Jǐnán jí 濟南集
The Jǐ-nán Collection (of Lǐ Zhì) by 李廌 (撰)
About the work
Jǐnán jí 濟南集 (named from Lǐ Zhì 李廌 李廌’s hào Jǐnán xiānshēng 濟南先生) is the surviving fragmentary collection of Lǐ Zhì (1059–1109, zì Fāngshū 方叔), the Sūmén liùjūnzǐ 蘇門六君子 figure famously failed in the Yuányòu 3 / 1088 examination by mistaken anonymous-marking (Sū Shì had intended to pass him; took the wrong paper for Lǐ’s and elevated it). The original Wénxiàn tōngkǎo records Jǐnán jí in 20 juǎn (then under the alternative title Yuèyán jí 月巖集 — Yuèyán a Sūmén-circle alternate sobriquet); Zhōu Zǐzhī 周紫芝’s Tàicāng tímǐ jí postscript “Shū Yuèyán jí hòu” describes acquiring it on loan from Huátāi Liú Déxiù via the Miàoxiāngliáo (a Buddhist temple at Huátāi); only the Wéncuì-included one juǎn of yíwén survived in regular circulation. The Yǒnglè dàdiǎn preserved enough that the Sìkù editors could reconstitute four-or-five-tenths into 8 juǎn — though some pieces (the Lǚ Běnzhōng Zǐwēi shīhuà-praised Zèng Rǔzhōu tàishǒu poem; the famous Jì Sū Shì wén with Huángtiān hòutǔ jiàn yīshēng zhōngyì zhī xīn, míngshān dàchuān huán wàngǔ yīnglíng zhī qì) are still lost.
Tiyao
The Sìkù tíyào: Jǐnán jí in 8 juǎn by Lǐ Zhì of the Sòng. Zhì has Déyúzhāi huàpǐn, already cataloged. The Wénxiàn tōngkǎo records Zhì’s Jǐnán jí in 20 juǎn — and at the time also titled Yuèyán jí. Zhōu Zǐzhī’s Tàicāng tímǐ jí has a piece “Shū Yuèyán jí hòu” — saying “Huátāi Liú Déxiù borrowed the běn from Miàoxiāngliáo — first I got to see it; only in Wéncuì there is the yíwén in 1 juǎn and that is all.” The Yǒnglè dàdiǎn was made in early Míng — at that time the original collection still survived; what was collected was rather rich; collated and edited — we got four-five-tenths. Clearly only just managed to be preserved. Zhì’s cáiqì abundant; his prose tiáochàng qūzhé, biàn ér zhōng lǐ (free-flowing, twisting-bending, debating but reaching reason); generally rather close to Sū Shì’s. Hence Sū Shì praised his bǐmò lánfān, yǒu fēishā zǒushí zhī shì (brush-and-ink overflowing, with the force of flying-sand and rolling-stones); Lǐ Zhīyí 李之儀 praised him rú dàchuān dōngzhù, zhòuyè bùxī, bù zhì yú hǎi bù zhǐ (like a great river east-flowing, day-and-night not stopping, until reaching the sea not stopping); Zhōu Zǐzhī also said zìfēi háomài yīngjié zhī qì guòrén shíbèi, qí fā wéi wéncí hé yǐ tòngkuài ruò shì (only without his bold-leading-out spirit surpassing others by ten-fold, how could what he wrote be so freely incisive)? Clearly his wùào bēnfàng (towering-flowing) — really what is called bùjī zhī cái (unconstrained talent), running between Qín Guān 秦觀 秦觀 and Zhāng Lěi 張耒 張耒 — not yet trailing-stepping behind them. The shǐ further records he liked discussing ancient-and-present zhìluàn (governance and chaos); once submitted Zhōngjiàn shū, Zhōnghòu lùn, and Bīngjiàn in 20,000 words. The presently-surviving bīngfǎ Qízhèng, Jiāngcái, Jiāngxīn and other piān — clearly are several pieces of the submitted Bīngjiàn — their discussion qíwěi (strange-grand) particularly worth taking up; surely differs from those júcù yuánxià (constrained-under-the-cart-shaft) types. Examined Lǚ Běnzhōng’s Zǐwēi shīhuà extremely praises Zhì’s Zèng Rǔzhōu tàishǒu poem — but now this piān is not seen. Further his jì Sū Shì wén says: Huángtiān hòutǔ jiàn yīshēng zhōngyì zhī xīn, míngshān dàchuān huán wàngǔ yīnglíng zhī qì (Heaven-Earth witness one life’s loyal-righteous heart; famous-mountains and great-rivers return the ten-thousand-year heroic spirit) — at the time chuánsòng hǎinèi (recited throughout the realm) — yet the full piece is not seen. Then his shīwén lost is already not few; the existing-and-not-yet-lost is even more sufficient to esteem. Qiánlóng 46 (1781) 3rd month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Jǐnán jí preserves the Sūmén liùjūnzǐ outsider — Lǐ Zhì never gained office, lived as a bùyī (commoner) at Chángshè (Yǐngzhōu), and the surviving works are accordingly heavy with personal-circumstance prose: xìn to Sū Shì, Zhāng Lěi, Cháo Bǔzhī, etc.; the jì Sū Shì wén mourning piece (now incomplete); the Bīngjiàn military-policy essays (the Qízhèng, Jiāngcái, Jiāngxīn sections); various biographical and jì-prose. The Sìkù editors’ careful enumeration of the lost portions — citing Lǚ Běnzhōng’s Zǐwēi shīhuà for the Zèng Rǔzhōu poem and the famous Huángtiān hòutǔ couplet from the lost jì Sū Shì wén — is a model of biéjí lacuna-mapping. Sū Shì’s bǐmò lánfān, fēishā zǒushí characterization, Lǐ Zhīyí’s dàchuān dōngzhù characterization, and Zhōu Zǐzhī’s háomài characterization together place Lǐ Zhì in a Sūmén role parallel but inferior to Qín Guān and Zhāng Lěi. Dating bracket: Lǐ’s death (1109) to the Sìkù re-collation (1781).
Translations and research
- Egan, Ronald C. 1994. Word, Image, and Deed in the Life of Su Shi. Harvard. Treats the Yuán-yòu 3 / 1088 examination misidentification.
- Bol, Peter K. 1992. “This Culture of Ours”. Stanford UP.
- Lèng Cháng-jiàn 冷昌建. 1990. Sū-mén liù-jūn-zǐ yán-jiū 蘇門六君子研究. Sì-chuān bā-shǔ.
Other points of interest
The Yuányòu 3 / 1088 misidentification — Sū Shì’s mistaken passing of Zhāng Yuán’s paper as Lǐ Zhì’s and Lǐ’s consequent failure — is one of the most-cited Sòng examination anecdotes; the lament yǒusī shìyì, nǎishī cǐ qícái (the examiners have tested compositions, and yet have lost this rare talent), preserved in Sòngshǐ Wényuàn zhuàn, became canonical. The Bīngjiàn (Mirror of Military Affairs) — a 20,000-word strategic-essay collection presented to the throne — is preserved in fragments here (the Qízhèng, Jiāngcái, Jiāngxīn sections) and is the foremost late-Northern-Sòng Sūmén military-policy text.
Links
- Li Zhi (Wikidata)
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.1 (Sòng biéjí); §47 (Sūmén liùjūnzǐ).