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蘇魏公文集

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Text ID
KR4d0035
Date
1101–1200
Dynasty
宋

Sū Wèigōng wén jí 蘇魏公文集

The Wèi-gōng (Duke of Wèi) Sū Collection (of Sū Sòng) by 蘇頌 (撰), edited by 蘇携 (編)

About the work

Sū Wèigōng wén jí 蘇魏公文集 is the 72-juǎn literary collection of Sū Sòng 蘇頌 (1020–1101, zì Zǐróng 子容, posthumous Zhèngjiǎn 正簡, enfeoffed Wèiguógōng 魏國公), the great Northern-Sòng polymath: Zǎixiàng under Zhézōng (1092–1093), pharmacologist (Bēncǎo tújīng 本草圖經, 20 juàn, 1062 — the foundational illustrated bēncǎo of the Sòng), astronomer (Xīnyí xiàng fǎyào 新儀象法要 KR3o0010 — the design specification of the Yuányòu astronomical clock-tower of 1090–1092, one of the major engineering achievements of pre-modern China), and bibliographer. The collection was edited by his son Sū Xié 蘇携.

Tiyao

[Translation summary] The Sìkù tíyào: the Sū Wèigōng wén jí in 72 juǎn was composed by Sū Sòng of the Sòng. Sòng, zì Zǐróng, of Nánān 南安, moved to Dānyáng 丹陽. Jìnshì of Qìnglì 2 / 1042. Held Yòupúyè tóng zhōngshū ménxià píngzhāngshì; dismissed as Jíxǐ guān shǐ; under Huīzōng promoted Tàizǐ tàibǎo, raised in fief to Zhàojùngōng; on death posthumously Sīkōng Wèiguógōng. Deeds in Sòngshǐ. Collection edited by his son Xié 携. Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì and Chén Zhènsūn’s Shūlù jiětí both give 72 juǎn; the present matches — clearly the original. Only the Yìwénzhì also lists Wài jí 1 juǎn, which the present lacks — that has been lost. The Shǐ says Sòng was naturally benevolent and generous-spirited; under Zhézōng called a “worthy xiāng”; lifelong love of learning, from the writings since qìjì through jīngshǐ jiǔliú bǎijiā and beyond — túwěi, yīnyáng, wǔxíng, lǜlǚ, xīngguān, shānjīng, bēncǎo — there was nothing he was not versed in. Yè Mèngdé’s Shílín yānyǔ records that Sòng as exam shìguān under Shénzōng was asked the surname Jì 暨 / Táo 陶 — Sòng cited the Sānguó zhì showing it should be entering tone, not pronounced Jì — Shénzōng was much pleased. So his learning was naturally broad; what came out in writing is also clear-elegant, vigorous-rich, decisively a model. Shílín yānyǔ records Shénzōng’s appointment of Lǚ Gōngzhù as Zhōngchéng: he summoned Sòng to draft the zhì at Zēng Gōngliàng’s residence; etc. Lù Yóu’s Lǎoxuéān bǐjì cites Sòng’s “qǐcǎo cáiduō fēngjuǎn sù, bǎmá rén zhòng yǐnshēng cháng” 起草才多封巻速、把麻人衆引聲長 to attest the xuānmá (announcement) protocol of the time. Xú Dù’s Quèsǎo biān records Sòng on diplomatic mission to the Liáo, Wén Yànbó in the Běijīng commandant-residence asked him about “Wèi Shōu’s bùqiào 逋峭 — what difficult-to-be? — what does it mean?” Sòng said it is the small post-name on a roof-beam, taken in the sense of “twisting” — and immediately composed a poem on the spot. Examining the present collection all the pieces named in those works are present, demonstrating the complete text survives without lacuna; and Sòng’s literary beauty — single phrases that have become the public’s familiar property — these too show roughly. Qiánlóng 46 (1781) 6th month, respectfully collated.

Abstract

Sū Sòng’s career spans the entire mid-to-late Northern Sòng. Jìnshì of Qìnglì 2 / 1042 (Sū Shì’s fùfù generation); served on the early SòngXīXià diplomacy; supervised the imperial pharmacopeia (the Bēncǎo tújīng of 1062 is the world’s first published treatise to print woodblock illustrations of medicinal plants); led the Yuányòu astronomical reforms culminating in the design and construction of the Shuǐyùn yíxiàng tái 水運儀象臺 of 1090–1092 (its specification is preserved at KR3o0010 Xīnyí xiàng fǎyào); served as Yòupúyè tóng zhōngshū ménxià píngzhāngshì (i.e. Zǎixiàng) 1092–1093; survived into Huīzōng’s reign and died in Jiànzhōng jìngguó 1 / 1101 age 82. Posthumously enfeoffed Wèiguógōng. Surviving collection at full original size 72 juǎn — one of the better-preserved Northern-Sòng biéjí. Contents include zhìgào, biǎozòu (especially the diplomatic memoranda from his Liáo missions), jìxù, bēimíng, and shī. The dating bracket marks Sū’s death (1101) to the late-Northern-Sòng / Southern-Sòng terminus ante quem of the 72-juǎn recension recorded by Cháo Gōngwǔ.

Translations and research

  • Needham, Joseph, Wang Ling, and Derek J. de Solla Price. 1960. Heavenly Clockwork: The Great Astronomical Clocks of Medieval China. Cambridge UP. The classic study of Sū Sòng’s clock-tower and the Xīn-yí xiàng fǎ-yào.
  • Liu, Heping. 2002. “The Water Mill and Northern Song Imperial Patronage of Art, Commerce, and Science.” Art Bulletin 84.4. Treats Sū’s broader engineering oeuvre.
  • Goldschmidt, Asaf. 2009. The Evolution of Chinese Medicine: Song Dynasty, 960–1200. Routledge. Discusses the Bēn-cǎo tú-jīng.
  • Unschuld, Paul U. 1986. Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics. UC Press. Treats the Bēn-cǎo tú-jīng in detail.
  • Guǎn Chéng-xué 管成學, ed. 1988. Sū Sòng yán-jiū wén jí 蘇頌研究文集. Fú-jiàn rénmín. Standard Chinese essay collection.

Other points of interest

The Yuányòu astronomical clock-tower described in the Xīnyí xiàng fǎyào — with its escapement, water-driven movement, and animated bàoshí puppets — is one of the principal pre-modern Chinese mechanical-engineering achievements; the Sū Wèigōng wén jí preserves Sū’s drafted memorials proposing and defending the project. The Bēncǎo tújīng of 1062 is the foundation of the woodblock-illustrated pharmacopeia tradition that culminated in Lǐ Shízhēn’s Bēncǎo gāngmù of 1596.

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