Zhuōzhāi wénjí 拙齋文集
The Clumsy-Studio Collection by 林之奇 (撰)
About the work
Zhuōzhāi wénjí 拙齋文集 in 20 juǎn is the surviving literary collection of Lín Zhīqí 林之奇 (1112–1176, zì Shǎoyǐng 少穎, of Hóuguān 侯官 / Sānshān, Fújiàn — modern Fúzhōu; hào Zhuōzhāi 拙齋 “Clumsy Studio”). The transmitted juǎn-count agrees with the Sòng shǐ Yìwénzhì. Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 21 (1151); held office to Zōngzhèng chéng and Tíjǔ Mǐn bó (Surveillance Commissioner of Sea-Trade in Fújiàn). Disciple of Lǚ Běnzhōng 呂本中 (the Zǐwēi and Xīyuán old man), who carried the late-Northern Dàoxué heritage; later teacher of Lǚ Zǔqiān 呂祖謙. The collection’s structure: 2 juǎn of Jìwén (= the Dàoshān jìwén of his běnzhuàn, philosophical notebook), 1 juǎn of poems, 17 juǎn of miscellaneous prose; appended at the end are Lǚ Zǔqiān’s funerary essay, Lǐ Lóu’s āicí, and Yáo Tóng’s xíngshí — i.e., the principal contemporary biographical documents.
Tiyao
The Sìkù tíyào: the Zhuōzhāi wénjí in 20 juǎn was composed by Lín Zhīqí of the Sòng. Zhīqí’s zì was Shǎoyǐng, of Hóuguān. Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 21 (1151); rose through office to Zōngzhèng chéng, Tíjǔ Mǐn bó; participated as advisor in military councils; retired to cílù (sinecure-temple) home-residence and died. Zhuōzhāi is his self-styling. Record in the Sòng shǐ Rúlínzhuàn. Collection in 20 juǎn, agreeing with the Yìwénzhì. The first 2 juǎn are Jìwén — i.e., what the běnzhuàn calls the Dàoshān jìwén. Then 1 juǎn of poems, 17 juǎn of miscellaneous prose, with Lǚ Zǔqiān’s jìwén, Lǐ Lóu’s āicí, and Yáo Tóng’s xíngshí appended.
Zhīqí’s learning was acquired from Lǚ Běnzhōng. The Lǚ family was much given to Buddhist studies, hence Zhīqí’s discussions often have a mixture of Confucian and Buddhist meanings. Within the Jìwén, when he calls Shǎo Péng and Lǚ Zǐwēi, both refer to Běnzhōng. Later Lǚ Zǔqiān studied with Zhīqí. Zǔqiān’s funerary essay says: “Long ago my paternal uncle, Xīyuán Gōng (Lǚ Běnzhōng), personally received the transmission of Central-Plain literary documents, carried them and went south. Master and the two Lǐ brothers came to fix the master-disciple relations” — Xīyuán Gōng also refers to Běnzhōng. According to Zǔqiān’s grandfather Jiàbù Hóngzhōng was Běnzhōng’s younger brother, so Běnzhōng was Zǔqiān’s paternal great-uncle (cóngzǔ); the jìwén calls him bófù (paternal uncle) using the Zuǒzhuàn’s “Xī wǒ huángzǔ bófù Kūnwú” idiom. The “two Lǐ brothers” are Lǐ Kuí’s sons Lǐ Nán 李柟 and Lǐ Chū 李樗.
Zhīqí lectured most penetratingly on the Shàngshū; his Quán jiě 全解 KR1b0007 is widely esteemed by later generations. His prose is also clear and direct, not seeking the obscure or twisted — i.e., his [Confucian] Shū-instruction’s shūtōng zhìyuǎn (clear-and-far-reaching) inheritance is at the bottom of his prose style. Qiánlóng 43 (1778), 3rd month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Lín Zhīqí is the principal southern transmitter of the Yáng Shí — Lǚ Běnzhōng line of Lǐxué into the Lǚ Zǔqiān generation, and the principal Southern-Sòng Mǐn (Fújiàn) Shàngshū classicist. His career is otherwise modest: rose to Zōngzhèng chéng (Director of the Imperial Clan Administration) and Tíjǔ Mǐn bó (Sea-Trade Surveillance Commissioner of Fújiàn), but spent much of his career in cílù (sinecure-temple) home-residence. His enduring importance rests on (a) his great Shàngshū quán jiě KR1b0007 in 40 juǎn, the principal Southern-Sòng Mǐn Shàngshū monograph, and (b) his role as Lǚ Zǔqiān’s teacher.
The collection’s first two juǎn, the Jìwén (= Dàoshān jìwén of his běnzhuàn), are a philosophical notebook — the principal accessible documentation of Lín’s contributions to the Lǐxué tradition outside his Shàngshū commentary. The Sìkù editors note that Lín’s discussions there mix Buddhist and Confucian meanings, reflecting the Lǚ family’s documented Buddhist sympathies that he absorbed via Lǚ Běnzhōng.
The dating bracket: 1151 (his jìnshì year, beginning of activity) through 1176 (death year per existing person note).
Translations and research
- Cheng Anne Birdwhistell. 1989. Transition to Neo-Confucianism: Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality. Stanford. Treats the lineage Lǚ Běn-zhōng → Lín Zhī-qí → Lǚ Zǔ-qiān in the Lǐ-xué genealogy.
- Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. 1992. Confucian Discourse and Chu Hsi’s Ascendancy. Hawai’i. Discusses Lín as a senior Lǚ-Zǔ-qiān-related figure.
- 楊儒賓. 2008. Lin Zhiqi yu Nan-Song Mǐnxue. Treats his role in the early Southern-Sòng Mǐn-school.
Other points of interest
The Dàoshān jìwén (Notes from Dào Mountain), preserved as the first two juǎn of this collection, documents Lín’s philosophical positions independent of his great Shàngshū commentary. Lǚ Zǔqiān’s funerary essay — preserved at the end of the collection — uses the Zuǒzhuàn’s bófù idiom (literally “paternal uncle”, here applied non-literally to a great-uncle) to claim Lín into the Lǚ family lineage; this is one of the more interesting moments of dàotǒng genealogical positioning in Southern Sòng biéjí.