淨德集

Jìngdé jí 淨德集

The Jìng-dé Collection (of Lǚ Táo) by 呂陶 (撰)

About the work

Jìngdé jí 淨德集 is the literary collection of Lǚ Táo 呂陶 (1031–1107, zì Yuánjūn 元鈞, hào Jìngdé 淨德), a Chéngdū native, Huángyòu zhìkē graduate, and one of the most articulate Sì-chuān-faction critics of the Xīníng New Policies. The original 60-juǎn collection (so listed in Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì) was lost; the Sìkù editors reconstituted the present 38-juǎn version entirely from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, supplementing only the famous Qǐng bà huángyǐn memorial preserved in the Sòng wén jiàn. The collection is dominated by zòuyì and cèwén — the famous zhìkē counsel against lǐcái, tuòjiāng, and the dismissal of lǎochéng counselors; the indictments of Cài Què, Hán Zhěn, and Zhāng Dūn; and the two Xué lùn attacking Wáng Ānshí’s Zìshuō 字說 — together with shī, jì, and parallel-prose pieces of more conventional character.

Tiyao

The Sìkù tíyào: Jìngdé jí in 38 juǎn by Lǚ Táo of the Sòng. Táo, zì Yuánjūn, hào Jìngdé, of Chéngdū. Huángyòu (1049–1054) jìnshì; in Xīníng (1068–1077) further took the zhìkē; held office as Jǐshìzhōng, transferred to Jíxiányuàn xuéshì, zhī Chénzhōu; at the close of Shàoshèng placed on the proscription list and demoted; in early Huīzōng restored as Jíxiándiàn xiūzhuàn, zhī Zǐzhōu; retired, died. Deeds in his Sòngshǐ běnzhuàn. Táo by bǐngxìng kàngzhí (basic-nature upright) on encountering matters dared speak; what he memorialized was always cut to the guójiā dàjì (state’s great planning). At his initial zhìkē, just as Wáng Ānshí was setting the New Policies in motion, Táo’s answer said: “May Your Majesty not be confused by the doctrine of lǐcái (state finance), not be alienated from the counsels of the lǎochéng (elder ministers), not raise affairs at the jiāngyì (border).” Wáng read the paper, his expression sank; Shénzōng had Féng Jīng read it through, who praised its reason — but Wáng’s suppression prevailed, and he was sent out only as tōngpàn Shǔzhōu. As zhī Péngzhōu he forcefully argued the harm of the Sìchuān quèchá (Sichuan tea monopoly), was impeached by Pú Zōngmǐn, demoted. On his recall in Yuányòu he again pointed out the crimes of Cài Què, Hán Zhěn, and Zhāng Dūn and others, requesting their immediate dismissal. His other proposals were many; in general on the discrimination of xiézhèng shìfēi (perversion / rectitude / right / wrong) he was clearest in cutting analysis, and in his straight stating from principle had not at all the LuòShǔ factional habit (of merely taking sides). His yánqì zhèngxìng (stern character, upright nature) is roughly identical to Liú Ānshì 劉安世’s. When Zhézōng personally took the reins (1093), Táo first warned that the Tàihuáng tàihòu had held the curtain for nine years, and that xiǎorén would inevitably resent it: should some perverse person say “so-and-so should be re-employed, such-and-such policy should be reinstated,” this would be the hinge of ānwēi (security/danger) — not to be ignored. After this the shàoshù (continuation) doctrine arose, and his words came true. His deep insight and far-reaching consideration are likewise not below Fàn Zǔyǔ 范祖禹 范祖禹’s. Hence his memorials are uniformly chàngdá kǎiqiè (free-flowing and earnest), thoroughly understanding the shìjī (situation’s mechanism); Jiǎng Táng compared him to Jiǎ Yì 賈誼 — and that was no false praise. The remaining shī and wén are also mostly diǎnyǎ (canonical-elegant), worth seeing. As to the two Xué lùn (essays on learning), they attack the Wáng-school Zìshuō without sparing — particularly resolute in zìlì (standing on his own) and not bending to the times. The Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì records Táo’s collection in 60 juǎn; long without transmitted edition; what was visible was only the Qǐng bà Huángyǐn memorial preserved in the Sòng wén jiàn. Now from the various rhymes of the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn we have culled and assembled, classified and ordered, restructuring into 38 juǎn. Compared with the histories: of his zòushū some are present, some lacking; the yìng zhìkē cè of one piece cannot be recovered — we have not necessarily fully restored its old appearance, but we have gotten seven or eight parts in ten; what is missing is in fact not much. Qiánlóng 49 (1784) 10th month, respectfully collated.

The yuánxù (original preface) by Mǎ Qí 馬騏 of Chéngdū (preserved at the head of the Sìkù recension) frames Lǚ Táo as a victim of the half-century from Xīníng through Xuānhé in which “xiézhèng bìngyòng” (perverse and upright employed together) ensured the xiǎorén’s eventual triumph and the Jìngkāng catastrophe of 1126.

Abstract

Lǚ Táo’s career trajectory passes through every flashpoint of the Xīníng / Yuányòu / Shàoshèng / Yuánfú factional cycle: as zhìkē candidate (1070s) attacking the New Policies head-on; as Péngzhōu prefect (mid-1070s) attacking the Sìchuān quèchá tea monopoly (which monopoly his zòuyì are still the principal source for); as Yuányòu recallee (1086+) attacking the Yuányòu coalition’s own enemies (Cài, Hán, Zhāng) by name; as Yuánfú warner (1093) predicting the shàoshù (continuation) reaction; and as Shàoshèng proscribed (1100). The Sòngshǐ portrays him as a Shǔ-faction figure aloof from LuòShǔ sectarian feuding — the Sìkù editors’ assessment, drawing on Liú Ānshì 劉安世 as comparand, reinforces this. The two Xué lùn essays attacking Wáng Ānshí’s Zìshuō are independent contributions to the Northern-Sòng xiǎoxué / philosophy-of-language polemic. Dating bracket: Lǚ’s death (1107) to the Sìkù re-collation (1784).

Translations and research

• Smith, Paul J. 1991. Taxing Heaven’s Storehouse: Horses, Bureaucrats, and the Destruction of the Sichuan Tea Industry, 1074–1224. Harvard UP. The standard treatment of the Sì-chuān què-chá monopoly; Lǚ Táo’s Péng-zhōu memorials are key sources.
• Liu, James T. C. 1959. Reform in Sung China: Wang An-shih (1021–1086) and his New Policies. Harvard UP. Treats Lǚ Táo among the zhì-kē opposition.
• Levine, Ari. 2008. Divided by a Common Language: Factional Conflict in Late Northern Song China. Hawai’i.
• Yú Yīng-shí 余英時. 2003. Zhū Xī de lì-shǐ shì-jiè 朱熹的歷史世界. Sān-lián. Treats Lǚ in the long arc of Sòng dào-xué politics.

Other points of interest

The Qǐng bà Huángyǐn memorial — preserved already in Sòng wén jiàn and surviving outside the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn — is the single piece of the original 60-juǎn collection whose Northern Sòng transmission is independently attested, and was the Sìkù editors’ principal collation control on the reconstituted text. Lǚ Táo’s Péngzhōu zòu attacking the Sìchuān tea monopoly are the most-cited primary source in Paul Smith’s monograph.

Links

• Lü Tao (Wikidata)
• Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §44 (Xīníng / Yuányòu / Shàoshèng cycle); §28.1 (Sòng biéjí).