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祖英集

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Text ID
KR4d0032
Date
1032–1052
Dynasty
宋

Zǔyīng jí 祖英集

The Patriarchal-Hero Collection (of Master Xuě-dòu Zhòng-xiǎn) by 釋重顯 (撰)

About the work

Zǔyīng jí 祖英集 is the 2-juǎn poetic collection of the great Northern-Sòng Yúnmén Chán master Xuědòu Zhòngxiǎn 雪竇重顯 (980–1052, zì Yǐnzhī 隱之, of Suìzhōu Lǐ 遂州李 family) — the most influential Chán literary master of the early Sòng, whose Sòng gǔ bǎi zé 頌古百則 (Hundred Gāthā-Eulogies on Old Cases) became the verse-armature of the Bìyán lù 碧巖錄 KR6q0007 of Yuánwù Kèqín 圜悟克勤. The title Zǔyīng jí 祖英集 (“Patriarchal-Hero Collection”) was bestowed by Wénzhèng 文政, Xuědòu’s pupil-editor, who compiled the 220-poem corpus in Tiānshèng 10 / 1032.

Tiyao

[Translation summary] The Sìkù tíyào: the Zǔyīng jí in 2 juǎn was composed by Zhòngxiǎn of the Sòng. Zhòngxiǎn, zì Yǐnzhī, son of the Lǐ family of Suìzhōu. Tonsured young under monk Rénráo 仁鐃 of Pǔān yuàn; later went to Língyǐn and Cuìfēng; in late life resided at Míngzhōu Xuědòu. Died Huángyòu 4 / 1052. Deeds in detail in the Sēngbǎo zhuàn. The present is his poetic collection. The preface by monk Wénzhèng says: “Since the master arrived at Xuědòu, on past patriarchs’ phrases the master composed gāthā-eulogies; or moved by feeling, composed parting and gift pieces; gathered into a total of 220 pieces; signed Tiānshèng 10 / 1032 in the first month.” (Tiānshèng 10 = Míngdào 1, since the 11th month renamed; the first month is therefore still Tiānshèng.) Zhòngxiǎn’s discipline was clean and pure; the school called him an “ancient virtuous one”; his poetry mostly involves Chán purport, distinct from the path of Dàoqián 道潛 and Huìhóng 惠洪 who specialize in poetry-cultivation; but his bosom is open and elegant, his cadence naturally lofty, all natural and beyond the worldly. Five-character lines like “Jìng kōng gū è yuǎn / gāo liǔ yī chán xīn” 静空孤鶚遠 / 高柳一蟬新 etc. all preserve the Jiǔ sēng 九僧 manner; the seven-character juéjù like Zì yí, Sòng sēng Xǐ chánrén huí shān are clear and graceful, lustrous to recite — not the standard suānxiàn 酸餡 (“sour-stuffed”) Chán monk-talk. Qiánlóng 43 (1778) 9th month, respectfully collated.

Abstract

Xuědòu Zhòngxiǎn is one of the great Sòng literary monks. His historical importance is not the present 220-poem Zǔyīng jí in itself but the Sòng gǔ bǎi zé 頌古百則 — Xuědòu’s poetic eulogies of 100 Chán “cases” (gōngàn / kōan), composed at Xuědòu sì in Míngzhōu and circulating widely through the late Northern Sòng — which became the primary substrate for Yuánwù Kèqín’s Bìyán lù (compiled at Jiāshàn in 1125), the single most influential text in the entire Chán / Zen gōngàn literary tradition. The Zǔyīng jí collects the broader poetic corpus of which the bǎi zé are the kernel. Wénzhèng 文政’s preface dated Tiānshèng 10 / 1032 (more precisely Tiānshèng 10 / Míngdào 1, since the era changed in the 11th month) describes the editorial process. The present 2-juǎn WYG recension (220 poems) is the principal Northern-Sòng witness; the SBCK reproduces a 4-collection compilation under the title Xuědòu sì jí KR4d0033.

The dating bracket marks the preface (1032) to Xuědòu’s death (1052) — the principal composition window for the corpus.

Translations and research

  • Foulk, T. Griffith. 2000. “The Form and Function of Koan Literature.” In The Koan, ed. Heine and Wright. Oxford. Treats the Sòng gǔ bǎi zé as foundational kōan literature.
  • Schlütter, Morten. 2008. How Zen Became Zen. Hawai’i. Discusses Xuě-dòu in the Yún-mén lineage.
  • Sharf, Robert H. 2017. “How to Think with Chan Gong’an.” In Thinking with Cases, ed. Furth and Zeitlin. Hawai’i. Treats the gōng-àn genre Xuě-dòu inaugurated.
  • Demiéville, Paul. 1953–54. “Le tch’an et la poésie chinoise.” Hermès — classic study of Chán poetry to which Xuě-dòu is central.
  • Iriya Yoshitaka 入矢義高 et al. 1981. Setchō juko 雪竇頌古. Iwanami shoten. Standard Japanese annotated translation of the Sòng gǔ bǎi zé.

Other points of interest

The Sòng gǔ bǎi zé — embedded in the Bìyán lù — is the proximate source of the bulk of the Chán / Zen kōan tradition that flourished from the late Northern Sòng through SōngYuán Japan; Xuědòu’s literary reframing of the older Yúnmén school gōngàn lore is the founding stylistic gesture of the entire kōanshū genre.

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