Qí dōng yě yǔ 齊東野語
Rustic Talk East of Qí
by 周密 (Zhōu Mì, 1232–1298; zì Gōngjǐn 公謹, hào Cǎochuāng 草窗, also Biànyáng lǎorén 弁陽老人 and Lìshānshūzhōngrén 歷山書中人), Sòng-loyalist scholar of Jǐnán descent settled at Húzhōu.
About the work
A 20-juàn late-Southern-Sòng / Yuán-transition bǐjì by 周密 (Zhōu Mì), composed in Sòng-loyalist seclusion after the fall of the Southern Sòng. The book’s title is an explicit affirmation of Zhōu’s Jǐnán ancestral identity — Qí being Qí state (in Shāndōng), “east of Qí” being Húzhōu where the family had settled, and the yě yǔ (rustic talk) being the title given by Zhōu’s father, transmitted from grandfather to great-grandfather. The book records primarily late-Southern-Sòng court and political affairs — those that are yì wén (omitted from the standard histories) — and is one of the principal bǐjì-historiographic sources for the SòngJīn frontier wars (Zhāng Jùn 張浚, Sān zhàn / Fúpíng battles), the Shàoxī abdication, the impeachment of 韓侂胄 (Hán Tuōzhòu), the Duānpíng rù Luò and Duānpíng Xiāngzhōu operations, the Lǐ Quán 李全 affair, the Yányòu kāibiān (the late-Sòng frontier expansion), the Ān Bǐng jiǎo zhào (Ān Bǐng’s forged-edict episode), the Chún / Shào suìbì (cost of Southern-Sòng tribute to Jīn), Yuè Fēi anecdote, Bālíng battle, Dèng Wénlóng, the Jǐngdìng gōngtián and Jǐngdìng huìxīng (the late-Sòng public-land confiscation and comet-omen), the ZhūTáng joint memorial, Zhào Kuí’s resignation, the Ér Zhāng援 Xiāng (the two Zhāngs’ rescue of Xiāngyáng), the Jiādìng bǎoxǐ, the Qìngyuán / Kāixǐ liù shì, and the Zhāng Zhòngfú espionage case. The book is one of the most substantive bǐjì witnesses to late-Southern-Sòng history.
Tiyao
We respectfully submit that Qí dōng yě yǔ in twenty juan was compiled by Zhōu Mì of the Sòng. Mì has the Wǔ lín jiù shì, already recorded. Mì was originally a Jǐnán man; his great-grandfather followed the imperial cortege south and so the family was settled at Biànshān in Wúxīng — hence his self-styling Biànyáng lǎorén. Yet his aspiration kept the Central Plain in mind; so his self-preface quotes his father’s saying — “though the body resides in Wú, my heart has not eaten one meal that was not in Qí” — and Mì himself signs Lìshān in the book and also Huábùzhù shānrén. This book named Qí dōng yě yǔ is rooted in his father’s intent.
Within: there are many kǎozhèng of classical antiquity, all especially diǎnhé (canonical-and-precise); and the records of Southern Sòng jiù shì (old affairs) are most numerous. Entries include: Zhāng Jùn’s Sān zhàn běn mò (the three-battle origin-and-end); the Shàoxī nèichán (Shàoxī abdication) and the Zhū Hán běn mò (Hán Tuōzhòu impeachment); the Duānpíng rù Luò and Duānpíng Xiāngzhōu; the Hú Míngzhòng [Hú Yín 胡寅] běn mò; the Lǐ Quán běn mò; the Zhū Hànzhāng běn mò; the Dèng Wénlóng kāi biān (frontier-expansion); the Ān Bǐng jiǎo zhào (Ān Bǐng’s forged-edict); the Chún / Shào suì bì (Chúnxī / Shàoxī tribute); Yuè Fēi yì shì (Yuè Fēi anecdote); the Bālíng běn mò; the Dèng Wénlóng běn mò; Shī dào pǐ tài (poetic-way’s stability and disturbance); the Jǐngdìng gōngtián; the Jǐngdìng huìxīng (comet); the ZhūTáng jiāo zòu (joint memorial); Zhào Kuí cí xiàng (Zhào Kuí’s resignation from premiership); the Èr Zhāng yuán Xiāng (the two Zhāngs’ rescue of Xiāngyáng); the Jiādìng bǎoxǐ (the Jiādìng imperial seal); the Qìngyuán / Kāixǐ liù shì; the Zhāng Zhòngfú fǎn jiān (espionage) — all sufficient to supplement the standard histories’ lacunae.
The self-preface says: his father once produced the great-grandfather’s and grandfather’s hand-record dozens of large fascicles, also produced his maternal grandfather’s daily-record and the various elders’ záshū (miscellaneous-books), showing him, saying: “the common-talk is different — it is misreport; the standard-history discussion is different — it is private opinion; on Dìng / Āi there are veiled phrases — there are avoidances; on Niú / Lǐ there are different debates — there are dǎng (factions). Love-and-hate one decays; discussion is then public. The standard-history has been revised how many times? Right-and-wrong have been changed how many times? Yet our family-record cannot be cut.”
Now examining what is recorded — of Zhāng Jùn, Zhào Rǔyú, Hú Yín, Táng Zhòngyǒu and similar affairs — distinctly differing from the jiǎngxué jiā (Lǐxué teaching) discourse — this is the father’s reference, most likely to these matters. The Míng Zhèngdé 10 Láiyáng Hú Wénbì recut the book; his preface says: “Some say the Fúlíng / Fùpíng campaigns slightly touch on Nánxuān’s [Zhāng Shì’s] father; the matter of Táng [Zhòngyǒu] / Chén [Liàng]‘s split, the mother-mourning service — Huìān [Zhū Xī] and Zhìtáng [Hú Hóng] have xián on these; so the book seems should not be cut; if cut, please remove these episodes.” But greatly missing Mì’s writing-purpose. Hú Wénbì did not follow — so we may say he had cast off the partisan-faction view.
The Míng Shāng Wéijùn once cut into the Bài hǎi — removing half the book — and merged it with the Guǐxīn zá shí into one — most disordered and disagreeable. Later Máo Jìn acquired an old-recension and recut the book in full. The present recension is based on Máo’s printing.
Respectfully revised and submitted, fifth month of the forty-sixth year of Qiánlóng (1781).
Abstract
The Qí dōng yě yǔ is one of the most substantive bǐjì-historiographic sources for the late-Southern-Sòng. Zhōu Mì’s family had been Sòng-loyalist for four generations; the book draws on the cumulative oral and written family-archive he inherited — his great-grandfather’s, grandfather’s, father’s, and maternal grandfather’s notes — and accordingly contains a number of late-Sòng “běn mò” reconstructions of events that contradict the standard histories (especially the partisan Sòng shǐ and the official Sì cháo shí lù).
The book is one of the principal extra-Sòngshǐ sources for: the SòngJīn frontier wars; the Shàoxī abdication; the Hán Tuōzhòu impeachment; the late-Sòng frontier expansions; the Duānpíng recovery operations; the ZhūTáng joint memorial; the Jǐngdìng gōngtián land-confiscation; the late-Sòng intelligence operations (Zhāng Zhòngfú espionage case). For each of these the book gives a běn mò — origin-and-end — that fills a real gap in the standard histories.
The book’s reception is complex. Hú Wénbì’s Zhèngdé 10 (1515) Láiyáng reprint is faithful to Zhōu’s text; the Míng Shāng Wéijùn’s Bài hǎi recension truncates and conflates with KR3j0093 Guǐxīn zá shí — both authored by Zhōu Mì but distinct works. Máo Jìn’s late-Míng recovery of an old recension restored the book to its complete 20-juàn form. The Sìkù SKQS recension follows Máo Jìn.
Dating. NotBefore 1280 (the Sòng-loyalist post-fall seclusion period) / notAfter 1298 (Zhōu’s death). The book’s principal composition belongs to the Yuánzhēn / Dàdé years (1295–1297). The 20-juàn form is the standard text.
Translations and research
A study of the book and partial translation in the broader Zhōu Mì literature: see Lì Wéi 李偉’s modern monograph on Zhōu Mì (Shàng-hǎi gǔ-jí). Modern punctuated edition in Tángsòng shǐliào bǐjì cóngkān (Zhōnghuá shū-jú, 1983). The book is heavily cited in modern Sòng-Yuán transition history (Charles Hartman, John Chaffee, and others).
Other points of interest
The book’s autobiographical self-preface — quoting Zhōu’s father’s instruction that “the common-talk is misreport; the standard-history is private opinion; the Chūnqiū has veiled phrases out of avoidance; Niú-Lǐ-style factionalism colours every dynasty’s records” — is one of the most penetrating SòngYuán statements of bǐjì-historiographic theory and is regularly cited in modern Chinese-language historiographic methodology discussions.
Links
- Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Zájiā lèi 3, Qí dōng yě yǔ entry.
- Wikipedia: 齊東野語.