Luánchéng yìngzhào jí 欒城應詔集
The Luán-chéng Examination-Submission Collection (of Sū Zhé) by 蘇轍 (撰)
About the work
Luánchéng yìngzhào jí 欒城應詔集 in 12 juǎn is the dedicated examination-essay (yìngzhào — “in response to imperial summons”) collection of Sū Zhé 蘇轍 蘇轍 — separately preserved as a sub-corpus of the Luánchéng jí family. The KRP source is the SBCK reprint of a Sòng-period cut. The structure preserves Sū Zhé’s zhìkē 制科 examination materials in five distinct phases: juǎn 1–5 the jìn lùn 進論 (25 historical-essay submissions on dynasties from Xià through Five Dynasties, plus the Zhōugōng, Lǎodān, LǐYìShūShīChūnqiū canonical-text essays, and YānZhào / Shǔ / Běidí / Xīróng / Xīnányí frontier-area essays); juǎn 6–10 the jìn cè 進策 50 cè — the great Zhìpíngcè corpus, broken into jūnshù (lordship) 5; chénshì (ministership) 5×2 = 10; mínzhèng (governance of the people) 5×2 = 10 — the central body of Sū Zhé’s Jiāyòu 6 / 1061 zhìkē submission; juǎn 11 the Bìgé shìlùn (palace-archives examination essays) — six lùn on Wángzhě bùzhì yídí, Liú KǎiDīng Hóng shúxián, Lǐyìxìn zúyǐ chéngdé, Xíngshì bùrú dé, Lǐ yǐ yǎngrén wéi běn, Jìzuì bèi wǔfú — plus the Qiūshì lùn (the shǐguān zhù shǎngfá essay) and the Shěngshì lùn (Xíngshǎng zhōnghòu zhī zhì essay — the Jiāyòu 2 / 1057 jìnshì exam-paper on which Ōuyáng Xiū famously praised); juǎn 12 the Yùshì zhìkē cè one dào — the actual emperor-presented zhìkē policy-paper (1061).
Tiyao
The KRP source is the SBCK reprint, which does not include the Sìkù tíyào. The work was not separately cataloged by the Sìkù but is referenced in the Luánchéng jí tíyào as one of the four constituent collections (Luánchéng jí 50 + Hòují 24 + Sānjí 12 + Yìngzhào jí 12 = total 98 juǎn).
Abstract
Luánchéng yìngzhào jí preserves the most-studied portion of Sū Zhé’s prose corpus: the Jiāyòu 2 / 1057 jìnshì exam-paper Xíngshǎng zhōnghòu zhī zhì (the Ōuyáng Xiū-praised paper, alongside Sū Shì’s parallel from the same exam — the famous incident in which Ōuyáng Xiū supposedly suspected the paper was Zēng Gǒng’s 曾鞏 and downgraded it to second place); the Jiāyòu 6 / 1061 zhìkē — the famous Yùshì zhìkē cè in which Sū Zhé’s outspoken criticism of Rénzōng’s neglect prompted the famous controversy and split the examiners (some demanding rejection, others demanding promotion); the 25 jìn lùn on dynastic history (a complete zhèngtǒng-historical scheme presented to the Jiāyòu-period throne, parallel to the slightly later Sīmǎ Guāng Tōngjiàn enterprise); and the systematic jìn cè 50 piān — Sū Zhé’s foundational political-philosophical statement on jūnshù / chénshì / mínzhèng. The collection is the principal source for the early Sūxué (Sū-school) examination-style synthesis. Bibliographically: the SBCK reprint preserves a Sòng-period independent recension; the Sìkù WYG version preserves the same as part of the Luánchéng jí + Hòují + Sānjí + Yìngzhào jí (V1112.1+). Dating bracket: Sū Zhé’s zhìkē (1061) to the SBCK reprint (1929).
Translations and research
- Bol, Peter K. 1992. “This Culture of Ours”. Stanford UP. Treats the Jiā-yòu zhì-kē and cè-lùn corpus extensively.
- Egan, Ronald C. 1984. The Literary Works of Ou-yang Hsiu. Cambridge. Treats the Jiā-yòu 2 / 1057 examination.
- Sū Zhé jí. 1990. Zhōng-huá. Standard modern critical edition includes Yìng-zhào jí.
- Wáng Zēng-yú 王曾瑜. 1992. Sū Zhé píng-zhuàn 蘇轍評傳. Nán-jīng dà-xué.
Other points of interest
The Yùshì zhìkē cè of Jiāyòu 6 / 1061 — preserved here as juǎn 12 — is one of the most famous Sòng zhìkē answer-papers, principally for its outspoken criticism of Rénzōng’s pleasure-seeking and the consequent factional split among the examiners (some demanding the paper be classed as bùrùděng / “not-classifiable” — i.e. rejected; others demanding it be classed in the highest grade for outspokenness; the compromise was sìděng — fourth grade). The Sìkù’s including this collection within the Luánchéng jí ensemble and treating the Yìngzhào jí as a structurally-separable sub-corpus reflects standard late-Sòng / Yuán bibliographic practice and is the model for parallel treatments of Wáng Ānshí and Sū Shì cèlùn sub-corpora.
Links
- Su Zhe (Wikidata)
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.1 (Sòng biéjí); §29.6 (Sòng zhìkē and cèlùn); §47 (TángSòng bājiā).