Hú Wénmù zá zhù 胡文穆雜著
Miscellaneous Writings of Hú Wén-mù
by 胡廣 (Hú Guǎng, 1369–1418; zì Guāngdà 光大, posthumously Wénmù 文穆), Yǒng-lè-period Wényuāngé dàxuéshì, chief compiler of the Wǔjīng / Sìshū / Xìnglǐ Dàquán.
About the work
A 1-juàn early-Míng bǐjì by 胡廣 (Hú Guǎng), the zhuàngyuán (top jìnshì) of Jiànwén 2 (1400). Under the Jiànwén emperor he served as Hànlínyuàn xiūzhuàn under the temporary name “Jìng” 靖 (because his given name Guǎng coincided with the Hàn-period notorious Hú Guǎng); on the Jìng nán coup, he abandoned the Jiànwén emperor and went over to Yǒnglè, recovering his original name and rising to Wényuāngé dàxuéshì. Posthumously Tàishī, posthumously Wénmù. The book is Hú’s suí shǒu zhá jì (jotting-handed notes), originally included in his Wénmù jí collected works; this is the separately-circulating recension. The book contains bǐjì-style discussion of historical and classical points — particularly substantial readings of Sīmǎ Guāng’s Zīzhì tōngjiàn on the Wéizhōu Xī Dánmóu affair (favouring Lǐ Dé-yù-school, against the zhèng tǒng school), readings of the Bālíngwèi forbidding-night-travel matter (defending the wèi against Lǐ Guǎng’s grievance), readings of Zǐ Chǎn on the huáng xióng (yellow bear), and readings of Shēntú Jiā’s dà jié (great virtue) — among other entries.
Tiyao
We respectfully submit that Hú Wénmù zá zhù in one juan was compiled by Hú Guǎng of the Míng. Guǎng’s zì was Guāngdà; a Jíshuǐ man; jìnshì zhuàngyuán of Jiànwén gēngchén (1400); Huìdì because his name coincided with the Hàn Hú Guǎng’s, renamed him “Jìng”; appointed Hànlínyuàn xiūzhuàn. When the Jìng nán troops arrived, he went over to the new dynasty. In early Yǒnglè he recovered his original name; rose by stages to Wényuāngé dàxuéshì; posthumously Shàoshī, posthumously Wénmù. His career is in his Míng shǐ běnzhuàn (Míng shǐ biography). His composed works are the Huǎngān and Hùcóng collections. This book is his suí shǒu zhá jì, already included in the Wénmù jí; this is the separately-circulating recension.
Within: such as the Zīzhì tōngjiàn lùn Wéizhōu Xī Dánmóu (Discussion of Wéizhōu and Xī Dánmóu) entry — Sīmǎ Guāng was not unaware that Lǐ [Déyù] was right and Niú [Sēngrú] was wrong; only that his thought was on peace with the neighbour and not wishing to shēng xìn (open a crisis); hence he forced this argument — citing his deathbed-letter to Lǚ Gōngzhù as evidence — can be called shēn míng shí shì (deeply illuminating the situation).
Or: the Bàlíng wèi (Bàlíng captain) forbidding-night-travel was his proper job; Lǐ Guǎng’s resentment was a private matter. Or: Zǐ Chǎn’s discussing the huáng xióng (yellow bear) was the opening of xìn wàng xǐ guài (credulous-of-the-strange) tendencies. Or: Shēntú Jiā’s dà jié (great virtue) was lofty; Bān Gù’s saying that his “scholarship was not as good as Chén Píng’s” — this argument is not right. All hold the view firm-and-correct.
Other: like the Yìguà jí xiōng (Yi-hexagram fortunes) all warning the diviner to fǎn qiú zhū jǐ (turn back and seek in oneself) — agreeing with the Zuǒzhuàn Mùjiāng and Nán Kuǎi affair; or the wènmíng nàjí nàbì (asking-name, presenting-fortune, presenting-betrothal) all divining its date, not divining fortune-and-misfortune — Chéngzǐ’s doubt unreliable; or Lǐ Bái was not without communication with Dù Fǔ — Róngzhāi suí bǐ’s examination not exact; or Guàn Yīng actually pacified Yùzhāng — Lǐ Bái’s poem is not wrong, and Hú Ruòsī’s identifying it as Chén Yīng is also wrong — all rather have kǎo jù (consulting-evidence). Guǎng’s wén jí is not entirely first-class; but this book is in early-Míng shuōbù still rather worth-taking.
To the Jì Bù bù sǐ (Jì Bù not-dying) entry — saying Bān Gù’s speech is yìyáng tài guò (raising-and-suppressing too excessive) — and with his betraying Wáng Gàn and going over to Chéngzǔ (Yǒnglè) [— the two] jiérán xiāng fǎn (clearly contradict each other) — could the book have been composed before the Jiànwén rénwǔ (1402)? Yet on the Hàn Huángshēng’s and Sòng Sū Shì’s Wǔwáng fēi shèngrén (King Wǔ was not a sage) doctrine — also it appears [Hú is] forcedly making the jìng nán (1402 coup) self-justification — perhaps Hú knew that his great-conduct had been compromised and so deliberately produced chéng rén qǔ yì (achieving-benevolence-grasping-righteousness) speech to cover the world’s eyes-and-ears?
Respectfully revised and submitted, first month of the forty-sixth year of Qiánlóng (1781).
Abstract
The Hú Wénmù zá zhù is the bǐjì of 胡廋 (Hú Guǎng), the politically conflicted zhuàngyuán who abandoned the Jiànwén emperor on the Jìng nán coup of 1402 and rose to become the chief compiler of the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn and the three Dàquán. The book is a small but politically significant work. The Sìkù editors detect in it a complex pattern: substantive kǎozhèng and historical-evaluation entries (the Tōngjiàn Xī Dánmóu discussion; the Bàlíng wèi defence; the Shēntú Jiā evaluation; the Lǐ Bái / Dù Fǔ communication; the Guàn Yīng / Yùzhāng affair) sit alongside zhèng tǒng-justifying entries (Huángshēng and Sū Shì’s Wǔwáng fēi shèngrén doctrine) that the editors suspect to be self-justification for the Jìng nán defection.
The principal contributions:
- Tōngjiàn revisionism: Sīmǎ Guāng’s Xī Dánmóu reading reinterpreted via Sīmǎ’s deathbed letter to Lǚ Gōngzhù — Hú reads Sīmǎ as knowingly forcing the wrong argument out of foreign-policy prudence.
- Historical evaluation: the Bàlíng wèi (defending the captain against Lǐ Guǎng); the Shēntú Jiā evaluation (defending Bān Gù was wrong).
- Textual criticism: the Lǐ Bái / Dù Fǔ communication; the Guàn Yīng / Yùzhāng identification — both refuting Hóng Mài’s Róngzhāi suí bǐ readings.
- Yì-hexagram reading: the fǎn qiú zhū jǐ (turn-back-and-seek-in-oneself) principle for fortune-readings; the wènmíng nàjí nàbì date-divination reading against Chéng Yí.
The book’s dating is complicated by the political tension: some entries (the Jì Bù bù sǐ Bān Gù critique) appear pre-Jìng nán (1402); others (the Wǔwáng fēi shèngrén doctrine) appear post-coup self-justification. NotBefore 1402 / notAfter 1418 (Hú’s death). The standard text is the SKQS 1-juàn recension, also preserved in the Wénmù jí collected works.
Translations and research
No complete Western-language translation. The book is cited in modern Chinese-language scholarship on the Jìng nán coup-defectors’ justifications and on the Yǒng-lè literati-political milieu.
Other points of interest
The book’s Wǔwáng fēi shèngrén entry — defending Huángshēng’s and Sū Shì’s reading — is a striking instance of bǐjì-form self-justification for a major political betrayal. The Sìkù editors’ explicit reading of the entry as such is one of the more direct Sìkù readings of an author’s political ethics.
Links
- Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Zájiā lèi 3, Hú Wénmù zá zhù entry.