Qián Zhòngwén jí 錢仲文集
Collected Works of Qián Zhòng-wén (Qián Qǐ) by 錢起 (撰)
About the work
Qián Zhòngwén jí 錢仲文集 in 10 juǎn is the surviving collection of Qián Qǐ 錢起 (710–782; zì Zhòngwén 仲文), the leading figure of the Dàlì shí cáizǐ 大曆十才子 (“Ten Talented Men of the Dàlì period”) and a major shī poet of the post-rebellion Wúyuè literary world. The Tángshū yìwén zhì records the collection in 10 juǎn, matching the present extent.
Tiyao
No tíyào in source. The KR4c0037 directory in this corpus contains only the body text files (_001 through _010), with no _000 front matter present in the local digitization. The Sìkù WYG 10-juǎn tíyào (V1072.6) survives in the Zinbun digital Sìkù tíyào; it places Qián Qǐ at the head of the Dàlì shí cáizǐ and discusses the textual issues of his collection.
Abstract
The Tángshū yìwén zhì records 10 juǎn, consistent with the transmitted text. The collection contains principally gǔshī, lǜshī, and juéjù; very little prose. Centerpieces include the famous Xiānglíng gǔ sè 湘靈鼓瑟 (“the Spirit of the Xiāng Plays the Sè”) — the Tiānbǎo 10 (751) examination poem on which Qián Qǐ achieved his jìnshì, and which became one of the canonical examples of pre-set shì tí (examination-topic) poetry; the Sòng Sēng Guī Rìběn 送僧歸日本 (“Seeing off the Monk Returning to Japan”), one of the Tang corpus’ principal pieces on Sino-Japanese contact; and the Lánshàng Yáng yuánwài 藍上楊員外 cycle.
Qián Qǐ (710–782 per CBDB cbdbId 94271; the catalog meta gives “fl. 755–766,” accurate but conservative — the modern scholarly bracket follows CBDB) was a Wúxìng 吳興 (modern Húzhōu, Zhèjiāng) native; jìnshì of Tiānbǎo 10 (751). Successively Mìshūshěng drafter, jiàoshūláng 校書郎, and (the office that gives him the conventional Qián Kǎogōng 錢考工 honorific) Kǎogōng lángzhōng 考功郎中 in the late Dàlì. Survived the An Lùshān rebellion (he had passed the examinations only four years before it broke out) and emerged as one of the principal voices of the post-rebellion Wúyuè literary scene. Died ca. 782.
His position at the head of the Dàlì shí cáizǐ was canonical from Yáo Hé’s 姚合 Jí xuán jí 極玄集 onwards. The other nine vary by source; the standard list (Lú Lún 盧綸, Jí Zhōngfǔ 吉中孚, Hán Hóng 韓翃, Sīkōng Shǔ 司空曙, Miáo Fā 苗發, Cuī Dòng 崔峒, Gěng Wěi 耿湋, Xiàhóu Shěn 夏侯審, Lǐ Duān 李端) — together with Qián — defines the conventional mid-Tang circle.
Translations and research
- Stephen Owen. 1981. The Great Age of Chinese Poetry: The High T’ang. Yale UP. Substantial discussion of the transition from High Tang to Dà-lì.
- Stephen Owen. 2006. The Late Tang. Harvard. Important context.
- Lin Wenyue 林文月. 1989. Dà-lì shí cái-zǐ 大歷十才子. Wén-jīn. Substantial monograph.
- Jiang Yin 蔣寅. 1995. Dà-lì shī rén yán-jiū 大歷詩人研究. Bei-jing dáxué.
- Wáng Dé-míng 王德明, ed. 1992. Qián Qǐ shī jí jiào-zhù 錢起詩集校注.
Other points of interest
The Xiānglíng gǔ sè — Qián Qǐ’s Tiānbǎo 10 (751) examination piece on a pre-set classical theme — is one of the canonical examples of how a Tang jìnshì candidate could elevate a hackneyed examination subject into a major literary statement. The poem’s closing line qū zhōng rén bù jiàn, jiāng shàng shù fēng qīng 曲終人不見江上數峰青 (“when the music ends, no one is seen; on the river, several green peaks”) became one of the most-cited quatrains in the entire Tang tradition.
Links
- Qian Qi (Wikipedia)
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §54 (Tang literature); §28.7.3 (Dàlì period).