Guō Pú jí 郭璞集
Collected Works of Guo Pu (Reconstructed) by 郭璞 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary writings of Guō Pú 郭璞 (276–324 CE), Eastern Jin scholar, poet, diviner, and commentator. Organized in five juǎn, the collection includes the celebrated 〈遊仙詩十四首〉 (Fourteen Poems on Roaming as an Immortal), cited from Wénxuǎn 文選 juǎn 21, which inaugurated the tradition of Daoist immortal verse (yóuxiān shī 遊仙詩) in Chinese literary history. Additional pieces include 〈答賈九州愁詩〉 (Reply to Jia Jiuzhou’s Grief Poem), 〈贈溫嶠一首〉 (Gift Poem to Wen Jiao, cited from Wénguǎn cílín 文館詞林 157 and Lèijù 類聚 21), and various other poems and epistolary verse cited from Wénguǎn cílín 文館詞林, 《類聚》, and 《御覽》. This jíyìběn was compiled by Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 (1602–1641) for his Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集 and is not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
Guō Pú 郭璞 (276–324 CE; zì Jǐngchún 景純; CBDB id 328242) was the preeminent Eastern Jin scholar-polymath: commentator on classical texts, lexicographer, diviner (shù shì 術士), and poet. Born in Wénxǐ 聞喜 (modern Shanxi) in Hédōng 河東 commandery, he studied under Guō Gōng 郭公, acquiring expertise in the mantic arts, and later served in the Eastern Jin administration. His biography appears in Jìnshū 晉書 juǎn 72. See 郭璞 for full biography.
Guō Pú’s scholarly legacy rests principally on his commentaries (zhù 注) to the Ěryǎ 爾雅, Fāngyán 方言, Shānhǎi jīng 山海經, Mùtiānzǐ zhuàn 穆天子傳, and Chǔcí 楚辭, which established his reputation as the greatest lexicographical annotator of the period. Wilkinson (Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.9 and §6.7) identifies him as the main early commentator on the Ěryǎ, noting that his notes on dialect words are preserved in the Fāngyán zhù 方言注 (Jin vernacular). His Zàngshū 葬書 (Book of Burial) is a foundational text of fēngshuǐ 風水 theory.
As a poet, Guō Pú is celebrated for his 〈遊仙詩〉 (Poems on Roaming as an Immortal), nineteen pieces of which are preserved (fourteen appear in Wénxuǎn juǎn 21). These poems use the imagery of immortal flight and Daoist transformation to express personal frustration and yearning for transcendence during a period of political turmoil. Denecke et al. (Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature, 2017, 479) situate the 〈遊仙詩〉 as a defining moment in the yóuxiān tradition, noting their “mixture of playfulness and rancor.” The 〈贈溫嶠〉, addressed to the Eastern Jin statesman Wēn Qiáo 溫嶠 (288–329 CE), is a warm poem of friendship preserved in Wénguǎn cílín juǎn 157.
Guō Pú predicted his own death at the hands of the rebel general Wáng Dūn 王敦 and was executed in 324 CE when he refused to provide a divination blessing for Wáng Dūn’s planned rebellion. His collected works were listed in the Suíshū Jīngjízhì in ten juǎn; only fragments survive in the encyclopaedic literature. Zhāng Pǔ’s jíyìběn collects those fragments into five juǎn.
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 Guo Pu.
- Zhang, Juwen, trans. A Translation of the Ancient Chinese “The Book of Burial (Zang shu)” by Guo Pu (276–324). Lewiston: Mellen, 2004.
- Holzman, Donald. “Immortality-Seeking in Early Chinese Poetry.” In Shuen-fu Lin and Stephen Owen, eds. The Vitality of the Lyric Voice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Links
- Wikipedia: Guo Pu