Suíshǒu zálù 隨手雜錄
Records Written As One’s Hand Moves by 王鞏 (撰)
About the work
A one-juàn anecdote-collection in 33 entries by 王鞏 Wáng Gǒng 王鞏, the third of his three short bǐjì. Of the 33 entries, one concerns Zhōu Shìzōng, one the Southern Táng, one the Wúyuè kingdom, and the remaining 30 concern Sòng matters, stopping at the early reign of Yīngzōng (1063–67). The title indicates a casual, non-systematic compilation — “suíshǒu” meaning “as the hand moves,” that is, an informal note-book. The work has an appended Jiǎshēn wénjiàn èrlù bǔyí 甲申聞見二錄補遺 in 1 juàn (supplementary entries to the prior two works).
Tiyao
See the shared Sìkù tiyao at KR3l0042 (which covers all three Wáng Gǒng bǐjì in a single notice). Source directory missing in /home/Shared/krp/KR3l/KR3l0044. Key data per the shared tiyao: 33 entries, of which one on Zhōu Shìzōng, one on Southern Táng, one on Wúyuè, the remainder on Sòng; stopping at the early Yīngzōng. Composed after the Jiǎshēn zájì (1104) though covering earlier material.
Abstract
The chronological cut-off at early Yīngzōng (c. 1063–67) is notable: the work does not cover the Xīníng New Policies controversy or the Wūtái shī àn. The likeliest explanation is selective coverage: Wáng Gǒng, having treated those topics in the Jiǎshēn zájì, reserved this third compilation for earlier material that had not yet been integrated into the first two.
The included Wúyuè entry is likely a record from family tradition (the WángGǒng clan was based in Shènxiàn, Mǐzhōu region, with mercantile / informational ties to the southern courts). The Zhōu Shìzōng entry and Southern-Táng entry serve as the chronological prelude to the Sòng founding. The 30 Sòng entries are of the same character as those in Wénjiàn jìnlù: court precedent, examination culture, ministerial portrait, occasional supernatural / zhìguài matter.
The appended Jiǎshēn wénjiàn èrlù bǔyí (1 juàn) is the most extensively documented post-publication supplementation among Sòng bǐjì — a feature of the works’ transmission through the great-grandson Wáng Cóngjǐn’s careful preservation.
Standard modern edition: with KR3l0042 Jiǎshēn zájì and KR3l0043 Wénjiàn jìnlù in Zhōnghuá’s TángSòng shǐliào bǐjì cóngkān (Zhū Wěnmín, 2006).
Translations and research
- Egan, Ronald C. Word, Image, and Deed in the Life of Su Shi (HUP 1994). Uses the three Wáng Gǒng works on the Sū Shì circle.
- No European-language translation has been located.
Other points of interest
The fact that the work explicitly stops at early Yīngzōng — and never moves into the Xīníng — Yuánfēng New Policies period that defined Wáng Gǒng’s own adult experience — is a useful piece of evidence for Sòng bǐjì editorial decisions: not every author treated his own most-experienced material; some compartmentalised their work by political period.
Links
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual §63.
- https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&res=86747