雲烟過眼錄

Yún yān guò yǎn lù 雲烟過眼錄

Cloud and Mist Passing Before the Eyes

by 周密 (Zhōu Mì, 1232–1308), SòngYuán transition literatus, with a 1-juàn supplement (Xù lù) by 湯允謨 (Tāng Yǔnmó).

About the work

A 4-juàn connoisseurship bǐjì by the late-Sòng / early-Yuán literatus 周密 (Zhōu Mì), recording paintings, calligraphies, and ancient objects he had seen, briefly graded but with little textual investigation. The title — yún yān guò yǎn (clouds and mists passing before the eyes) — comes from Sū Shì’s Bǎo huì táng jì, where the phrase appears in the form yān yún zhī guò yǎn; the old printed editions invert the two characters, making yún yān. The Sìkù editors note that Qián Zēng’s 錢曾 Dúshū mǐnqiú jì records a Yuán Zhìzhèng (1340s) manuscript by Xià Yí 夏頤 already reading yún yān, so the error is old. Qián also records the Xià copy as 1 juàn, while this WYG copy is 4 juàn — perhaps a later subdivision. From the names of collectors mentioned, the book was composed after the Yuán transition. Within are entries with phrases by Tāng Yǔnmó, Yè Sēn, and Wén Bì — apparently colophons that successive readers added, conflated into the body by later copyists. Some textual problems remain — the Wáng Zǐqìng entry where the third juàn contains only two items but the heading says three; the Sū Shì autograph cí with Jiá Zhàn corrupted to Liányī; the Lántíng attributed to a Suí Yángdì cabinet stone-engraving; and the Wú Cǎiluán Qièyùn with its anomalous rhyme arrangement (resolved by appeal to Wèi Liǎowēng’s evidence in the Kùnxué jìwén that the Táng Yùn had alternative recensions). The Xù lù in 1 juàn by Tāng Yǔnmó of Féngxī adds 39 entries; Dǒng Qíchāng’s Xìhóngtáng tiè attribution of the silk-cloth Huángtíng jīng as a Yáng / Xǔ relic descends from this book.

Tiyao

We respectfully submit that Yún yān guò yǎn lù in 4 juàn and Xù lù in 1 juàn was compiled by Zhōu Mì of the Sòng. Mì’s Wǔlín jiùshì is already recorded [elsewhere]. This book records the calligraphy, painting, and ancient objects he had seen, briefly grading them as superior or inferior, without much kǎozhèng. Its name is taken from Sū Shì’s phrase. But examining Sū Shì’s Bǎo huì táng jì, it actually reads yān yún zhī guò yǎn; the old printed text wrote yún yān — perhaps a transposition.

But Qián Zēng’s Dúshū mǐnqiú jì records an early-Yuán Zhìzhèng-era Xià Yí manuscript already reading yún yān, so the variant reading is long established. Qián records the Xià copy as 1 juàn; this book is 4 juàn — perhaps later subdivided. Looking at the collectors named, [the book] is post-Yuán. Within, there are phrases by Tāng Yǔnmó, Yè Sēn, and Wén Bì — apparently editorial notes added by successive readers and erroneously merged into the main text by copyists. As in the entry on Wáng Zǐqìng’s holding of three of Sòng Tàizǔ’s imperial endorsements, the entry ends “the present juàn 3 has only two — suspect lacuna; should be cross-checked with the Zhìyǎtáng záchāo…” But Zhìyǎtáng záchāo is also Zhōu Mì’s own work — Mì should not have said “should be cross-checked.” So we know that editorial-correction words have wrongly been carried into the body text.

Within is recorded Sū Shì’s autograph cí “Jiá Zhàn chū yì”; the present text mis-reads as “Liányī chū yì” — but Jiá Zhàn is itself unintelligible; suspect a further corruption. Also a record that the Lántíng has a Suí Yángdì palace-archive stone-engraving — we know not on what evidence. Also a record that Wú Cǎiluán wrote the Qièyùn with [the rhymes] Yī Xiān and Èr Xiān taken as Shísān Xiān and Èrshísì Xiān — “incomprehensible.” On examination, the Kùnxué jìwén records Wèi Liǎowēng’s words already saying that Táng yùn xiàpíng did not include Yī Xiān — so the Táng yùn must have had this alternative recension, and we cannot tell otherwise.

The Xù lù in 1 juàn is attributed to Féngxī Tāng Yǔnmó in 39 entries. Dǒng Qíchāng’s Xìhóngtáng tiè’s identification of the silk-cloth Huángtíng jīng as a YángXǔ relic descends from this book — so it [Dǒng] also took [Tāng’s] connoisseurship as standard.

Respectfully revised and submitted, eleventh month of the forty-sixth year of Qiánlóng (1781).

Abstract

The Yún yān guò yǎn lù is one of the principal connoisseurship records of the SòngYuán transition, by 周密 (Zhōu Mì, 1232–1308) — the last great Sòng cultural witness, also author of Wǔlín jiùshì 武林舊事 (KR2k0030), Guǐxīn záshí 癸辛雜識, and Qídōng yěyǔ 齊東野語. The book records the calligraphies, paintings, and ancient objects he saw in the collections of Sòng remnant literati and early-Yuán collectors after the dynastic fall.

The book’s principal contributions:

1. SòngYuán transition collection record. The book is the principal documentary record of which Sòng imperial and elite holdings survived into early-Yuán private collections. As such it is a foundational source for the history of Chinese art collecting.
2. Successor colophons. The book attracted subsequent inscriptions by Tāng Yǔnmó (whose 39-entry supplement Xù lù survives appended), Yè Sēn 葉森, and Wén Bì 文璧 — making the work a record of successive connoisseurship over the 13th–14th centuries.
3. Critical testimonia. The book preserves significant evidence on works since lost or with disputed transmission — Sū Shì autograph cí, Lántíng recensions, Wú Cǎiluán’s Qièyùn — useful for textual scholarship.
4. Influence on later connoisseurship. Dǒng Qíchāng’s late-Míng connoisseurship — as in the Xìhóngtáng tiè compilation — depends on this book’s authority.

Dating. Zhōu Mì lived 1232–1308; the book records collections in their state after the Yuán transition (post-1276 — Sòng capital fell). NotBefore 1280, notAfter 1308 (his death). The Tāng Yǔnmó Xù lù postdates Zhōu’s death.

Note: The catalog meta gives the dynasty as 宋 (Sòng) but the bulk of the work was composed after the Sòng fell; Zhōu identified himself with the Sòng remnant cause throughout his life, so the dynastic attribution is loyalist rather than chronological.

Translations and research

• Ankeney Weitz, Zhou Mi’s Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes: An Annotated Translation, Brill, 2002. The definitive English-language translation and study.
• Hui-shu Lee, Empresses, Art, and Agency in Song Dynasty China, Washington, 2010 — uses the book for collection history.
• Modern Chinese editions: critical edition by Sūn Zhō-ān 孫志澳 in Cóng-shū jí-chéng and later collections of jiǎn-shǎng wén-xiàn.

Other points of interest

The Weitz translation includes a comprehensive index of the works mentioned and is the standard scholarly reference. The Xù lù’s 39 entries by Tāng Yǔnmó include several attributions adopted by Dǒng Qíchāng — connecting late-Sòng / early-Yuán connoisseurship to the great late-Míng synthesis.

Links

• Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Zájiā lèi 4, Yún yān guò yǎn lù entry.
• Wikipedia: Zhou Mi.