Dàyǐn jí 大隱集
Great-Recluse Collection by 李正民 (撰)
About the work
Dàyǐn jí 大隱集 in 10 juǎn is the literary collection of Lǐ Zhèngmín 李正民 (d. 1151), the Sòng Zhōngshū shèrén 中書舍人 and frequent prefectural administrator who is also the author of the eyewitness Yǐyǒu hánghǎi jì 已酉航海記 KR2e0019. The title takes Lǐ’s hào Dàyǐn 大隱. Reconstituted from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn by the Sìkù editors as 6 juǎn of prose plus 4 juǎn of poetry. The original 30 juǎn recorded in the Sòng shǐ Yìwénzhì had long perished; the Jiāxìng prefectural gazetteer alone preserved one Hǎiyuètíng shī. The collection is heavily weighted toward Zhōngshū zhìgào drafted-edicts in the wēnrùn liúlì (warm-and-fluent) style, which the Sìkù editors compare to the Fúxī jí 浮溪集 of Wāng Zǎo 汪藻 KR4d0148 — i.e. to the leading zhìgào stylist of the period.
Tiyao
Dàyǐn jí in 10 juǎn, by Lǐ Zhèngmín of the Sòng. Zhèngmín has the Yǐyǒu hánghǎi jì — already-recorded. Zhèngmín has-no Sòng shǐ biography; the beginning-and-end of his career cannot be examined. Only based on the Hánghǎi jì’s narration we know that as Gāozōng’s Zhōngshū shèrén he was-once dispatched to communicate with Empress-Dowager Lóngyòu — that is all. Today examining the various biǎo in this collection: at court he was-once Jǐshìzhōng, Lǐbù and Lìbù shìláng; outside, was-once Prefect of Jízhōu, Yúnzhōu, Hóngzhōu, Wēnzhōu, Wùzhōu, Huáiníngfǔ — yánglì (passing-promotions) rather long. Late, retired with temple-supervisor honour.
Further examining Xú Mèngxīn’s Sāncháo běiméng huìbiān: Shàoxīng 12 (1142) 5th month — Jīn marshal’s letter said: “the Biànliáng liúshǒu Mèng Yǔ, Chénzhōu tàishǒu Lǐ Zhèngmín, and Bì Liángshǐ — the recent shěnyìshǐ Xiāo Yì returning, fully said Jiāngnán has inquired-after these persons; today commit to the border official-bureau to dispatch them onward”. 6th month — Jīn-people released Dōngjīng liúshǒu Mèng Yǔ and Zhī Chénzhōu Lǐ Zhèngmín to return.
This is — Zhèngmín, while Zhī Chénzhōu, was once captured by Jīn troops; with the héyì concluded, allowed to return. The collection’s Nánguī shī says “lúnshēn juéyù jiǔ kuí gū; tóulǎo guīlái bìnfà shū” — surely referring to this affair. Only Mèng Yǔ for taking Dōngjīng over to Jīn — after returning Gāozōng abandoned him not-employed-again; while Zhèngmín repeatedly went-through-appointments — beginning-and-end not interrupted. Then while in the Jīn court he must-still-not have shījié (lost-integrity); only the historical-text is quēlüè (lacunary-and-abbreviated), unable to obtain the details.
The collection seen in Sòng shǐ Yìwénzhì is 30 juǎn; transmitted-versions long-perished. Only the Jiāxìngfǔzhì records his Hǎiyuètíng shī one piece. Today based on what is recorded in the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, edited and arranged into 6 juǎn of prose and 4 of poetry. Within, much of Zhōngshū zhìgào compositions — wēnrùn liúlì (warm-and-fluent), rather close to Fúxī jí (Wāng Zǎo). His poetry also is yánxiù kěsòng (graceful-and-elegant, fit-for-recitation). At-the-southward-crossing’s beginning, still does-not-fall-from-being a yǎyīn (refined-tone). Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 9th month.
Abstract
The 10-juǎn WYG version is a Yǒnglè dàdiǎn recovery of approximately one-third of the original 30-juǎn collection. Lǐ Zhèngmín’s career is otherwise documented only in fragments — the present collection is the principal source.
The collection’s documentary value is high. The drafted-edict zhìgào corpus (in the Zhōngshū shèrén style) is comparable in quality to the standard-bearer Wāng Zǎo (the Fúxī jí). The biographical lacuna concerning Lǐ’s Jīn captivity (during his Chénzhōu prefecture, c. 1141–42) and his subsequent return is only obliquely addressed in his Nánguī shī — a documented case where biéjí poetry supplements both the Sòng shǐ (silent) and the historiographic record (Sāncháo běiméng huìbiān KR2c0009 preserves only the diplomatic exchange).
CBDB id 19567 gives only deathyear 1151; the birthdate is unknown.
Translations and research
- 徐夢莘 Sān-cháo běi-méng huì-biān KR2c0009 — preserves Jīn-Sòng exchange concerning Lǐ’s repatriation.
- No dedicated Western-language study located.
- The Yǐ-yǒu háng-hǎi jì KR2e0019 is Lǐ’s other major surviving work and the principal eyewitness source for the 1129 Háng-hǎi (Sea-Voyage) flight of Empress-Dowager Lóng-yòu.
Other points of interest
- One of the few cases where the surviving biéjí is the principal biographical source for an officeholder of shìláng rank. The Sìkù editors’ detailed reconstruction of Lǐ’s career from the memorials and biǎo in this collection is exemplary Qīng-period prosopographic work.