Líyuè jí 黎嶽集
The Lí-yuè [Mountain Spirit-Cult] Collection by 李頻 (撰)
About the work
Verse collection in 1 juǎn + fùlù 1 juǎn of Lǐ Pín 李頻 李頻 (?–876, zì Déxīn 德新), a Shòuchāng 壽昌 (modern Zhèjiāng Jiàndé) native, jìnshì of Dàzhōng 8 (854), eventually Jiànzhōu cìshǐ (prefect of Jiànzhōu, modern Fújiàn Jiànōu), where he died in office. The local population, grateful for his administration, established a shrine to him on Mt. Lí 黎山 — hence the collection’s title (originally Jiànzhōu cìshǐ jí, retitled Líyuè jí after Líshān was elevated to yuè status as part of his cult). Lǐ Pín was the son-in-law of Yáo Hé 姚合 (= KR4c0073), but his verse style is distinct from the Wǔgōng tǐ.
The transmission is unusually well-documented: Zhēn Déxiù 真德秀 obtained a copy from the Sānguǎn 三館 (the imperial libraries) but did not print; Jiāxī 3 (1239) Wáng Yě 王埜 of Jīnhuá obtained an old copy and printed it; Yuán Yuánzhēn (1295–97) and Hòu Zhìyuán (1335–40) periods Lǐ Pín’s descendant Lǐ Bāngcái 邦材 reprinted; Míng Yǒnglè (1403–24) Hénán Shī Yòu 師祐 reprinted; Zhèngtǒng (1436–49) Guǎngzhōu Péng Sēn 彭森 reprinted — four times in all. The present WYG copy is the Zhèngtǒng edition, with 195 poems and a substantial fùlù of imperial decrees, stele records, and pre/post-prints.
Tiyao
Líyuè jí 1 juǎn, fùlù 1 — by Lǐ Pín of the Táng. Pín zì Déxīn, of Shòuchāng; Dàzhōng 8 jìnshì; appointed Mìshūláng; rose to Jiànzhōu cìshǐ; died in office. Local people, mindful of his virtue, established a shrine on Mt. Lí. Biography in Xīn Tángshū wényì zhuàn. Pín was Yáo Hé’s son-in-law, but his verse forms its own style, not of the Wǔgōng school. Original title Jiànzhōu cìshǐ jí; later admirers renamed Mt. Lí as Líyuè, and the collection followed.
Initially few copies. Zhēn Déxiù obtained from the imperial libraries, intended to print, did not. Jiāxī 3 (1239) Jīnhuá Wáng Yě obtained an old copy and printed; Yuán Yuánzhēn and Hòu Zhìyuán periods Pín’s descendant Bāngcái reprinted; Míng Yǒnglè Hénán Shī Yòu reprinted; Zhèngtǒng Guǎngzhōu Péng Sēn reprinted — four reprints in all. Present text is the Zhèngtǒng version. 195 poems — 8 fewer than Quán Táng shī. The Sòng Liú shānrén guī Dòngtíng poem appears twice, with only the first two lines varying. The Qiū sù Cíēn sì Suì shàngrén yuàn is mistakenly titled Sòng Sòng Zhèn xiānbèi fù Qīngzhōu — title and content do not match. Inferior to Xí Jiāshī’s Táng bǎijiā shī edition.
End is fùlù: dynasty-by-dynasty shrine-sacrifice imperial decrees and stele inscriptions, plus printing prefaces / colophons. Zhāng Fù and Péng Sēn’s two prefaces both say the original printing came from Zhēn Déxiù — contradicting Wáng Yě’s preface saying Zhēn intended-but-did-not-print. Cause unclear — perhaps tradition error.
Wáng Shìzhēn’s Jūyì lù: of poets who became gods, none more conspicuously than Lǐ Pín. But Pín’s verse stands on its own merits; his deification was due to administration, not literature.
Abstract
Lǐ Pín’s case is unusual: a mid-Tang poet who became, through his administrative work at Jiànzhōu, the focus of a regional spirit cult that reshaped his bibliographic identity. The original Jiànzhōu cìshǐ jí was, by Yuán and Míng times, retitled after the local mountain (Mt. Lí, elevated to yuè status as part of the cult). The collection’s transmission — Zhēn Déxiù → Wáng Yě (1239) → Lǐ Bāngcái (Yuán) → Shī Yòu (Yǒnglè) → Péng Sēn (Zhèngtǒng) — is one of the better-documented SòngYuánMíng provincial-deity / poet-collection transmission cases. Catalog gives no specific dates; CBDB id 93080 gives ?–876.
Translations and research
- No substantial secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
Lǐ Pín’s deification — local cult on Mt. Lí persisting for centuries, generating imperial-decree validation and stele inscriptions — is a striking case of a Tang poet becoming a regional spirit. Wáng Shìzhēn’s late-Míng comment (“of poets who became gods, none more conspicuous than Pín”) is typical of late-imperial bemused appreciation of such cult-poet identities.