Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù · Qìngdàn mén 古今事文類聚·慶誕門
Classified Compendium of Ancient and Modern Affairs and Literature: The Birth Celebrations Category
by 祝穆 (Zhù Mù, Sòng, fl. ca. 1230s–1256, 撰)
About the work
A single-category fragment from the Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù 古今事文類聚 (KR3k0024), the comprehensive Sòng-dynasty lèishū compiled by 祝穆 (fl. 1230s; d. ca. 1256) of Jiànyáng 建陽 (Mǐnběi). The Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù in its complete form runs to 236 juan across several jí (前集 60 juan, 後集 50 juan, 續集 28 juan, 別集 32 juan, 外集 15 juan, 遺集 15 juan). The primary catalog record KR3k0024 exists as a TODO entry, as the main source directory has not been located.
The fragment preserved in this file consists of the Qìngdàn mén 慶誕門 (Birth Celebrations category), a topical section covering auspicious phrases, literary allusions, and poetic precedents associated with the birth of children. Entries are organized under named headings — “天上石麒麟,” “充閭之慶,” “頭角嶢然,” “龍駒鳳雛,” “鳳毛,” “芝蘭玉樹,” “真英物,” “弄璋,” “吉夢” (zōng mèng xióng pí 夢熊夢羆), “添丁,” etc. — each with a prose explanation of the allusion’s origin (from Nán shǐ, Shì shuō xīnyǔ, Jìnshū, and other standard histories), followed by examples of Su Shì 蘇軾 (蘇東坡, 1037–1101) deploying the allusion in verse, illustrating its established poetic usage. The sustained reliance on Su Shì as the paradigmatic user of each allusion is characteristic of Sòng literary encyclopedias.
Prefaces
No preface is present in this fragment.
Abstract
The Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù was compiled primarily to serve examination candidates and belletristic writers who needed rapid access to the literary antecedents behind set phrases. The text has a WYG edition (V925.1), but the source directory for that edition is unlocated (see TODO.md). This fragment, transmitted separately in the Kanripo corpus as KR3k0072, preserves only the 慶誕門 section and carries no independent preface, postface, or colophon to indicate how this excerpt came to circulate apart from the full work. The Shìwén lèijù was widely reproduced, excerpted, and anthologized in Japan, and this fragment may derive from a Japanese reprint of a single-category extract.
Translations and research
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, does not treat Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù directly (see §72 for context on rìyòng lèishū).
- Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào, 子部·類書類, Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù entry.
Other points of interest
The fragment is notable for its dense citation of Su Shì’s poems (with brief contextual remarks), functioning almost as a guide to Su Shì’s use of specific classical allusions in the context of birth-celebration poetry. It implicitly teaches the reader both the allusion’s classical source and its canonical rén wén (literary) reuse.
Links
- See main entry: KR3k0024 Gǔjīn shìwén lèijù 古今事文類聚 (TODO, source directory missing).