鄮峰眞隱漫錄

Màofēng Zhēnyǐn mànlù 鄮峰眞隱漫錄

The Mào-fēng Zhēn-yǐn Casual Records by 史浩 (撰)

About the work

Màofēng Zhēnyǐn mànlù 鄮峰眞隱漫錄 in 50 juǎn is the literary collection of Shǐ Hào 史浩 (1106–1194, zì Zhíwēng 直翁, hào Zhēnyǐn 真隱; posthumous shì Wénhuì 文惠, of Yínxiàn 鄞縣 — Níngbō, Zhèjiāng). Màofēng is Mt. Mào, the principal Níngbō landmark over his hometown — hence the hào “Màofēng Zhēnyǐn”, “Sojourning Recluse of Mào Peak”. Shǐ Hào served Xiàozōng in his qiándǐ (princely-establishment) days, twice as chief minister in Lóngxīng (1163) and Chúnxī, posthumously pèixiǎng in the imperial temple. The structure: 5 juǎn of poems + 39 juǎn of miscellaneous prose + 4 juǎn of cíqǔ (lyrics) + 2 final juǎn of Tóngguàn xūzhī (Things-A-Boy-Should-Know) — 30 chapters of family-government advice in rhymed form, dated xīnchǒu (1181), composed during his retirement as Shǎofù in attendance at the Jīngyán.

Tiyao

The Sìkù tíyào: the Màofēng Zhēnyǐn mànlù in 50 juǎn was composed by Shǐ Hào of the Sòng. Hào has a Shàngshū jiǎngyì — already separately listed KR1b0010. The collection is recorded in Chén Zhènsūn’s Shūlù jiětí and the Sòng shǐ Yìwénzhì both as 50 juǎn; this present recension agrees.

Hào served Xiàozōng in his princely days; in Lóngxīng and Chúnxī eras, twice as zǎikuí (chief minister); after death, raised to pèixiǎng in the imperial temple. He pushed forward the worthy and was generous-and-non-contentious — qualities the world generally praised. When Xiàozōng appointed Zhāng Jùn 張浚 in keen will to wage war, Hào alone held this not so, and was thus impeached and dismissed. The Yuán-era historians who composed Hào’s biography also reproached him a little for not aiding the [emperor’s] huīfù (recovery) program.

But examining the collection — pieces such as Lùn Shāndōng wèi kě yòngbīng, Lùn guīzhèngrén, Lùn wèi kě běifá, Huízòu tiáojù bìshì, all sharply argue that Lǐ Xiǎnzhōng and Shào Hóngyuān were rash-and-reckless and lacked plans, that they should not be lightly used, that one should drill troops and store provisions to accumulate strength over ten years. Then Huáixī fled-and-collapsed. His words proved out as if by shīguī (divination). One cannot but call it the seeing of an old-and-mature statesman. Although later he again held office and could not realize the wealth-and-strength program — to fulfill his words — yet his measuring strength and recognizing difficulty: his initial shuō (program) cannot be deeply criticized.

As to the běnzhuàn saying Hào in the Lúnduì requested the emperor to choose between Pǔān and Ēnpíng wáng (Xiàozōng’s two sons) and establish one as crown prince, and that Gāozōng exclaimed “a useful man” — the collection’s Lúnduì zházǐ Yǒusī bù néng tuīguǎng ēnyì has a footnote: “Witnessed-knowing of Gāozōng was only by this zhá” — indicating that this thing should be before the qǐng dìng jìsì (request-fix-the-succession). The běnzhuàn fails to reach this. The collection was edited by his disciples; what is said must have evidence. This too suffices to be cross-checked with the official history.

The collection: 5 juǎn poetry, 39 juǎn miscellaneous prose, 4 juǎn cíqǔ. The final 2 juǎn are the Tóngguàn xūzhī, divided into 30 zhāng — all on zhìjiā xiūshēn (regulating-the-house and self-cultivation), set in rhyme — recorded for his family-school to instruct his sons and grandsons. Self-signed xīnchǒu (1181), Chúnxī 8; this is the period of his dismissal from office, serving as Shǎofù in attendance at the Jīngyán. Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 3rd month, respectfully collated.

Abstract

Shǐ Hào is one of three or four most documented Southern-Sòng chief ministers in the biéjí tradition. He served as principal counselor to Xiàozōng during the latter’s princely days and was the architect of Xiàozōng’s accession (the central evidence for which is preserved in the collection’s Lúnduì zházǐ — see the Sìkù editors’ careful reconstruction of the chronology against the běnzhuàn). His twice-tenured chief-ministership (Lóngxīng 1; Chúnxī 5–6) was bracketed by his opposition to Zhāng Jùn 張浚’s catastrophic war program: his memorials Lùn Shāndōng wèi kě yòngbīng, Lùn guīzhèngrén, Lùn wèi kě běifá, Huízòu tiáojù bìshì — all preserved in this collection — argued that the Sòng should drill troops and store provisions for a ten-year campaign rather than launch the precipitous war that ended at Fúlí (1163). The Sìkù editors explicitly correct the Sòngshǐ biography’s negative assessment, holding that Shǐ Hào’s caution was vindicated by events and that his measure of strength was correct.

The closing 2 juǎn of Tóngguàn xūzhī — composed during his 1181 retirement as Shǎofù attached to the Jīngyán — are an unusual rhymed family-government text directly comparable to Yán Zhītuī’s Yánshì jiāxùn but cast as zhāngjù verse for memorization. Posthumously pèixiǎng in the imperial temple — one of the highest Southern-Sòng official honors.

The dating bracket: 1144 (jìnshì year) through 1194 (death year).

Translations and research

• Tao Jing-shen. 1988. Two Sons of Heaven. University of Arizona. Treats Shǐ Hào’s role in the Lóng-xīng era and the war/peace negotiations.
• Davis, Richard L. 1986. Court and Family in Sung China. Duke. Treats the Shǐ family of Yín-xiàn.
• Schmidt-Glintzer, Helwig. 1979. “Die Verhandlungen über den Frieden von 1164.” Oriens Extremus 26.

Other points of interest

The Tóngguàn xūzhī (1181) is one of the earliest rhymed-verse family-government primers in the Sòng jiāxùn tradition; it pre-dates the Sānzì jīng attributed to Wáng Yīnglín 王應麟 (1223–1296) and shares its zhāngjù memorization principle. The Sìkù editors’ positive re-evaluation of Shǐ Hào against the Sòngshǐ assessment is one of the most pointed late-Qián-lóng historical revisions in the Jíbù tíyào.

Links

• Shi Hao (Wikipedia)
• Wikidata Q15916421
• Sòng shǐ j. 396 (biography of Shǐ Hào).