Gēshī biān 歌詩編
The Compilation of Songs and Verse [of Lǐ Hè] by 李賀 (撰)
About the work
The Sìbù cóngkān SBCK reprint of the Gēshī biān — Lǐ Hè’s verse collection in 4 juǎn, derived from the Sòng-print line that Shěn Zǐmíng 沈子明 prepared from Lǐ Hè’s own four-fold arrangement (233 poems), prefaced by Dù Mù 杜牧 in the Dàhé period (829ish). This is the same corpus as the WYG Chānggǔ jí (= KR4c0060) but in its 4-juǎn form without the contested wàijí. The SBCK base is a Sòng Bào shì 鮑氏 holding (the Wú Wèishì edition, the principal Sòng-stemma copy of Lǐ Hè’s verse).
Prefaces
The SBCK Gēshī biān opens with Dù Mù’s celebrated preface, dated Dàhé 5, 10th month, mid-night (831). Dù narrates: a sealed letter arrives from his friend Shěn Zǐmíng (Sòng’s Jíxián xuéshì of historical record, or here Dù Mù’s friend of the same designation); Shěn writes: “My late friend Lǐ Hè (zì Yuánzhōng) was very dear to me in the Yuánhé period. We were always together. As Hè was dying, he handed me his lifetime’s poems — divided into four sections, 233 pieces in total. Some years passing east-west-south-north, I thought them lost. Tonight, sobering up, sleepless, I went through my book-chest and found Hè’s poems still with me — given me by him. Recalling our talk, our travels, every place, every thing, every dawn and dusk, every cup, every meal, all comes back to me distinctly, nothing forgotten — and tears come unbidden. Hè has no surviving family to support and console; I have only the constant longing for him, the savor of his words. Mù, you are dear to me; for me, write the preface to Hè’s collection — speak fully of its origin; this will somewhat ease my heart.”
Dù initially declines, then accepts on Shěn’s pressing. The body of the preface — “the cloud-mist conjoined and tangled is not enough for his form / a chasmal river surging is not enough for his feeling / the pure spring of mid-spring is not enough for his elegance / the moonless autumnal radiance is not enough for his style…” — is the locus classicus of Lǐ Hè criticism.
Abstract
The Gēshī biān (also titled Lǐ Hè gēshī jí) is the canonical 4-juǎn form of Lǐ Hè’s verse, prefaced by Dù Mù and traceable through the Sòng to Shěn Zǐmíng’s compilation. The SBCK reprint preserves the Bào-family Sòng print as the base, providing a textual witness independent of the MíngQīng commentary tradition (Wú Zhèngzǐ, Liú Chénwēng, Wáng Qí, Yáo Quán, etc.) — the latter routes through the Chānggǔ jí line (KR4c0060, KR4c0062). For Lǐ Hè biography, transmission, and critical history, see KR4c0060.
Translations and research
- See KR4c0060 and KR4c0062 for related commentary editions.
- Frodsham, J. D. 1983. Goddesses, Ghosts, and Demons: The Collected Poems of Li He (790–816). North Point Press.
- 王琦 Wáng Qí. Lǐ Cháng-jí gē-shī huì-jiě 李長吉歌詩彙解. The standard Qīng commentary; reprint Zhōng-huá.
Other points of interest
The SBCK base text — the Bào-family Sòng print — is one of the relatively few surviving Sòng prints of a major Táng poet’s collection that descends without going through Wú Zhèngzǐ’s jiānzhù mediation. This makes it textually significant as a control on the Chānggǔ jí (= KR4c0060) commentary-corrupted line.