Rèn Fǎng jí 任昉集
Collected Works of Ren Fang (Reconstructed) by 任昉 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary writings of Rèn Fǎng 任昉 (460–508 CE), Liáng 梁 court literary drafter, poet, and compiler. Organized in three juǎn, the fragments carry multiple first-person official signatures — “太常任昉奏”, “御史中丞臣任昉稽首言”, and “記室參軍事任昉” — and are documented through citations from the Liángshū 梁書 biography (juǎn 14) and Nán shǐ 南史 juǎn 59. The collection includes official memorials, letters (including a letter to Wáng Sēngrú 王僧孺, also cited in Liángshū Wáng Sēngrú zhuàn), and occasional verse. See also 任昉 person note.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Rèn Fǎng 任昉 (460–508 CE; zì Yǎnshēng 彥昇; CBDB: see 任昉 for details) was a Liáng court literary official celebrated for his mastery of parallel prose (piànwén 駢文) and as a bibliographer. He compiled the Shùqiú jì 述求記 and served as Tàicháng 太常 and Yùshǐ zhōngchéng 御史中丞 under Emperor Wu of Liang. He was one of the literary figures closely associated with Sōng Jìnglíng Wáng 竟陵王 Xiāo Zǐliáng’s 蕭子良 salon and later with Xiao Yan. See 任昉 for full biography.
Ren Fang was particularly celebrated in his own time as a drafter of official documents (wénhàn 文翰) of impeccable elegance; his fame in prose matched Xiè Tiào’s 謝朓 fame in verse (the pairing “Rèn bǐ Xiè shī” 任筆謝詩 — Ren’s prose, Xie’s verse — became proverbial). His 〈贈王僧孺〉 (Gift Poem to Wang Sengrui) is one of his surviving verse pieces. The Suíshū Jīngjízhì records a Rèn Fǎng jí in thirty-four juǎn. Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 included a Rèn Yǎnshēng jí 任彥昇集 in the 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 Ren Fang.
Links
- Wikipedia: Ren Fang