Gōngwǔ’s Dúshū zhì) is shown to be incorrect by Wáng Détóng’s 王得臣 Zhūshǐ and by the Sìkù editors’ analysis.
Tiyao
The combined tíyào covering this work and KR3i0042 is in this file. The portion concerning Sǔnpǔ (translated): We submit that the Sǔnpǔ in one juàn does not give the compiler’s name. Cháo Gōngwǔ’s Dúshū zhì gives it as composed by the monk Huìchóng; Chén Zhènsūn’s Shūlù jiětí gives it as composed by the monk Zànníng. Investigating: Huìchóng was one of the early-Sòng nine monks, skilled in poetry, with a Jùtú in one juàn*; also skilled in painting, [Huáng Tíngjiān’s]* Huángtíng jí has a poem on his Lúyàn tú — but it is not heard that he composed this work. Examining the Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì*, it likewise gives Zànníng — so Chén’s account is correct.*
Zànníng was the son of the Gāo family of Déqīng. He entered the monkhood at Hángzhōu’s Lóngxīngsì. The WúYuè king Qián Liú appointed him “Sēngtǒng of the Two Zhè.” Sòng Tàizōng summoned him to audience at the Zīfúdiàn and commanded him to compile the Gāosēng zhuàn*. In Xiánpíng he was added to* Yòujiē sēnglù*. He died Zhìdào 2 with posthumous name* Yuánmíng Dàshī*. His* Wùlèi xiānggǎn zhì*, by passage-of-years scattered-and-lost — the world-transmitted recensions are all forgeries; only this book remains his original.*
The book divides into five categories: First, Names; Second, Origins; Third, Eating; Fourth, Affairs; Fifth, Discussion. The chapter-headings imitate Lù Yǔ’s Chájīng*. His citation-and-evidence is obscure-and-broad; the ancient texts he cites are mostly not preserved in the present world. Deep value as a resource for verification. Before “Third: Eating” all entries have annotations, apparently by Zànníng himself. However the entry on “Bamboo-shoot perspiration, boiled as soup” — the annotation actually refutes the main text and says the soup is inferior to the steamed [shoot] — apparently a later supplement, no longer identifiable. Wáng Détóng’s* Zhūshǐ says: “The monk Zànníng’s Sǔnpǔ is quite detailed; he gathered ancient poets’ compositions, from Liáng Yuándì to Tang Yáng Shīdào, all poets who in poetry mentioned bamboo-shoots; only WángShǔ academician Xú Guāngpǔ and one other man — quatrains — (note: this passage appears to have some words missing; we follow the old text) — may also be called diligent-and-conscientious, but not exhaustive. As when Hán Yù’s Lǚ Xié Lǚshī poem of 26 rhymes is not included — why? Was Zànníng angry at his attacks on Buddhism and personally selected against him? Or had Hán’s collection not yet circulated at the time? Cannot be known.”
Now examining the treatise, this composition is indeed missing. However, one person’s ear, gathering the poetry-and-song of successive ages — one-or-two omissions are inevitable — not a flaw of this book.
Abstract
The work is the foundational Chinese monograph on bamboo-shoots, the most-consumed edible vegetable of Chinese cuisine. Its five-chapter structure — míng, chū, shí, shì, shuō — exactly mirrors Lù Yǔ’s Chájīng (Names, Implements, Manufacture, Utensils, Brewing, Drinking, Affairs, Origins, Abbreviation, Illustration — Zànníng compresses to five but with the same systematic conception). The work is both a culinary-technical treatise (preparing-and-cooking bamboo-shoots) and a literary-encyclopedic anthology (the Affairs and Discussion chapters preserve Pre-Sòng poetic and prose references to bamboo-shoots).
The work’s documentary value is exceptional: it cites pre-Sòng works no longer extant in their original form, including portions of the lost Sòng-period agricultural literature. The Names chapter gives the synonyms and dialectal-variants for bamboo-shoots; the Origins chapter ranks the regional production zones (Wǔlǐng, Lǐngnán, BāShǔ); the Eating chapter is a culinary manual covering steaming, boiling, soup, pickling (yānzì 醃漬), and drying; the Affairs chapter is a poetic-anthology spanning Liáng-Tang authors; the Discussion chapter offers comparative observations and miscellaneous-anecdotes.
The dating: Zànníng was active in the WúYuè court before 978 and at the Sòng court 978–1001. The work was probably composed during his Sòng-court period (978–1001), in parallel with his more major work on the Sòng gāosēng zhuàn; the Sǔnpǔ was a side-project of literary-cultural breadth. A composition date in the c. 980–1001 range is reasonable.
Translations and research
- Tsui Bartholomew, Teresa. 2001. “Bamboo Shoots in Chinese Culture and History”. Asian Art 14. The standard English-language treatment.
- Yáng Xī 楊熙. 2008. “Sǔn-pǔ yǔ Sòng-dài jiā-yáo wén-huà” 筍譜與宋代家肴文化. Nóng-yè kǎo-gǔ 2008.4.
- Knechtges, David. 1997. “A Literary Feast: Food in Early Chinese Literature”. Journal of the American Oriental Society 117.
Other points of interest
The work is notable as a pǔlù composed by a Buddhist monk — Zànníng — on a non-religious topic, demonstrating the cross-confessional learned-cultural participation in the pǔlù genre. The Buddhist dietary-tradition’s vegetarianism gave bamboo-shoots a particular prominence in monastic cuisine, which probably motivated Zànníng’s interest. The work foregrounds the Lóngmén / Línán areas as principal production zones — areas Zànníng knew from his WúYuè residence.