Wēn Zǐshēng Jí 溫子昇集
Collected Works of Wen Zisheng by 溫子昇 (撰)
About the work
The Wēn Zǐshēng Jí 溫子昇集 is a two-juàn jíyìběn 輯佚本 (reconstructed anthology) compiled by Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 (1602–1641) for his Hànwèi liùcháo bǎisānjiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集. The text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書. 卷一 opens at line 5 and 卷二 at line 284 of the source file (total 3093 lines).
The collection is notable for its generic range. 卷一 opens with yuèfǔ 樂府 poetry: 〈白鼻騧〉 (cited from Yuèfǔ shījí 25 and Shījì 109), 〈結襪子〉 (Yuèfǔ shījí 74), 〈安定侯曲〉, 〈燉煌樂〉, 〈涼州樂歌〉, and other lyric pieces including 〈擣衣〉, 〈春日臨池〉, and 〈詠花蝶〉. The collection then extends into a large body of official prose: imperial edicts (zhào 詔) and amnesty proclamations (shè zhào 赦詔) composed on behalf of the Northern Wèi and Eastern Wèi courts — including 〈孝莊帝殺爾朱榮大赦詔〉 and 〈遷都拜廟鄴宮赦詔〉 — and a series of xiè biǎo 謝表 (acknowledgment memorials) drafted in the names of high nobles. This material reveals Wēn Zǐshēng’s central role as the most accomplished literary draftsman of the late Northern Wèi court.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Wēn Zǐshēng 溫子昇 (495–547 CE), styled Péngjǔ 鵬舉, was one of the three most celebrated literary figures of the Northern Wèi 北魏 dynasty, along with Xíng Shào 邢邵 KR4b0074 and Wèi Shōu 魏收 KR4b0075. Born in Tàiyuán Qí 太原祁 (modern Shānxī), he rose to prominence at the Northern Wèi court as a drafter of imperial documents, and later served the Eastern Wèi 東魏 under the regent Gāo Huān 高歡. His biography appears in Wèishū 魏書 85 and Běishǐ 北史 83.
Wēn Zǐshēng’s literary reputation rested on his command of the ornate, parallel-prose (piánwén 駢文) style required for imperial edicts and court documents, as well as his fluency in the yuèfǔ tradition. Among his preserved compositions are edicts recording the dramatic events of the late Northern Wèi — including Emperor Xiàozhuāng’s 孝莊帝 killing of the powerful warlord Ěrzhū Róng 爾朱榮 in 530 (commemorated in the amnesty edict 〈孝莊帝殺爾朱榮大赦詔〉) and the Eastern Wèi’s transfer of the capital to Yè 鄴. These documents give the jíyìběn particular historical value beyond its literary interest.
Wēn Zǐshēng’s career ended tragically: when Gāo Huān’s son Gāo Yáng 高洋 deposed the Eastern Wèi and founded the Northern Qí 北齊 dynasty in 550, he imprisoned Wēn Zǐshēng, who died in captivity in 547 — or, according to some sources, shortly after 550. His original literary collection did not survive intact. Zhāng Pǔ’s reconstruction draws chiefly on the Shījì (fascicle 109), the Yuèfǔ shījí, and Wèishū biographical citations.
Translations and research
- No substantial secondary literature on the Wēn Zǐshēng corpus located. For the literary culture of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei courts, see David Knechtges and Taiping Chang, eds., Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide (Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014).
Links
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wen_Zisheng