Liáng Wǔdì jí 梁武帝集
Collected Works of Emperor Wu of Liang (Reconstructed) by 蕭衍 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary and imperial writings of Liáng Wǔdì 梁武帝 — Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍 (464–549 CE) — organized in eight juǎn. The collection spans his long career from Qi prince to Liang emperor and encompasses several distinct genres: early palace-style poems (gōngtǐ shī 宮體詩) including 〈芳樹〉, 〈有所思〉, 〈臨高臺〉, and 〈擬長安有狹邪行〉 (cited from Yùtái xīnyǒng 玉臺新詠 juǎn 7 and Shī jì 詩紀 juǎn 64); seasonal yuèfǔ 樂府 imitations (春歌, 夏歌, 秋歌, 冬歌, cited from Yùtái xīnyǒng juǎn 10 and Lèifǔ shījí 樂府詩集 juǎn 44–45); a large body of imperial edicts and rescripts cited from Liángshū Wǔdì jì 梁書武帝紀 (multiple); prose documents including 〈荅袁昂詔〉, 〈贈袁昂詔〉, and 〈喻袁昂手書〉 (cited from Liángshū Yuán Áng zhuàn 梁書袁昂傳); and the celebrated 〈梁武帝書評〉 (Evaluation of Calligraphy), which assesses thirty-four calligraphers from the Han through Liang periods. Some poems appear with variant attributions in parallel sources (e.g., 〈臨高臺〉 attributed to Liáng Jiǎnwéndì 梁簡文帝 in Wényuān yīnghuá 文苑英華 and Lèifǔ shījí). 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
Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍 (464–549 CE; temple name Tàizǔ 太祖; posthumous name Wǔdì 武帝), founder and longest-ruling emperor of the Liang dynasty, was among the most literarily active of all Chinese emperors. Born into the Lánlíng 蘭陵 Xiāo 蕭 lineage that had produced the Southern Qi royal house, he participated as a young man in the famous Jingling literary salon (竟陵八友) of Xiāo Zǐliáng 蕭子良, alongside Shěn Yuē 沈約, Xiè Tiǎo 謝朓, and others. His biography is in Liángshū 梁書 juǎn 1–3 and Nán shǐ 南史 juǎn 6–8. See 蕭衍 for full biography.
As a poet, Xiāo Yǎn composed palace-style (gōngtǐ 宮體) lyrics and seasonal yuèfǔ during his years as a Qi prince (479–502 CE) that are preserved in the Yùtái xīnyǒng 玉臺新詠 and attributed to him in Shī jì juǎn 64. Some of these poems circulated under variant attributions: 〈臨高臺〉, for instance, is attributed to Liáng Jiǎnwéndì 梁簡文帝 in Wényuān yīnghuá and Lèifǔ shījí, while several seasonal songs were attributed to “王金珠” (Wáng Jīnzhū) in some Lèifǔ shījí variants. The 〈書評〉 (Evaluation of Calligraphy) is a significant document in the history of Chinese calligraphic criticism, assessing masters from Cài Yōng 蔡邕 and Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之 to Liang contemporaries.
As emperor, Xiāo Yǎn was a prolific composer of imperial edicts on matters ranging from legal reform (reduction of the penal code, admission of the poor to the imperial academy) to Buddhist patronage. He famously converted deeply to Buddhism, ordaining himself multiple times, and his devotional writings are extensive. The jíyìběn in question focuses on his secular literary and administrative writings.
Translations and research
- Mather, Richard B. “The Landscape Buddhism of the Fifth-Century Poet Hsieh Ling-yün.” Journal of Asian Studies 18.1 (1958): 67–79. (Background on the Qi–Liang literary transition.)
- Knechtges, David R., and Taiping Chang, eds. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014. Entry on Xiao Yan.
- Tian, Xiaofei. Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502–557). Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007.
Links
- Wikipedia: Emperor Wu of Liang