雪山集

Xuěshān jí 雪山集

The Snow-Mountain Collection by 王質 (撰)

About the work

Xuěshān jí 雪山集 in 16 juǎn (the title taken from his hào — Xuěshān, “Snow Mountain”) is the Sìkù recension of the literary collection of Wáng Zhì 王質 (1135–1189, zì Jǐngwén 景文, of Yùnzhōu 鄆州 in the North, family resettled at Xīngguó 興國 in the South — i.e., modern Jiāngxī; in the collection he sometimes self-styles Dōngpíng or Wènyáng “to remember the root”). Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 30 (1160). Wáng was a senior Southern-Sòng polymath: classicist (his Shī zǒngwén KR1c0014 is one of the three Southern-Sòng Shī-commentaries setting aside the small preface), historian (the lost Pòlùn in 50 piān on dynastic transitions, of which 4 piān survive), travel-writer (the Xīzhēng cóngjì, including 139 poems + 51 cí + 10 jì + 6 xù + 2 míng between dīnghài and gēngyín — i.e., 1167–1170, on his westbound trip with Yú Yǔnwén 虞允文), and political memorialist (the celebrated Lùn hézhànshǒu shū — Memorial on Peace, War, and Defense). The catalog meta has the title as 雲山集 (Yúnshān jí, “Cloud-Mountain”) — a yún-xuě graphic confusion; the source files, the Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì, and the Wáng Ruǎn xù all give 雪山集 (Xuěshān jí). The correct title is followed here.

Tiyao

The Sìkù tíyào: the Xuěshān jí in 16 juǎn was composed by Wáng Zhì of the Sòng. Zhì’s zì was Jǐngwén; ancestrally of Yùnzhōu; later moved to Xīngguó. In the collection he often self-styles Dōngpíng or sometimes Wènyáng — not forgetting the root. Jìnshì of Shàoxīng 30 (1160). Summoned to the guǎnzhí test, did not go. Yùshǐ zhōngchéng Wāng Chè commanding JīngXiāng, and Shūmìshǐ Zhāng Jùn commanding JiāngHuái, both successively recruited him into their headquarters. Soon entered as Tàixué zhèng; under Xiàozōng, on submitting a memorial discussing affairs, was struck by enemies and dismissed. Subsequently Yú Yǔnwén commanding ChuānShǎn, recruited him to go along; later entered as Chìlìngsuǒ shāndìngguān, transferred to Shūmìyuàn biānxiūguān; out as Tōngpàn Jīngnánfǔ; transferred Jízhōu — neither served. With a sinecure, retired to mountain residence and died.

Zhì was earnestly devoted to jīngxué; his Shī zǒngwén is separately listed KR1c0014. His wénzhāng and qìjié (firm conduct) were highly esteemed by the world; the Sòng shǐ biography greatly extols him. Only Zhōu Mì’s Qídōng yěyǔ records: when Zhāng Yuè 張說 was Chéngzhǐ (Imperial Edict-Drafter) the court officials mostly went to him; only Zhì and Shěn Yíng warned each other not to call. Soon Zhì secretly went to Zhāng’s, just entered the visitor-station; Shěn Yíng was already inside. The matter was loudly noised about for long; both were uncomfortable and left. This conflicts severely with the Sòng shǐ. Examining the shǐ: Yú Yǔnwén held Zhì as straight-and-bright, did-not-bend, and recommended him as Yòu zhèngyán. At that time the eunuch faction were running things and feared him; Zhì yínzǔ (silently obstructed) them. Hence Zhì was no faction-and-favor seeker; surely Zhāng Yuè’s faction feared his impeachment and counter-fabricated the rumor — what the shǐ calls “yín zǔ” refers precisely to this. Zhōu Mì did not investigate and erroneously recorded.

Look at how he was first known to Zhāng Jùn, then recommended by Tāng Sītuì for Tàixué zhèng; yet his Lùn hézhànshǒu shū attacks both men without sparing — could one who pursues profit and lightly aligns do this?

The collection is long lost in transmission; only seen scattered in the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn. The shǐ says he once composed Lùn in 50 piān on dynastic ruler-and-minister governance and disorder, called the Pòlùn — only Hàn Gāodì, Wéndì, Five-dynasties Liáng Mòdì, Zhōu Shìzōng — 4 piān — survive. Also Zhì’s preface to Xīzhēng cóngjì says: from dīnghài to gēngyín (1167–1170) gained 139 poems, 51 cí, 10 jì, 6 xù, 2 míng; further at Chúnxī 2 (1175) composed tuìwén yǒu liù huǐ yǒu liù biàn. The Yǒnglè dàdiǎn [content] is gathered under the general heading “Xuěshān jí”, undistinguished. The Sòngshǐ Yìwénzhì records Wáng Jǐngwén jí in 40 juǎn and separately a Xuěshān jí in 3 juǎn; Jiāo Hóng’s Jīngjízhì and Zhū Yízūn’s Jīngyì kǎo both say 40 juǎn. Examining Wáng Ruǎn’s 王阮 original preface: the family entrusted Ruǎn with the yígǎo; Ruǎn searched and edited into 40 juǎn, naming it Xuěshān, following the original. So Zhì originally had a small collection in 3 juǎn self-titled Xuěshān; when Ruǎn edited the entire collection, the volume-count grew but the title was kept; hence the 3-juǎn and 40-juǎn records mutually visible across catalogs. Zhāng Duānyì’s Guìěr jí records his Héchù nánwàng jiǔ poem and calls his book “Xuězhāi jí” — a printing-block transmission error of shān into zhāi (mountain → studio).

We now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn contents arrange and order, obtaining 16 juǎn. His poetry-and-prose, where year-and-month can be traced, are each verified and noted under the title. Although remnant-and-broken, of the original 4-and-5 tenths, his life’s outings-and-attainments and wénzhāng zōngzhǐ (literary-purpose) may also be glimpsed in outline. Qiánlóng 41 (1776), [month not visible].

Abstract

Wáng Zhì is one of the most independent and intellectually substantive Southern-Sòng literati. Three features mark him out. First, he was an early adopter of the post-small-preface approach to Shī-classic interpretation: his Shī zǒngwén (in 20 juǎn) is one of the three Southern-Sòng Shī-commentaries — with Zhèng Qiáo’s 鄭樵 Shī biànwàng and Zhū Xī’s Shī jízhuàn — that set aside the Máo preface tradition. Second, his Pòlùn (Plain Discourses) — 50 piān on dynastic transitions, of which only 4 survive — is one of the early-Southern-Sòng historiographic monuments. Third, his political stance was independently anti-faction: though promoted by Zhāng Jùn 張浚 (war camp) and recommended by Tāng Sītuì 湯思退 (peace camp) for Tàixué zhèng, his celebrated Lùn hézhànshǒu shū attacked both men without sparing.

His Xīzhēng cóngjì — composed during his westbound expedition with Yú Yǔnwén 虞允文 to Sìchuān (dīnghài to gēngyín / 1167–1170) — is a substantial travel-cycle of 139 poems + 51 cí + 10 jì + 6 xù + 2 míng, partially preserved in this collection.

The textual history is unusual: Wáng’s friend and editor Wáng Ruǎn 王阮 (own collection KR4d0247) made a 40-juǎn recension after Wáng Zhì’s death; this was lost. The Sìkù editors recovered 16 juǎn from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, perhaps four to five tenths of the original.

The dating bracket: 1160 (Wáng’s jìnshì year, the start of his career) through 1189 (his death year per CBDB id 22799). The Qiánlóng shàngyù of 1775 preserved at the front of the source files explicitly orders the qīngcí (Daoist prayer-formulae) pieces excised from the carving (because of imperial-Confucian distaste for Daoist liturgy in Sìbù literature), while preserving them in the manuscript; this zhìshū (system-document) of the Sìkù compilation is one of the most interesting in the corpus.

Translations and research

• Bol, Peter K. 1992. “This Culture of Ours”: Intellectual Transitions in Tʻang and Sung China. Stanford. Treats Wáng’s place in the Shī-criticism transitions of the 12th century.
• van Zoeren, Steven. 1991. Poetry and Personality: Reading, Exegesis, and Hermeneutics in Traditional China. Stanford. Discusses the post-small-preface turn of which Wáng is a part.
• 楊世文. 2010. Wáng Zhì xué-shù yán-jiū. Pá-shǔ. Treats Wáng comprehensively.

Other points of interest

The 1775 imperial shàngyù preserved at the front of the source files orders the qīngcí (Daoist prayer-formulae) excised from the carving; this is the principal documented intervention by Qiánlóng in the Sìkù’s editorial criteria for KR4d biéjí, made on the principle that the qīngcí are heterodox and unfit for the Sìbù. The Lùn hézhànshǒu shū is one of the principal independent positional statements of the Lóngxīng / Chúnxī era, distinct from both the war and peace camps.

Links

• Wang Zhi (Wikipedia, zh)
• Sòng shǐ j. 395 (Wáng Zhì biography).