Yùlín 喻林
Forest of Metaphors
by 徐元太 (Xú Yuántài, Míng, 撰).
About the work
A 120-juan Míng-period topical compilation gathering thousands of classical bǐyù (metaphors and similes) extracted from canonical and historical texts. Compiled by Xú Yuántài 徐元太 (zì Rǔxián 汝賢) of Xuānchéng 宣城 (mod. Ānhuī) — a Jiājìng 44 (1565) jìnshì who rose to Xíngbù shàngshū (Minister of Justice). The work organizes its material in 10 mén (categories) and 580+ zǐmù (sub-topics), with each metaphor or simile cited with full zhūyuán — book, chapter, and section reference. Compilation took more than 20 years and was undertaken alongside Xú’s three military commands in the southwest. Self-preface by Xú; second preface by Xuéxiàn Guōjūn (a contemporary Ānhuī education-commissioner).
The work is the principal Míng-period compendium of classical-style metaphor, designed as a working tool for xiūcí (rhetoric) — particularly for the composition of fù and piánwén (parallel prose), which traditionally relied on dense metaphor-clusters. The Sìkù editors give it a mixed evaluation: praising the meticulous zhūyuán citation (rare in late-Míng lèishū) and the systematic 10-category organization, but flagging that the work cites via intermediate compendia (citing Yìwén lèijù for a passage that originates in the Hán Fēizǐ; citing Wénxuǎn Lǐ Shàn commentary for a passage that originates in the Hòu Hàn shū) — typical late-Míng kǎojù sloppiness.
Tiyao (abridged)
The Yùlín in 120 juan by Xú Yuántài of the Míng. Yuántài, zì Rǔxián, native of Xuānchéng, Jiājìng yǐchǒu [1565] jìnshì; rose to Xíngbù shàngshū. The book gathers from classics, histories, and the various schools’ collections all gǔrén shèyù (ancient men’s set metaphors), broadly citing into one compilation. Divided into 10 mén, each with sub-categories, total 580+ classes. Over 20 years to complete; later self-revised and put to print — diligent work indeed.
The citations: each entry below the rubric notes its source — chapter and section enumerated, nothing omitted — quite different from the late-Míng habit of plagiaristic extraction. However, the self-preface claims over 400 source-works; the work-list in the book is actually less than half that — somewhat boastful. Often the citations are casually picked up and source-tracking fails. As: “Ér Shuō — a Sòng man skilled at disputation” is from Hán Fēizǐ; “Zhōu rén yǒu shì bù yù zhě” is from Wáng Chōng’s Lùnhéng — both cited as from Yìwén lèijù. “Huái jīn zhě zhī bù shēng guī” is from the Hòu Hàn shū · Gěng Yǎn biography — cited as from Lǐ Shàn’s Wénxuǎn commentary. “Tóu bái kě qī, hànqīng wú rì” is from the Táng shū · Liú Zhījǐ biography — cited as from Shìwén lèijù. “Tiān hán jí fēiniǎo zǒushòu shàng zhī xiāngyī” is from Shěn Yuē’s commentary on Ruǎn Jí’s Yǒnghuái shī — cited as from Lǐ Shàn. Such instances are many.
This shows that his learning was about ambition for breadth, not careful kǎohé (critical verification) — repeated lapses. But from QínHàn through the Six Dynasties, writers’ fùcí (prose-rhapsody) often took hǎnpì (rarefied metaphors) as the standard; zìsì wāngyáng (unrestrained vastness) drew on this resource. Yuántài’s compilation is so abundantly assembled that língjī duànbì (scattered pearls and broken jade) all serve as raw material for the zhuìwén (compounding-text) tradition — useful for the arts of letters. Compared to fāngběn lèishū of confused-and-chaotic content, this is far superior.
Respectfully revised and submitted, first month of the forty-fourth year of Qiánlóng [1779].
General Compilers: Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅. General Reviser: Lù Fèichí 陸費墀.
Abstract
The Yùlín is the largest and most systematically organized Míng-period compendium of classical metaphors, designed as a working tool for piánwén (parallel prose) and fù composition. Xú Yuántài (CBDB ids vary; not consistently recorded; Jiājìng 44 (1565) jìnshì; rose to Xíngbù shàngshū) drew on his three military commands in the southwest (against Miao and Yi rebellions) as the leisure-time setting for the work’s compilation. Composition is bracketed here from his jìnshì (1565) to the late Wànlì period (1590), with print publication in his later career.
The work’s enduring value is as a working xiūcí (rhetoric) tool — the most complete metaphor-anthology of the late-Míng tradition. The 10-category architecture (天文, 地理, 人事, etc.) and the 580+ sub-categories make it usable for any classical-rhetoric task. The standard modern edition is the Shànghǎi gǔjí 1995 reprint of the Sìkù recension.
Translations and research
- Hú Dào-jìng 胡道靜, Zhōngguó gǔdài de lèishū (Zhōng-huá, 1982), §Míng.
- Anne McLaren, Chinese Popular Culture and Ming Chantefables (Brill, 1998), §III references late-Míng metaphor-compilation traditions.
No European-language complete translation.
Other points of interest
The Sìkù tíyào’s exposure of the work’s habit of citing via Sòng lèishū rather than from primary sources is a useful late-Míng case study in how the prestige of kǎojù methodology had spread without the corresponding philological rigour.
Links
- Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, Zǐbù · Lèishū lèi, Yùlín entry.
- Wikidata: Q11074674.