紺珠集

Gàn zhū jí 紺珠集

The Crimson-Pearl Collection

attributed to 朱勝非 (Zhū Shèngfēi, 1082–1144), Southern-Sòng Grand Councillor.

About the work

A 13-juàn Sòng zázuǎn (miscellaneous compilation) drawn from a wide range of xiǎoshuō and bǐjì. The attribution is uncertain: Cháo Gōngwǔ’s Jùnzhāi dúshū zhì records this work in 13 juàn and attributes it to 朱勝非 (Zhū Shèngfēi)‘s compilation of “bǎi jiā xiǎo shuō” (writings of the hundred schools). The title alludes to an old tale that Zhāng Yāngōng 張燕公 (Zhāng Yuè 張說 of the Táng) possessed gàn zhū (crimson pearls) that enabled him never to forget what he recorded — hence the title. The arrangement and juàn-count in Cháo’s record matches this WYG copy. Yet the book opens with a preface dated Shàoxīng dīngsì 7 (1137) by Wáng Zōngzhé 王宗哲, Guànyánglìng, which says “the gàn zhū compilation — I do not know what age it began in. The Jiànyáng Zhānsìchéng came out as governor of Líntīng and ordered me to collate it, planning to cut blocks to spread it widely.” Examination shows that 1137 was Shàoxīng 7, and per the Sòng shǐ Zhū Shèngfēi had entered government as Grand Councillor in Shàoxīng 2 (1132), then was dismissed, re-employed in Shàoxīng 5 (1135) as Prefect of Húzhōu, then retired on grounds of illness and lived another 8 years before death. So when Wáng Zōngzhé wrote the preface, Shèngfēi was a former Grand Councillor living at home — if the book truly came from him, the collators should not have failed to know the author’s name. The attribution is therefore uncertain; perhaps Cháo’s record has an error. In format the book resembles Zēng Zào’s Lèi shuō (KR3j0180), each entry extracted from a source with marginal labels. The Lèi shuō cites 261 books; the Gàn zhū jí only 137 — about half. But the selection has both overlap and divergence, and the Gàn zhū jí often used earlier recensions, so it has comparative value (the Fāng yán “yìyè róng yě” gloss; the “sī cè xiān gé zhì chāo xiǎo yě” Fāng yán phrase corrected by this book against the standard text).

Tiyao

We respectfully submit that Gàn zhū jí in 13 juàn was without attribution. Examination: Cháo Gōngwǔ’s Jùnzhāi dúshū zhì also records this book in 13 juàn, saying it was compiled by Zhū Shèngfēi from the bǎi jiā xiǎo shuō; he used the old story that Zhāng Yāngōng had crimson pearls and that seeing them allowed one to record events without forgetting — so [Zhū] used it as title. The format and juàn-count he reports match the present text. So this book ought to be Shèngfēi’s compilation.

But the front of the book has a preface by Wáng Zōngzhé, Guànyánglìng, dated Shàoxīng dīngsì (1137), saying “The Gàn zhū compilation — I do not know in what age it began. The Jiànyáng Zhān sìchéng (Magistrate Zhān) came out as governor of Líntīng and ordered me to collate it; planning to cut blocks to spread it widely.” Examination: dīngsì is Shàoxīng 7. But by the Sòng shǐ: Shèngfēi entered government as Grand Councillor in Shàoxīng 2 (1132), then was dismissed; in Shàoxīng 5 (1135) restored, made Prefect of Húzhōu; retired on grounds of illness, and 8 years later died. So when Zōngzhé wrote the preface, Shèngfēi was a former Grand Councillor at home; if the book had truly come from his hand, the collators would not have failed to detail his name. The matter is suspect. Or perhaps Gōngwǔ’s record is mistaken; this cannot be known.

The book is all extracts from shuōbù (notebook works), with a few lines of each, line-by-line attached. Used for Tàjì (Tàjì’s table — i.e., a literatus’s quick-reference). The format is closely similar to Zēng Zào’s Lèi shuō. Only Lèi shuō cites 261 books, while this book cites only 137 — about half of Zào’s. Yet the selections have overlap and divergence too. Also the books he saw were often old recensions and may also fit alongside the standard editions for cross-comparison. As: the Fāng yán “yìyè róng yě” entry — present text gloss: yìyè both [meaning] light and lovely appearance; but this book glosses yìyì yèyè (reduplicated). And the present text sī cè xiān gé zhì chāo xiǎo yě entry — this book cites as sī xiān zhì chāo cè xiǎo yě; on examination the lower cè character originally followed the chāo character, so this book’s reading is preferable.

So though the citation is mixed, side-glimpses [provide] much for kǎozhèng. Not to be dismissed as mere drapery.

Respectfully revised and submitted, eighth month of the forty-third year of Qiánlóng (1778).

Abstract

The Gàn zhū jí is a Northern-Sòng-Southern-Sòng transition zázuǎn, drawn from a wide range of xiǎoshuō and bǐjì. Its traditional attribution to 朱勝非 (Zhū Shèngfēi, 1082–1144) — Grand Councillor under Shàoxīng — descends from Cháo Gōngwǔ’s Jùnzhāi dúshū zhì, but the Sìkù editors note inconsistencies in the contemporary 1137 prefatory documentation: the prefatory editors did not know the author’s name. The attribution is therefore uncertain but conventionally followed.

The book’s principal contributions:

1. zázuǎn taxonomy. The book is a major Northern-Sòng / Southern-Sòng-transition example of the zázuǎn genre, in which entries are extracted from cited sources with brief topical labels — paralleling Zēng Zào’s Lèi shuō (KR3j0180) in format but with a different selection of 137 source-works.
2. Source for lost works. The 137 cited works include many Sòng-era xiǎoshuō and bǐjì of which the Gàn zhū jí preserves valuable fragments — especially useful when matched against the parallel selections in the Lèi shuō.
3. Old recensions. The Sìkù editors note that the Gàn zhū jí preserves Sòng-era readings of certain zǐbù works (e.g., the Fāng yán) that differ from and improve upon the standard recensions — making the work bibliographically valuable.

Dating. The preface is dated 1137, providing the terminus ante quem. Composition is presumably between Zhū Shèngfēi’s first ministerial period and his retirement: NotBefore c. 1100, notAfter 1137.

Translations and research

No substantial Western-language treatment located. The work is cited in Chinese-language textual scholarship on Sòng bǐjì and zá-zuǎn.

Links

• Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Zájiā lèi 5, Gàn zhū jí entry.