Zhāng Zài jí 張載集
Collected Works of Zhang Zai (Western Jin Poet, Reconstructed) by 張載 (撰)
Note: This is the Western Jin poet Zhāng Zài 張載 (fl. 270–305 CE), not the Song Neo-Confucian philosopher of the same name (1020–1077); see the person note 張載 for both entries.
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the surviving literary writings of the Western Jin poet Zhāng Zài 張載 (fl. ca. 270–305 CE), organized in two juǎn. The collection opens with the most celebrated work attributed to this author: 〈登成都白菟樓〉 (Dēng Chéngdū Báitù lóu, Ascending the White Rabbit Tower in Chengdu), a sightseeing poem that vividly describes the landscape, prosperity, and famous historical associations of Chengdu — evoking the residences of Yáng Xióng 揚雄 and Sīmǎ Xiāngrú 司馬相如, the wealth of the Chéng 程 and Zhuō 卓 clans, local cuisine (including a famous line praising the superior quality of fāng chá 芳茶, fine tea), and the mountain scenery. The poem is cited from Lèijù 類聚 juǎn 28 and Shī jì 詩紀 juǎn 29. The collection also includes 〈登成都樓〉 and numerous other poems and rhapsodies (fù 賦) in juǎn 2.
The line 芳茶冠六清，溢味播九區 (“Fine tea surpasses the six pure [drinks], its overflowing flavor spreads across the nine regions”) is among the earliest literary celebrations of tea as a luxury beverage.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Zhāng Zài 張載 (fl. ca. 270–305 CE), zì Mèngyáng 孟陽, was a native of Ānpíng 安平 (modern Hebei). He was the younger brother of Zhāng Xié 張協 (also a notable Western Jin poet) and the two brothers appear together in a joint biography in Jìnshū 晉書 juǎn 55. He held official appointments and traveled widely, which is reflected in the topographic poems that form the core of his surviving corpus.
The 〈登成都白菟樓〉 is his most famous poem: it provides a rare literary window onto the prosperous Sichuan capital in the Western Jin period, and is one of the earliest works to praise Chinese tea (chá 茶 / 荈) as a refined beverage. The poem was popular enough to be excerpted in multiple Tang-Song encyclopaedias. His brother Zhāng Xié is sometimes confused with him in transmission.
The CBDB records for the Western Jin Zhāng Zài (possible matches: ids 149243, 159716, 513213, 578484) all lack dates, and none can be definitively identified as this poet; accordingly no CBDB id is given here. Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 compiled this reconstruction for the Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集. Wilkinson’s Chinese History: A New Manual does not include a dedicated entry for this Zhāng Zài.
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 Zhang Zai (Western Jin).
- Benn, James A. Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History. University of Hawai’i Press, 2015. (Discusses the 〈登成都白菟樓〉 tea line in the context of early tea literature.)
Links
- Jìnshū 晉書 juǎn 55 (biography, together with Zhang Xie)
- Lèijù 類聚 juǎn 28 (citations)