Zhúxuān zázhù 竹軒雜著
Miscellaneous Writings of the Bamboo Pavilion by 林季仲 (撰)
About the work
Zhúxuān zázhù 竹軒雜著 in 6 juǎn is the Sìkù recension of the surviving fragments of the literary collection of Lín Jìzhòng 林季仲 (zì Yìchéng 懿成, of Yǒngjiā 永嘉 — modern Wēnzhōu, Zhèjiāng; self-styled Lúshān lǎorén 蘆山老人 from his “Reed-Mountain” cottage; in the collection also self-styling Jǐnán Lín mǒu 濟南林某 by his ancestral lineage). Jìnshì; rose to Tàicháng shǎoqīng concurrent Zhī Wùzhōu. Recommended by Zhào Dǐng 趙鼎; presented a memorial against the appeasement program; was punished. Entered the company of qīngyì (clear-discussion) figures alongside Liú Dàběn, Hú Yín, Lǚ Běnzhōng 呂本中, Cháng Tóng. The original 15-juǎn recension was lost; the present 6-juǎn (1 of poems + 4 of prose + recovery materials) was reconstructed by the Sìkù editors from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn. Brothers (per the Shūlù jiětí): Zhòngxióng 仲熊, Shūbào 叔豹, Jìlí 季貍 — all known names but otherwise lost.
Tiyao
The Sìkù tíyào: the Zhúxuān zázhù in 6 juǎn was composed by Lín Jìzhòng of the Sòng. Jìzhòng’s zì was Yìchéng, a man of Yǒngjiā. Took the jìnshì; held office to Tàicháng shǎoqīng, Zhī Wùzhōu; self-styled Lúshān lǎorén. Once temporarily resided at Jìyáng; in the collection he also styles himself Jǐnán Lín mǒu — this being his ancestral place. The Sòng shǐ did not establish a biography for him; his deeds are little outlined.
Only Chén Zhènsūn’s Shūlù jiětí says Jìzhòng entered court on Zhào Dǐng’s recommendation; that his memorials opposed the peace settlement and brought punishment; that Zhòngxióng, Shūbào, and Jìlí were his brothers, all known by name. Now examining his collection: in the letter to Púshè Zhào (i.e. Zhào Dǐng): “the chief minister listened in error, and put me in the court three years amid bustle without report” — agreeing with Chén Zhènsūn’s account of Zhào Dǐng’s recommendation. Only the memorial opposing peace is no longer in the collection — so the punishment-and-demotion record is sketchy and not prominent. The collection has jì-essays for his brothers De-hé and Cháyuàn — saying “of one ancestor, eight brothers” — so we know his brothers were many; but the names Zhòngxióng and Shūbào are no longer verifiable.
The Sòng shǐ Zhào Dǐng biography says: when Dǐng was reappointed chief minister, he memorialized: “Today qīngyì approves men such as Liú Dàběn, Hú Yín, Lǚ Běnzhōng, Cháng Tóng, Lín Jìzhòng — Your Majesty, can you employ them?” — so Jìzhòng in the Shàoxīng era truly bore the qīngliú’s heavy expectation. Hence the zházǐ in the collection, although few in number, are mostly forceful in upholding right, deeply pointed at contemporary abuses. Of his short letters to Zhào Dǐng after his southern banishment, several are repeatedly comforting and earnestly intent — the steadfastness of friendship can be seen.
The Gēngxī shīhuà says Jìzhòng was very fond of poetry; his diction is fine, his meaning deep. Now reading what he composed: the biānfú (margins, scope) is somewhat narrow; he already inclines toward the Jiānghú faction; but his brush-strength is firmly extracted, his clarity-and-keenness can please. The original collection was 15 juǎn; the world long lost it; those who discuss Sòng-dynasty figures sometimes do not know his name. We now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn search and assemble, arranged into 1 juǎn of poems and 4 juǎn of prose, to preserve the general outline; and we attach an outline-investigation of his life-record at this point — so that he may not be unknown to later ages. Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 9th month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Lín Jìzhòng is one of the second-rank casualties of the Qín Huì purge. Recommended by the chief minister Zhào Dǐng 趙鼎 in his second tenure (mid-Shàoxīng), Lín entered court and rose to Tàicháng shǎoqīng and Zhī Wùzhōu. The Sòng shǐ Zhào Dǐng biography records Zhào’s memorial naming Lín alongside Liú Dàběn, Hú Yín, Lǚ Běnzhōng 呂本中, and Cháng Tóng as the qīngyì (clear-discussion) figures of the era — an unusually distinguished collective designation. Lín then submitted a memorial against the peace settlement and was punished. The Sìkù editors note that this anti-peace memorial — the central political document of his career — was excised from the surviving collection (presumably during the Qín Huì period), leaving the zházǐ in the present text only indirectly attesting to his role. Letters of consolation to Zhào Dǐng after Zhào’s southern exile are preserved and are unusually frank.
The original 15-juǎn recension was lost; the present 6-juǎn was reconstructed by the Sìkù editors from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn. The dating bracket here uses 1130 (Lín’s known activity in court) through 1162 (a conservative notAfter; precise death date unknown).
Translations and research
No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
The Gēngxī shīhuà assesses Lín’s poetry as inclining toward the early Jiānghú style — a useful early-Southern-Sòng diagnostic, since the Jiānghú pài properly emerged only later. The Sìkù editors detect this same proto-Jiānghú timbre in the surviving poems.