Lèpǔ yúgǎo 樂圃餘藁
Surviving Drafts of the Lè-pǔ (Garden of Music) by 朱長文 (撰), 朱思 (輯)
About the work
Lèpǔ yúgǎo 樂圃餘藁 in 10 juǎn preserves the yú (residual / surviving) writings of Zhū Chángwén 朱長文 (1041–1100), Sūzhōu jìnshì turned recluse-classicist. The title refers to Lèpǔfāng 樂圃坊, his Sūzhōu villa where he lived after a foot-injury (zújí 足疾) precluded his official career. The original Lèpǔ jí 樂圃集 in 100 juǎn — including poems, lyrics, fù, biàn, memorials, and miscellaneous discourse — was destroyed in the Jīngkāng / Jiànyán military catastrophe (1126–27); his clan-junior Zhū Sī 朱思 朱思 reassembled what could be salvaged: 163 shī, 5 jì, 6 xù, 7 qǐ, 5 muzhi, and 6 miscellaneous prose pieces, organising them into 10 juǎn with an appendix of biographical materials, and cut the blocks. The Sìkù recension descends from the 1712 (Kāngxī rénchén) re-cutting by Zhū’s descendant Zhū Yuèshòu 朱岳壽, with supplementary material from Lù Jiāyǐng 陸嘉穎.
Tiyao
The Sìkù tíyào: Lèpǔ yúgǎo in 10 juǎn, by Zhū Chángwén of the Sòng. Chángwén, zì Bóyuán 伯原, of Sūzhōu Wúxiàn. Before his capping (wèiguàn — before age 20) passed jìnshì in the yǐkē (second-rank); on account of foot-illness did not enter office. Built a hermitage at Lèpǔfāng, writing books and reading antiquities. Sū Shì and others recommended him; he was raised to jiàoshòu (instructor) of his native prefecture, summoned as Tàicháng bóshì, transferred to Mìshūshěng zhèngzì. Lifetime literary output was prodigious — shī + cí + fù + biàn + biǎozhāng + záshuō — totalling 100 juǎn, called Lèpǔ jí. After the southern crossing all was destroyed in the wars. His cóngsūn (great-nephew) Sī, Zhī Hànyángjūn, sought-and-collected the surviving texts — getting 163 shī, 5 jì, 6 xù, 7 qǐ, 5 muzhi, 6 záwén, classified into 10 juǎn, and with muzhi-míng-biǎo-zhuàn etc. as 1 appendix-juǎn, cut the blocks. Long after the woodblocks were lost, only manuscript copies survived. Kāngxī rénchén (1712), Chángwén’s descendant Yuèshòu re-cut for circulation, attaching supplementary 1 zàn — Míng Jiādìng Lù Jiāyǐng’s restoration. Within the manuscript, several muzhi-míng are signed with his father Gōngchuò’s name and titles, since Chángwén in youth recorded them from stone-inscriptions; this also shows Sī’s diligence at the time. Submitted upon collation, Qiánlóng 41 (1776), 10th month.
Abstract
Lèpǔ yúgǎo preserves the surviving fragment — perhaps a tenth — of Zhū Chángwén’s substantial original output. Zhū’s career as a Sūzhōu recluse-classicist makes him an important Northern-Sòng witness to the Wú literary culture; Sū Shì’s recommendation marks his recognition by the dominant literary circle. The structural division — gǔshī (1), páilǜ + lǜshī (2), lǜshī (3, 4), juéjù + wǎnshī (5), jì (6), xù + tící (7), qǐ + lǜfù (8), shìpǔ + shū + tíbá + jìwén + míng (9), muzhi (10) — is a typical Northern-Sòng biéjí organisation in micro-form. Zhū’s recluse position — bù shì (not serving) — is unusual: most Yuányòu-circle figures held some office. The Sìkù editors carefully note the textual peculiarity that several muzhi-míng are signed under his father Zhū Gōngchuò 朱公綽’s name — Zhū Chángwén’s youthful writings recorded from stone inscriptions — preserving a small philological insight into the editorial method.
Lifedates 1041–1100 are confirmed by his existing person note. The dating bracket runs from his early jìnshì period through his death; the residual texts are largely undatable in detail.
Translations and research
- Sòng-shǐ j. 444 (Wén-yuán) — biography.
- Egan, Ronald. The Problem of Beauty (Harvard, 2006). Treats Sū-zhōu literary culture and recluse positions.
- Hargett, James M. Stairway to Heaven: A Journey to the Summit of Mount Emei — touches on Sòng jì-prose conventions, including Zhū’s Wú-jùn-tú-jīng tradition.
- Zhū Cháng-wén’s separately-circulating Wú-jùn-tú-jīng-xù-jì 吳郡圖經續記 (KR2k0026) is the major non-bié-jí work and deserves separate treatment.
Other points of interest
- The Lèpǔfāng — Zhū’s Sūzhōu garden — is one of the iconic Northern-Sòng literary gardens; surviving jì-prose in this collection is a key source for its layout and culture.
- Zhū’s Qínshǐ 琴史 (the earliest extant comprehensive qín history, in 6 juǎn) circulates separately and is among the foundational Chinese music-historical sources.