Wèi Shōu Jí 魏收集
Collected Works of Wei Shou by 魏收 (撰)
About the work
The Wèi Shōu Jí 魏收集 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, and is distinct from the official history Wèishū 魏書 KR2a0020 that is Wèi Shōu’s primary surviving work. 卷一 begins at line 5 and 卷二 at line 428 of the source file (total 4469 lines), making this the largest of the Northern Qi jíyìběn in this batch.
The collection is thematically rich. 卷一 opens with yuèfǔ 樂府 verse: 〈美女篇〉 (two poems), 〈永世樂〉, 〈櫂歌行〉, 〈挾琴歌〉, followed by court occasional verse including 〈後園宴樂〉, 〈喜雨〉, 〈晦日汎舟應詔〉, 〈月下秋宴〉, 〈五日〉, and 〈蜡節〉. Prose works include the rhapsodies 〈南狩賦〉, 〈聘遊賦〉, 〈皇居新殿臺賦〉, 〈懷離賦〉, and 〈庭竹賦〉 — the last a well-known piece. Official documents form a major portion: imperial edicts drafted for the Eastern Wèi and Northern Qí courts (including 〈為魏孝靜帝伐元神和等詔〉, 〈為孝靜帝下詔禪位〉 — the abdication edict of the last Eastern Wèi emperor — 〈冊命齊王九錫文〉, and 〈禪位冊〉), together with the memorial 〈上魏書十志啟〉 (the submission memorial for the ten monographs of the Wèishū). Principal sources are Shījì 詩紀 (fascicle 110), the encyclopedias Lèijù 類聚 and Chūxué jì 初學記, and Wényuàn yīnghuá 文苑英華; the link poem 〈酬魏收冬夜直史館詩〉 (the title used by Xíng Shào KR4b0074 in exchange) confirms attribution via cross-reference.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Wèi Shōu 魏收 (506–572 CE), styled Bóqǐ 伯起, was one of the two supreme literary figures of the Northern Qí 北齊 dynasty, alongside Xíng Shào 邢邵 KR4b0074. He served successively the Northern Wèi, Eastern Wèi, and Northern Qí courts, rising to the position of 中書令 (Chief of the Secretariat) and the leading court drafter of his generation. He is primarily known as the compiler of the Wèishū 魏書 KR2a0020, the official dynastic history of the Northern Wèi; his biography is in Běiqíshū 北齊書 37 and Běishǐ 北史 56. For full biographical details, see 魏收.
The jíyìběn reveals the breadth of Wèi Shōu’s literary output beyond the Wèishū: his fù 賦 (rhapsodies) on palace grounds, excursions, and natural subjects, his court verse, and above all his official documents, which include some of the most consequential texts of the Eastern Wèi–Northern Qí transition — notably the abdication edict of Eastern Wèi Emperor Xiàojìng 孝靜帝 and the investiture document (nǐng zhào 命冊) conferring the Nine Dignities (jiǔ xī 九錫) on the Qí king before the dynasty’s foundation. The submission memorial 〈上魏書十志啟〉 is a primary source for understanding the compilation of the Wèishū. Together, these documents make the Wèi Shōu Jí a significant historical as well as literary text.
Translations and research
- For the Wèishū and Wèi Shōu’s career, see Tián Yúqìng 田餘慶, Dōng Jìn mén fá zhèngzhì 東晉門閥政治 (Beijing, 1989, repr. 2005), and general treatments in Albert E. Dien, ed., State and Society in Early Medieval China (Stanford, 1990).
- Knechtges, David, and Taiping Chang, eds. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014. (Entry on Wèi Shōu.)
- No substantial dedicated study of Wèi Shōu’s literary corpus (separate from the Wèishū) located.
Links
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Shou