漢濱集

Hànbīn jí 漢濱集

The Han-Riverside Collection by 王之望 (撰)

About the work

Hànbīn jí 漢濱集 in 16 juǎn is the Sìkù recension of the literary collection of Wáng Zhīwàng 王之望 (1103–1170, zì Zhānshū 瞻叔, of Xiāngyáng Gǔchéng 襄陽糓城; later domiciled in Táizhōu). Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 8 (1138). Wáng’s career as Hùbù shìláng, ChuānShǎn xuānyùshǐ, and finally Cānzhī zhèngshì (Vice-Privy Councilor) under the early Xiàozōng made him the principal collaborator of the chief minister Tāng Sītuì 湯思退 during the Lóngxīng peace negotiations (1163–1164) — and consequently the principal political opponent of Zhāng Jùn 張浚, the war advocate. The original Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì recension and Jiāo Hóng’s 60-juǎn recension were both lost; Wáng was rare even in Sòng catalogs (Zhào Xībiàn and Chén Zhènsūn do not list him); the present text was reconstructed by the Sìkù editors from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, recovering perhaps three or four tenths of the original.

Tiyao

The Sìkù tíyào: the Hànbīn jí in 16 juǎn was composed by Wáng Zhīwàng of the Sòng. Zhīwàng’s zì was Zhānshū, of Xiāngyáng Gǔchéng, later resident in Táizhōu. Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 8 (1138). Successively rose to Tàifǔ shǎoqīng. When Xiàozōng acceded he was appointed Hùbù shìláng concurrent ChuānShǎn xuānyùshǐ; rose to Cānzhī zhèngshì; was impeached for “exhausting the troops on the Yangtze and the Huái”. Qiándào 1 (1165) he rose to Fújiàn Ānfǔshǐ, was promoted Zīzhèngdiàn dàxuéshì, transferred to Zhī Wēnzhōu, and died there. His record is in the Sòng shǐ biography.

Qián Pú’s Mìgé shūmù records Zhīwàng’s Hànbīn jí, with the volume-count lost. Jiāo Hóng’s Jīngjízhì gives 60 juǎn. But Zhào Xībiàn and Chén Zhènsūn both fail to list it — so even in the Sòng dynasty the text was rare. Subsequently it was scattered and lost. We now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn gather the surviving fragments, three or four tenths only.

Zhīwàng, when Qín Huì held the helm, stood aloof and would not align — people unanimously praised his integrity; in his official career too he had palpable accomplishments. Only in the Lóngxīng era did he become a strong proponent of the peace policy, ranking with Tāng Sītuì 湯思退, and held that purchasing the enemy with ceded territory was the master strategy — going so far as actively to oppose Zhāng Jùn’s 張浚 program of Northern recovery. Examining the Sòng dynasty after the southern crossing, certainly the policy of taking back the Central Plain should have been the substantive program; but only Yuè [Fēi] and Hán [Shìzhōng] could be relied upon for actual achievement. Zhāng Jùn was stubborn-and-perverse, dilatory-and-careless; eager for accomplishment to secure his rank — not someone who could really be relied upon to recover. He was once defeated at Fùpíng, losing 300,000 troops; defeated again in Huáixī, with 70,000 deserters; defeated a third time at Fúlí, again losing 130,000 — wrecking the yuán and damaging the State; the evidence is plain. Jiǎngxuéjiā (Lǐxué scholars), out of partiality to Zhāng Shì 張栻 (Zhāng Jùn’s son), uphold his father — they are not free of inverting right and wrong. Zhīwàng’s blocking of [Zhāng] Jùn — one cannot but call it knowing-of-men.

As for his program of softening the air, holding “north-and-south are now formed and not easy to merge; just shift the campaign-fighting strength to self-defense, then act according to the moment” — and that “the Jurchens’ winning-strategy lacks no plan; with the sharpness of weapons and the convenience of position — even at the height of HànTáng one could not lightly approach this enemy, much less today” — his weighing the situation in setting forth this position is rather close to Shǐ Hào’s 史浩, and he cannot be denied a knowledge of the times. But that he factionally united with petty men and supported the privileged is unlike Shǐ Hào’s standing on mature loyalty. Tāng Sītuì’s program was that of the Six States buying off Qín — utterly unlike Shǐ Hào’s program of holding firm and waiting on cracks. Hence at the time he was much attacked, and the Sòng shǐ too is extremely dissatisfied — punishing his heart.

His shīwén are smooth and clear, still preserving Northern-Sòng patterns; the various zházǐ are also frequently useful for verifying contemporary affairs against the official histories — they should not be discarded lightly. We have arranged into 16 juǎn for record, that the man and the writings, the right-and-wrong gain-and-loss, may not mutually obscure. Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 7th month, respectfully collated.

Abstract

Wáng Zhīwàng is one of the most politically interesting Southern-Sòng Cānzhī zhèngshì-rank survivors of the appeasement camp. He is documented as having declined to align with Qín Huì during the Shàoxīng decade, was promoted under Xiàozōng for his Sìchuān provincial work, and rose to Cānzhī zhèngshì during the Lóngxīng peace settlement. The Sìkù editors give him a heavily ambivalent assessment: praising his foresight in opposing Zhāng Jùn’s 張浚 disastrous Fúlí (1163) campaign and his comparative insight on the actual military situation, while condemning his factional alliance with Tāng Sītuì 湯思退 and his program of buying peace with territorial cessions. The Sòng shǐ biography’s “punishing-the-heart” assessment is the standard line.

The dating bracket here is notBefore 1138 (his jìnshì year, the start of his career) through notAfter 1170 (his death year). The transmitted recension is exceptional: Wáng’s collection appears in the late-Míng Jiāo Hóng’s catalog at 60 juǎn but is absent from the late-Sòng Zhào Xībiàn / Chén Zhènsūn catalogs — so the text was already rare in Sòng. The present 16-juǎn recension is a Sìkù reconstruction from Yǒnglè dàdiǎn fragments, retaining perhaps three or four tenths.

The collection’s value to the historian is precisely its preservation of the policy zházǐ of an actual Cānzhī zhèngshì of the Lóngxīng peace negotiation — i.e., Sòng shǐ policy documentation that the official histories themselves only summarize.

Translations and research

• Tao Jing-shen. 1988. Two Sons of Heaven. University of Arizona. Treats the Lóng-xīng peace negotiation, the political context of Wáng’s role.
• Schmidt-Glintzer, Helwig. 1979. “Die Verhandlungen über den Frieden von 1164 zwischen Sung und Jin.” Oriens Extremus 26. Treats the diplomatic negotiation in which Wáng was a principal.

Other points of interest

The Sìkù editors’ reading of the Fùpíng / Huáixī / Fúlí triple disasters of Zhāng Jùn is one of their most pointed political readings — exhibiting the late-Qián-lóng editors’ willingness to second-guess the Lǐxué hagiography (which had defended Zhāng Jùn out of family loyalty to his son Zhāng Shì).

Links

• Wang Zhiwang (Wikipedia, zh)
• Sòngshǐ biography (cited by Sìkù tíyào).