Wáng Róng jí 王融集
Collected Works of Wang Rong (Reconstructed) by 王融 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary writings of Wáng Róng 王融 (467–493 CE), Southern Qí 南齊 Yǒngmíng 永明 era poet and one of the principal architects of the “New Sound” (xīn shēng 新聲) tonal prosody. Organized in three juǎn, the surviving fragments are documented through five citations in the Nán Qí shū biography (juǎn 47) and citations in lèishū and the Yuèfǔ shījí 樂府詩集. The collection includes the 〈齊明王歌辭七首應司徒教作〉 (Seven Songs for Prince Ming of Qi, Composed at the Command of the Grand Tutor), cited in Yuèfǔ shījí juǎn 56 and Shī jì 詩紀 juǎn 57. Cross-attributions with Xiè Tiào 謝朓 (KR4b0012) are noted by the compiler, following Lǚ Qīnlì’s 逯欽立 modern attribution decisions.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Wáng Róng 王融 (467–493 CE; zì Yuánzhǎng 元長; CBDB id 25784) was a Southern Qí official and poet from Língyì 琅琊 (modern Shandong ancestral home) who rose to prominence in the Yǒngmíng era court at Jiànkāng 建康. He was one of the “Eight Friends” (bā yǒu 八友) of the Jǐnglíng wáng 竟陵王 Xiāo Zǐliáng 蕭子良 (KR4b0050) and a leading practitioner of the new “four-tone” (sì shēng 四聲) tonal prosody that Shěn Yuē 沈約 had systematized. His biography is in Nán Qí shū juǎn 47 and Nán shǐ juǎn 22.
Wang Rong was an exceptionally gifted poet who died young (at age 27), executed for political miscalculation after Emperor Wǔ 武帝 died in 493 CE and Wang Rong attempted to install a different prince on the throne. His poetic output reflects the sophisticated tonal and prosodic experiments of the Yǒngmíng literary circle. The Suíshū Jīngjízhì records a Wáng Róng jí in ten juǎn. Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 included a Wáng Yuánzhǎng jí 王元長集 in the Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集.
Translations and research
- Marney, John. Liang Chien-wen Ti. Boston: Twayne, 1976. (For the Yongming literary context.)
- Knechtges, David R., and Taiping Chang, eds. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014. Entry on Wang Rong.
Links
- Wikipedia: Wang Rong (Southern Qi)