Sōngān jí 崧菴集
Sōng-ān (Lofty-Hut) Collection by 李處權 (撰)
About the work
Sōngān jí 崧菴集 in 6 juǎn is the literary collection of Lǐ Chǔquán 李處權 (1086–1155), great-grandson of the celebrated Northern-Sòng Hándāngōng Lǐ Shū 李淑 (collector, bibliographer, prosodist). Reconstituted entirely from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn by the Sìkù editors. The collection is bibliographically remarkable — Fāng Huí’s Yíngkuí lǜsuǐ KR4h0007 alone preserved the existence-record (one poem, with annotation correcting Lǐ’s native-place from Luòyáng to Lìyáng — a printing error). The Sìkù editors’ aesthetic verdict places Lǐ as a peer of Zhāng Lěi 張耒 in five-character verse and Chén Yǔyì 陳與義 陳與義 in seven-character verse — significant ranking.
Tiyao
Sōngān jí 6 juǎn, by Lǐ Chǔquán of the Sòng. Chǔquán has-no Sòng shǐ biography; his collection various-scholars also did-not-record. Only Fāng Huí’s Yíngkuí lǜsuǐ recorded his composed Sòng èrshí xiōng huán Zhènjiāng shī one piece, with a note: “Chǔquán zì Xùnbó, of Luòyáng, descendant of Hándāngōng [Lǐ] Shū. Has the Sōngān jí. During Xuānhé, with Chén Shūyì and Zhū Xīzhēn famous-for-poetry. After the southward-crossing, once-led Sānqú.” His lǚguàn (career-and-place) can be roughly examined; but does-not say his distance from Lǐ Shū is how-many-generations.
Today his collection’s transmitted-version is exhausted; only the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn has it. Searching the various yùn, Chǔquán’s self-preface and his cousin-brother [Lǐ] Chǔquán’s [Lǐ Chǔquán 李處全] original-preface and Shào Jì 邵驥’s original-colophon — all are present. What records his life-tracks is rather detailed; only the genealogy still not-clear.
Today examining the Jiànkāngzhì — has Lǐ Chǔquán’s small-biography. Says [Lǐ Chǔ-]quán was [Lǐ] Shū’s great-grandson; originally a Fēngxiàn person; later moved to Lìyáng; office to Cháoqǐng dàfū. Further Wáng Míngqīng’s Huīzhú yúhuà also says: Dàlǐ shǎoqīng Lǐ Zhuànzhèng was Lǐ Shū’s grandson — that is [Lǐ] Chǔquán’s father. Based-on this, then Chǔquán is really [Lǐ] Shū’s great-grandson; resided at Lìyáng. What the Yíngkuí lǜsuǐ says-as Luòyáng — surely is the print-version’s transmission-error, with Lì erred as Luò.
[Lǐ] Shū’s family rich in classical-books; his Hándān túshūzhì — Cháo Gōngwǔ each-time cites it as evidence. Further skilled-and-deep at shēnglǜ (prosody); his composed Shīyuàn lèigé today still scattered-and-visible in various books. Chǔquán inherited his world-learning — further able to biāoxīn lǐngyì (mark-the-new, take-the-different); separately-issuing with qīngjùn zhī sī (clear-elegant thought) — to the way-of-poetry rather shēnzào (deeply-attained).
[Lǐ] Chǔquán’s preface says: “chǐ yì gāo, xīn yì kǔ, jùfǎ yì lǎo, yǔ shǎozuò bùlèi”. So his tánsī yínyǒng (deeply-thinking, chanting-and-versing): old-and-all-the-more skilled. Although the original-fascicles are scattered-and-lost — the Dōngjīng and post-southward-crossing compositions mutually-mixed; no-longer able-to by-year distinguish-and-separate. But comprehensively the general-outline: five-character qīngtuō liúliàng, slightly resembling Zhāng Lěi; seven-character shuǎngjiàn kànglàng, comparable-to Chén Yǔyì. At-the-time really one zuòshǒu (master-craftsman). Long-having-passed yānmò (lost-and-buried), fortunately again-survives — also what those discussing Sòng poetry ought-to zhēnlù (recognise-and-record).
Carefully gathering-and-arraying, by genre distinguished, edited-as 6 juǎn. Still with the original-prefaces-and-colophons distributed front-and-back — to make future-persons able to kǎojiàn (examine-and-see). Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 6th month.
Abstract
The Sōngān jí in 6 juǎn is one of the more striking Yǒnglè dàdiǎn recoveries: Lǐ Chǔquán’s collection had been so completely lost that only Fāng Huí’s Yíngkuí lǜsuǐ preserved the bibliographic record (with the printing-error misattributing his native place). The Sìkù editors’ philological work — using the Jiànkāngzhì and Wáng Míngqīng’s Huīzhú yúhuà to reconstruct the genealogy through Lǐ Shū → Lǐ Zhuànzhèng → Lǐ Chǔquán — is exemplary.
The aesthetic verdict positions Lǐ as a major (if forgotten) early-Southern-Sòng poet: Zhāng-Lěi-comparable in five-character; Chén-Yǔ-yì-comparable in seven-character. The recovery preserves substantial poetry composed across the Jīngkāng divide, but the Sìkù editors note that the distinction between pre-1127 and post-1127 work is no longer recoverable from the surviving material.
CBDB id 16818 confirms 1086–1155.
Translations and research
- 方回 Yíng-kuí lǜ-suǐ KR4h0007 — preserves the bibliographic record.
- 王明清 Huī-zhú yú-huà — preserves the genealogy.
- Jiàn-kāng-zhì — preserves Lǐ Chǔ-quán’s brother’s biography (key to reconstructing Lǐ Chǔ-quán’s lineage).
- No dedicated Western-language study located.
Other points of interest
- Lǐ Chǔquán’s great-grandfather Lǐ Shū 李淑 was a major Northern-Sòng prosodist whose lost Shīyuàn lèigé was foundational for Northern-Sòng poetics. The family-learning continuity from Lǐ Shū → Lǐ Chǔquán is itself documented evidence for the inter-generational transmission of late-Northern-Sòng poetic technique.