Pízǐ wénsǒu 皮子文藪
Master Pí’s Marsh of Writings by 皮日休 (撰)
About the work
Prose and verse collection in 10 juǎn of Pí Rìxiū 皮日休 皮日休 (fl. 834–883?; zì Xíměi 襲美), of Xiāngyáng 襄陽, hào Lùmén shānrén and Zuìyín xiānshēng (the Zuìyín identification was earlier used by Bái Jūyì). Jìnshì of Xiántōng 8 (867); appointed Tàicháng bóshì (Doctor of the Court of Sacrifices). His subsequent fate is one of the most-debated biographical questions of the late Táng: per the Xīn / Jiù Tángshū, he surrendered to Huáng Cháo 黃巢 during the rebellion (881) and was eventually executed by Cháo; per Yǐn Zhū’s 尹洙 Hénán jí (preserving the Dàlǐsì chéng Pí Zǐliáng mùzhì, by Pí’s grandson) and Lù Yóu’s Lǎoxué ān bǐjì (citing the Pí Guāngyè bēi), he avoided the Guǎngmíng turmoil by fleeing to the Qiánshì 錢氏 (WúYuè) court, where his son Pí Guāngyè 皮光業 became WúYuè chéngxiàng and his great-grandson Pí Zǐliáng 皮子良 served the early Sòng. The two traditions cannot be reconciled.
The Wénsǒu (literally “marsh of writings” — figuring the collection as densely populated like a marshland) was self-compiled in Xiántōng bǐngxū (866) when Pí, having failed the jìnshì on a previous attempt, retreated to his zhōushù (prefectural villa) and edited his accumulated drafts — 200 pieces. Cháo Gōngwǔ called Pí especially good at zhēn (admonitions) and míng (inscriptions). The collection’s most progressive pieces are the Qǐng Mèngzǐ lì xuékē shū 請孟子立學科書 (the call to make Mencius an examination subject) and the Qǐng Hán Yù pèixiǎng tàixué shū 請韓愈配饗太學書 (the call to enshrine Hán Yù in the imperial Tàixué — the most influential single Tang document in the elevation of Hán Yù to canonical dàotǒng status).
Tiyao
Pízǐ wénsǒu in 10 juǎn — by Pí Rìxiū of the Táng. Rìxiū zì Xíměi, of Xiāngyáng; lived at Mt. Lùmén; self-titled Zuìyín xiānshēng. Xiántōng 8 jìnshì; Tàicháng bóshì. Tángshū says he surrendered to Huáng Cháo, later killed by Cháo. Yǐn Zhū’s Hénán jí has the Dàlǐsì chéng Pí Zǐliáng mùzhì — saying Rìxiū avoided the Guǎngmíng turmoil and fled to the Qiánshì; his son Guāngyè became WúYuè chéngxiàng, Guāngyè’s son Pí Càn was the Yuánshuài pànguān; Zǐliáng is Càn’s son. Lù Yóu’s Lǎoxué ān bǐjì, citing the Pí Guāngyè bēi, also says Rìxiū died in WúYuè — never surrendered to bandits. All differs from the Shǐ; uncertain who is right.
The text is his prose collection. Self-preface: Xiántōng bǐngxū (866) failed the examination, retired to prefectural villa, edited his prose; opened the chest, gathered as a marsh — densely full — hence titled Wénsǒu. 200 pieces. Sòng Cháo Gōngwǔ said Pí especially good at zhēnmíng. Reading this text’s shū, xù, lùn, biàn, also mostly yuánběn jīngshù (rooted in classical learning). The Qǐng Mèngzǐ lì xuékē shū and Qǐng Hán Yù pèixiǎng tàixué shū — among Tang men, zhuó shí (penetrating insight) — not just to be classed under cízhāng (literary belles-lettres). Verse only 1 juǎn; already in Sōnglíng chànghé jí — not re-collected; same principle as the Lìzé cóngshū (= KR4c0089).
Wáng Shìzhēn’s Chíběi ǒután extracted Lùmén yǐnshū one piece and Yǔ Yuánzhēngjūn shū one piece — both with Shì-Mín characters (Tàizōng’s name) used in compounds, claiming Pí did not avoid Tàizōng’s taboo. Examining: it is so. But later transcribers of ancient books often altered taboo characters. How do we know Pí’s original did not have Shì as Dài (代) and Mín as Rén (人), with present text alterations? This is not a fault of Pí.
Abstract
The Wénsǒu is a substantial 10-juǎn corpus self-compiled by Pí Rìxiū in 866 — 200 pieces predominantly of prose, plus 1 juǎn of verse. Pí’s reputation rests on three intersecting bodies of work: (1) progressive social-political memorials including the canonical proposals to make Mencius examination-required and to enshrine Hán Yù in the Tàixué (latter directly producing the Northern-Sòng Yuánfēng enshrinement, 1083); (2) classical-style yuèfǔ and quatrain verse (the Sōnglíng chànghé jí with Lù Guīméng 陸龜蒙 = KR4c0089, KR4c0090 is the principal joint corpus); and (3) the unresolved biographical question of his death (loyalty to Huáng Cháo or flight to the Qiánshì). The Mèngzǐ and Hán Yù memorials make Pí a key transitional figure in the formation of the Northern-Sòng dàotǒng / Neo-Confucian canon. CBDB has no matching entry; the jìnshì date 867 is the firmest fixed point.
Translations and research
- 王明青 Wáng Míng-qīng. 1981. Pí Rì-xiū wén jí 皮日休文集 (annotated). Shàng-hǎi gǔ-jí.
- 蕭滌非 Xiāo Dí-fēi. 1981. Pí Zǐ wén sǒu. Reprint Shàng-hǎi gǔ-jí.
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
The Qǐng Hán Yù pèixiǎng tàixué shū — Pí’s 866 memorial calling for Hán Yù’s enshrinement at the Tàixué — has unusual long-term significance: it provided the textual precedent for the Northern-Sòng Yuánfēng 6 (1083) decree under Shénzōng that formally enshrined Hán Yù among the Wénmiào sages, beginning the dàotǒng-era canonization of Hán Yù. Similarly the Qǐng Mèngzǐ lì xuékē shū anticipated the eventual elevation of Mencius to the sìshū canon.