Zhījiàwēng jí 知稼翁集
The Old-Farmer’s Collection (of Knowing Crops) by 黃公度 (撰)
About the work
Zhījiàwēng jí 知稼翁集 in 2 juǎn is the surviving (Tiānqǐ-era reprint, late Míng) recension of the much-larger original 11- to 12-juǎn literary collection of Huáng Gōngdù 黃公度 (1109–1156, zì Shīxiàn 師憲, of Pútián 莆田 in Fújiàn), the zhuàngyuán of the Shàoxīng wùwǔ (1138) examination. (Note: the catalog meta entry under KR4d0208 reads 黃公廣 — Huáng Gōngguǎng — but the WYG-recension tíyào, the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo, Hóng Mài’s 1196 preface, and the Zhàoqìngfǔ zhì all give the name as 黃公度 / Huáng Gōngdù; followed here, with the catalog typo flagged.) Hóng Mài’s preface dates the original recension’s compilation to Qìngyuán 2 (1196) by Huáng’s son Wò 沃 (Zhī Sháozhōu); a Wénxiàn tōngkǎo notice records the collection in 11 juǎn with a separate 1-juǎn cí-collection.
Tiyao
The Sìkù tíyào: the Zhījiàwēng jí in 2 juǎn was composed by Huáng Gōngdù of the Sòng. Gōngdù’s zì was Shīxiàn, of Pútián. Jìnshì placed first in Shàoxīng wùwǔ (1138); held office to Kǎogōng yuánwàiláng. The Wénxiàn tōngkǎo records his collection in 11 juǎn, with Hóng Mài’s 洪邁 preface at its head saying that after Gōngdù’s death his heir Wò 沃, Zhī Sháozhōu, gathered the surviving manuscripts and edited them into 11 juǎn. A postface by Wò at the end says: “Of his unscattered drafts after deletion, scarcely 11 juǎn” — both consistent with the Tōngkǎo. Again, the Tōngkǎo Cíqǔ section records separately Gōngdù’s Zhījiàwēng cí in 1 juǎn; with this it should make 12 juǎn.
The present edition was carved in Tiānqǐ yǐchǒu (1625) by his descendant Chónghàn 崇翰 — bearing the line “obtained in Jiājìng bǐngwǔ (1546) from a Shǎnxī applicant, originally a xiùfǔ (palace-secret-archive) edition of the previous dynasty, still bearing the imperial seal.” But the cí-collection has been merged into the same edition, and the whole runs to only 134 leaves divided into upper and lower juǎn — seemingly insufficient for 12 juǎn. Perhaps further fragments are still missing.
Gōngdù early plucked the prominent rank but died at only 48; his official career was not far advanced; hence the Sòng shǐ has no biography. The Zhàoqìngfǔ zhì says that as Mìshūshěng zhèngzì he was implicated in a letter to a Censor critical of contemporary politics and was dismissed to Zhǔguǎn Táizhōu Chóngdàoguàn. Passing the Fēnshuǐ Pass he composed a poem with the line: “Who knew that not many partings were destined / Old reunions still in the cyan ocean lie?” — At the time Zhào Dǐng 趙鼎 had just been demoted to Cháoyáng; some say the poem refers to Zhào, and so Qín Huì’s anger was provoked, and he was made Tōngpàn of Zhàoqìngfǔ. He was probably also a forthright man not aligned with the time-faction; the speakers used Zhào Dǐng’s case as cover.
His shīwén are all even and easy, plain and clear; in early Southern Sòng they cannot fly above the various house-styles — yet his diction has a calm and high spirit, with no traces of grovelling or scrabble. This is the work of his self-cultivation. Gōngdù also separately composed a Hànshū juānzhuàn (Inscription-Selection of the Hànshū); this is now lost. The present recension takes from another source two passages plus a single recovered cí, appended at the juǎn-end; we also include them. Qiánlóng 42 (1777), 6th month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Huáng Gōngdù’s Zhījiàwēng jí is a fragmentary survival of the literary corpus of one of Southern Sòng’s most precocious zhuàngyuán (placed first 1138 at age 29, dead at 48). The collection’s principal interest is a single political incident: while serving as Mìshūshěng zhèngzì, Huáng wrote a letter to a Censor (later cited as critical of court policy) and was dismissed to a Táizhōu Daoist sinecure. While passing the Fēnshuǐ Pass on his journey south he composed a couplet that the political speakers of the day construed as referring to the disgraced chief minister Zhào Dǐng 趙鼎 (then in Cháoyáng exile). Qín Huì 秦檜 took offense and Huáng was further demoted to Tōngpàn of Zhàoqìngfǔ (Guǎngdōng), where he died.
The original 11-juǎn collection (with separate 1-juǎn cí recension recorded in the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo) was compiled in Qìngyuán 2 (1196) by Huáng’s son Wò 沃; the present 2-juǎn recension is a Tiānqǐ-era (1625) descendant-edition based on a Jiājìng 1546 acquisition of a former Imperial Archive copy. The Sìkù editors recovered an additional two prose pieces and one cí from external sources, appended at the volume-end. The original count probably stood at 12 juǎn (11 prose + 1 cí); the present 2-juǎn extant text is materially smaller and represents a major loss.
The dating bracket here: notBefore 1138 (the jìnshì year, Huáng’s first datable activity) through notAfter 1156 (his death year — early datings to “fl.” periods conflict; 1156 is per CBDB id 11110 and the prefatory evidence).
The catalog meta entry has the personal name as 黃公廣 (Huáng Gōngguǎng), with the dating 1109–1156. The WYG tíyào, Hóng Mài’s preface, the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo, and the Zhàoqìngfǔ zhì all give the name as 黃公度 (Huáng Gōngdù). CBDB likewise records the Zhìjiàwēng as Huáng Gōngdù (id 11110, 1109–1156). The catalog meta is in error and is corrected here, in line with the standing convention that externally verified figures override the catalog meta.
Translations and research
No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
The collection survived only because Huáng’s descendant Chónghàn 崇翰 in 1625 located a Jiājìng-era acquisition of what had originally been a Yuán/Míng imperial archive copy; the line of transmission from court archive → southern descendant → Tiānqǐ printing is a typical case of how regional family-archive transmission preserved Sòng biéjí through the late-Míng book disasters. Chén Jùnqìng’s 陳俊卿 preface is internal evidence that he and Huáng were jìnshì of the same year (1138).
Links
- Huang Gongdu (Wikipedia, zh)
- Zhàoqìngfǔ zhì and the Wénxiàn tōngkǎo (cited by the Sìkù editors).