Kǒng Róng jí 孔融集
Collected Works of Kong Rong (Reconstructed) by 孔融 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary writings of Kǒng Róng 孔融 (153–208 CE), one of the Jiàn’ān qīzǐ 建安七子 (Seven Masters of the Jiàn’ān Era). Organized in two juǎn, the collection draws citations from Shī jì 詩紀 (juǎn 3) and Gǔ wén yuàn 古文苑 (juǎn 8), with supplementary fragments from Wén xuǎn 文選 annotations and Sān guó zhì 三國志 annotations. The 〈離合作郡姓名字詩〉, an intricate acrostic poem constructing official title, surname, and courtesy name from concealed characters, represents a distinctive exercise in poetic artifice. Compiled by Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 for his Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集. This jíyìběn is distinct from the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書 edition of the Kǒng Běihǎi jí 孔北海集, cataloged separately as KR4b0003.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Kǒng Róng 孔融 (153–208 CE; zì Wénjǔ 文舉; CBDB id 439027) was a native of Lǔ 魯 (modern Qufu, Shandong), the twentieth-generation descendant of Confucius 孔子. He was one of the most celebrated literary and political figures of the late Hàn dynasty. His biography is in Hòu Hàn shū 後漢書 (juǎn 70). He served as Governor of Beihai 北海 (modern Shandong), where his reputation for hospitality to scholars was legendary, earning him the informal title 孔北海 (Kong of Beihai). He was later summoned to the capital and served as Shǎofǔ 少府 (Privy Treasurer) under Cáo Cāo. An inveterate and outspoken critic of Cáo Cāo’s ambitions, he was executed by Cáo Cāo in 208 CE on charges of disrespect and sedition, along with his family. See 孔融 for full biography.
Kong Rong was renowned as a child prodigy: the anecdote of his yielding the larger pear to his elder brother at age four (〈讓梨〉) became a canonical example in didactic literature. His literary output includes memorials, letters, and verse. Zhōng Róng 鍾嶸 in the Shī pǐn 詩品 placed him in the lower grade, criticizing the excessive allusive density of his verse, but acknowledged his place in the Jiàn’ān canon. The Suíshū Jīngjí zhì records a collected works in ten juǎn. Zhāng Pǔ’s reconstruction draws on Shī jì, Gǔ wén yuàn, and prose fragments from Hòu Hàn shū and Sān guó zhì annotations. The Kǒng Běihǎi jí KR4b0003 in the Kānripo corpus represents the Sìkù quánshū edition (1 juǎn with commentary), while the present text (2 juǎn) is Zhang Pu’s independent reconstruction. The standard reconstruction of his poetry is in Lù Qīnlì 逯欽立’s Xiān-Qín Hàn Wèi Jìn Nánběicháo shī 先秦漢魏晉南北朝詩 (Zhōnghuá, 1983).
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 Kong Rong.
- Lù Qīnlì 逯欽立, ed. Xiān-Qín Hàn Wèi Jìn Nánběicháo shī 先秦漢魏晉南北朝詩. 3 vols. Zhōnghuá, 1983.
Links
- Wikipedia: Kong Rong