Yuán Shū jí 袁淑集
Collected Works of Yuan Shu (Reconstructed) by 袁淑 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the writings of Yuán Shū 袁淑 (408–453 CE), a Liú Sòng 劉宋 dynasty literary official and satirist. The surviving fragments — apparently only juǎn 2 remains — are cited in the Wénxuǎn 文選 and Yuèfǔ shījí 樂府詩集, as well as in Zhāng Pǔ 張溥’s reconstruction under the title 《百三家集·袁陽源集》 (Yuán Yángyuán jí 袁陽源集, where 陽源 Yángyuán is Yuán Shū’s style name). The collection includes several imitation yuèfǔ 樂府 poems including 〈效子建白馬篇〉 (Imitating Cao Zhi’s “White Horse” Poem) and 〈效古〉 (Imitating Antiquity), as well as short occasional verse. Yuán Shū also composed the famous satirical miscellany 《誹諧集》 (Collection of Witty Criticisms), cited in the Tàipíng yùlǎn 太平御覽.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Yuán Shū 袁淑 (408–453; zì Yángyuán 陽源; CBDB id 468201) was a nephew of the prominent official Yuán Zhān 袁湛 and cousin of the poet-official Yuán Shùyǒu 袁叔游. He served as a literary official in the Wénxué guǎn 文學館 under the Crown Prince Liú Shào 劉劭; when Liú Shào killed Emperor Wén 文帝 and usurped the throne in 453, Yuán Shū refused to collaborate and was executed. His biography is in Sòngshū 宋書 59 and Nán shǐ 南史 22.
As a writer, Yuán Shū was known for wit, satire, and parody: his Fěi xié jí 誹諧集 (Collection of Witty Criticisms) was a collection of humorous pieces imitating and parodying classical genres; fragments are cited in the Tàipíng yùlǎn. His imitation yuèfǔ shows literary learning — the 〈效子建白馬篇〉 modeled on Cáo Zhí 曹植’s KR4b0004 poem, the 〈效古〉 following the frontiersman tradition. The Suíshū Jīngjízhì listed a Yuán Shū jí 袁淑集 in ten juǎn; most is lost. Only juǎn 2 appears to survive in the present reconstruction, making the collection fragmentary. Zhāng Pǔ included a Yuán Yángyuán jí 袁陽源集 in his Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集.
Translations and research
- Knechtges, David R., and Taiping Chang, eds. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014. Entry on Yuan Shu.
Links
- Wikipedia: Yuan Shu (Liu Song)