遵生八牋

Zūn shēng bā jiān 遵生八牋

Eight Discourses on Reverencing Life

by 高濂 (Gāo Lián, zì Shēnfǔ 深父, hào Ruìnán 瑞南), late-Míng Qiántáng literatus and dramatist.

About the work

A 19-juàn compendium of literati lifestyle, yǎngshēng (life-nourishing), connoisseurship, and household practice — one of the principal late-Míng treatises on the cultivated gentleman’s life. Compiled by 高濂 (Gāo Lián). The eight jiān (discourses) are: Qīng xiū miào lùn jiān 清修妙論牋 (juàn 1–2, yǎngshēng maxims, drawing heavily on Buddhist and Daoist sources); Sì shí tiáo shè jiān 四時調攝牋 (juàn 3–6, seasonal regimens); Qǐ jū ān lè jiān 起居安樂牋 (juàn 7–8, household and furnishings); Yán nián què bìng jiān 延年却病牋 (juàn 9–10, breath-work and dǎoyǐn gymnastics); Yǐn zhuàn fú shí jiān 飲饌服食牋 (juàn 11–13, foodstuffs and dietary remedies); Yàn xián qīng shǎng jiān 燕閒清賞牋 (juàn 14–16, connoisseurship and the literati arts, including a flower-cultivation appendix); Líng mì dān yào jiān 靈秘丹藥牋 (juàn 17–18, proven prescriptions); and Chén wài xiá jǔ jiān 塵外遐舉牋 (juàn 19, biographies of 100 historical recluses). The Sìkù editors recognize the work as one of the foundational late-Míng xiǎopǐn / xiánshǎng texts — the precursor to Chén Jìrú’s and Lǐ Yú’s later writings — and praise its substantive gǔqì (ancient-objects) discussions and dānfāng (medical prescriptions), but criticize its frequent errors (Zhāng Jízhī as Yuán, Fàn Shì as recluse rather than Lújiāng tàishǒu) and its tendency to qiānzè (over-elaboration) characteristic of the late-Míng xiǎopǐn habit.

Tiyao

We respectfully submit that Zūn shēng bā jiān in 19 juàn was compiled by Gāo Lián of the Míng. Lián’s zì was Shēnfǔ, a Qiántáng man. His book is divided into eight subjects. Juàn 1 and 2, Qīng xiū miào lùn jiān — all yǎngshēng maxims, whose principles mostly come from the èrshì (Buddhism and Daoism). Juàn 3 to 6, Sì shí tiáo shè jiān — all seasonal cultivation prescriptions. Juàn 7 and 8, Qǐ jū ān lè jiān — all chambers, vessels, and implements that may aid nourishment. Juàn 9 and 10, Yán nián què bìng jiān — all breath-controlling and dǎoyǐn arts. Juàn 11 to 13, Yǐn zhuàn fú shí jiān — all food items by name, with appendix of various dietary medicines. Juàn 14 to 16, Yàn xián qīng shǎng jiān — discussion of connoisseurship and pure pleasures, with appended methods of flower-cultivation. Juàn 17 and 18, Líng mì dān yào jiān — proven medical prescriptions. Juàn 19, Chén wài xiá jǔ jiān — events of 100 historical recluses.

The book’s contents are specifically for leisure-pursuit and entertainment use. The headings and category-arrangement also engage in much qiānzè (over-elaboration) — not departing from the Míngjì xiǎopǐn (late-Míng essay) ingrained habit. Hence becoming the source from which Chén Jìrú and Lǐ Yú flowed. Also for example: Zhāng Jízhī was a Sòng calligrapher, but taken as a Yuán man; Fàn Shì held office as Lújiāng tàishǒu, but taken as a recluse — its errors are also not a few. But the gleanings are rich; often useful for checking. His detailed discussion of ancient objects and the gathered single prescriptions are also occasionally to be taken; compared with those who plagiarize qīngyán (pure talk) and force a refined manner, this is somewhat superior.

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

Abstract

The Zūn shēng bā jiān is the foundational late-Míng manual of the cultivated gentleman’s life. 高濂 (Gāo Lián) — a Qiántáng (Hángzhōu) literatus, dramatist (author of the yùzān jì 玉簪記), and elite connoisseur — compiled the work as a comprehensive synthesis of the literati life: from breath-cultivation to ceramic connoisseurship, from seasonal regimens to recluse biographies. The work is the principal precursor to the late-Míng xiánqíng (leisured-feeling) literature later perfected by Chén Jìrú 陳繼儒, Wén Zhènhēng 文震亨 (Cháng wù zhì KR3j0174), and Lǐ Yú 李漁.

The book’s principal contributions:

1. Synthetic lifestyle manual. The eight discourses together constitute the most comprehensive late-Míng treatment of the literati gentleman’s life — combining yǎngshēng, seasonal almanac, household furnishings, breath-work, food, connoisseurship, medical prescriptions, and biographical exemplars.
2. Connoisseurship. The Yàn xián qīng shǎng jiān (juàn 14–16) is one of the principal late-Míng connoisseurship treatises, ranking with Cáo Zhāo’s Gé gǔ yào lùn (KR3j0170) and Wén Zhènhēng’s Cháng wù zhì (KR3j0174) in influence.
3. Yǎngshēng tradition. The combination of Buddhist-Daoist maxims, seasonal regimens, dietary therapy, and proven prescriptions situates the book in the late-Míng yǎngshēng synthesis that informs much of subsequent Chinese health-culture literature.
4. Source for Chén Jìrú and Lǐ Yú. The Sìkù editors’ identification of the work as the principal precursor to the entire MíngQīng xiǎopǐn genre makes it a foundational text in the late-Míng literary lifestyle.

Dating. The work is conventionally dated to 1591 (Wànlì 19), the date of Gāo’s own preface. NotBefore / notAfter both 1591.

Translations and research

• Robert van Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China, Leiden: Brill, 1961 — cites the Zūn shēng bā jiān.
• Craig Clunas, Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China, Polity, 1991 — treats the work as a precursor to the late-Míng connoisseurship synthesis.
• Wai-yee Li, “The Collector, the Connoisseur, and Late-Ming Sensibility,” T’oung Pao 81 (1995), 269–302.
• Modern Chinese editions: Zhāo Liè-wén 趙立文, ed., Zūn shēng bā jiān jiǎo zhù (Bā-shǔ shū-shè, 1992).

Other points of interest

The 100-recluse biographical juàn (Chén wài xiá jǔ jiān) draws on the standard Confucian and Daoist hagiographic tradition and gives a substantial late-Míng literati canon of historical exemplars — useful for tracking the Míng image of the yǐnyì (reclusive) tradition.

Links

• Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Zájiā lèi 4, Zūn shēng bā jiān entry.
• Wikipedia: Gao Lian (poet).