止齋集

Zhǐzhāi jí 止齋集

The Zhǐ-zhāi (Stop-Studio) Collection by 陳傅良 (撰), 曹叔遠 (編)

About the work

Zhǐzhāi xiānshēng wénjí 止齋先生文集 in 52 juǎn (per the catalog meta — the SBCK preface gives 51 juǎn) is the literary collection of Chén Fùliáng 陳傅良 (1137–1203, zì Jūnjǔ 君舉, hào Zhǐzhāi 止齋, shì Wénjié 文節, of Ruìān 瑞安 in Wēnzhōu — modern Zhèjiāng), the principal Yǒngjiā school 永嘉學派 figure of his generation and the senior senior of Yè Shì 葉適 (1150–1223). The collection was edited by his disciple Cáo Shūyuǎn 曹叔遠 in Jiādìng wùchén (1208), with a substantial preface that constitutes the principal contemporary biographical document and includes a chronological five-stage account of Chén’s intellectual career (early Méitán retreat → 1167 Méitán fixation → 1172 jìnshì → 1187 Húnán commission → 1193 Guāngzōng court audience → 1203 death).

Tiyao

The SBCK source carries Cáo Shūyuǎn’s 1208 preface and the document-tables; the WYG-style Sìkù tíyào is not at the head of the source file (no tíyào found in source).

The Cáo Shūyuǎn preface (translated, condensed): “Master, by Heaven’s gift of intelligence, exhausting his learning’s strength, possessed the depths of the Six Canons; gripped the reins of the Nine Canons and the Hundred Schools, channeled them all to converge into one — laying open wényì (literary-meaning), trampling-down all assemblies, exhaustingly clarifying the dìwáng (imperial) world-managing grand pattern; and on the zhìluàn xīngshuāi (order-and-disorder, rise-and-fall) processes from QínHàn down, alone raised the source-and-essential, not entangled in the many tangents. By this he illuminated the past and verified the present, silently observed the contemporary great-peace mechanism — deeply embraced the great enterprise. Reaching at huàcái tuīxíng (transformation-and-shaping, advance-and-execute) — without sound or scent — making people turn-heart and incline to the Dào — his gānglǐng tiáomù (cardinal-rope and disciplinary-articles) all complete. Often forgetful of sleep and food, careful in wánshú (chewing-thoroughly), almost facing-Heaven-and-Earth and waiting on later sages a hundred generations later without doubt. Although his speech was often unable to convince, his progress was sometimes blocked, his thought turned-and-confused, with-things winding-down — left-pushing right-pulling, slanting-receiving and broadly-leading — his rènzhòng dàoyuǎn (carrying-heavy and going-far) to old-age never one day dared forget this.

“Yes! Splendid the ZōuLǔ (Mèngzǐ-Confucius) lineage’s continuation! the HéLuò (Cheng-brothers) heritage’s transmission — for a thousand years one knows not how often visible.

“Holding the canon outside the door, the squared shoes-and-mats stuffed-fully — a single phrase setting brush, transmitted-cited like thunder reverberating in the school-hall — mutually-imitating, the Shàoxīng-era prose underwent grand transformation, beginning at Lóngxīng guǐwèi (1163; here meaning his early Méitán lecturing). Withdrawing to dwell at Méitán (Plum-Pool), upright-sat in deep thought — superb-attainment exceeding-perfectness — learning completed and Dào honored — fixed at Qiándào dīnghài (1167; here, his Méitán settlement-fixation). Broadly meeting and widely verifying — penetrating-blocked and merging-with-stuck-points — duì cè in court placed first — earnestly-loyal independently-attaining — flourished at Qiándào rénchén (1172; here, his jìnshì placement). At Tàixué and Mǐnfǔ (Fú-jiàn-prefect) successively impeached and dismissed; toiling for ten years cold-and-warm; piecing-together literary documents, the broad-rope completely lifted — prepared at Chúnxī dīngwèi (1187; his Mǐn-fǔ-tenure productive year). Rising to govern, hanging-the-clothing, holding-the-staff and grasping-the-tally to Húnán — clearing and stretching, comforting and sorting — the people had genuine ancient-hundred-years-thinking — ample at the Xiāng mountains — verified at Shàoxīng gēngxū (1190; his Húnán pacification-commission). Summoned to audience by Guāngzōng — sudden meeting and prestigious use — attendant-attending and substituting-words — assisted in propping-up the heir-establishment — at the appropriate moment store-and-plan-set, about to elaborate — at Shàoxī guǐchǒu (1193; his Guāng-zōng-court tenure). Twisted-and-extreme remonstrance, hovering and request-leave; Lóngfēi (Níngzōng’s accession) urgent summons — ten-tens-of-days then dismissed; thereafter took up the old aspiration to compose explanations and commentaries; ailment progressively heavy; the great beam finally fell — ending at Jiātài guǐhài (1203; his death year).”

Abstract

Chén Fùliáng’s Zhǐzhāi jí is the principal literary monument of the Yǒngjiā school 永嘉學派 — the Southern-Sòng “utilitarian” / jīngshì school opposed to Zhū Xī’s Dàoxué. Chén was its principal figure of his generation; his student Yè Shì succeeded him as the school’s leading figure. The Wēnzhōu (modern Zhèjiāng) regional concentration of the school made it the principal alternative to the MǐnWù (Fújiàn–Wùzhōu) Dàoxué establishment.

The collection’s structure is unusually self-conscious: Cáo Shūyuǎn’s preface lays out Chén’s intellectual trajectory in five chronological stages (1163, 1167, 1172, 1187, 1190, 1193, 1203) and explicitly indicates that the recension begins from the Méitán dīnghài settlement-fixation point (1167); earlier writings were excluded. The 51/52-juǎn recension preserves: gēcí and gǔlǜ shī; inner-and-outer zhì; zòuzhuàng and zházǐ; biǎo and qǐ; letters; xù; jì; miscellanies; jìwén; mùzhì; xíngzhuàng — i.e., a comprehensive but selective documentary archive. Cáo’s preface further records Chén’s lost or unfinished works: Dúshū pǔ (2 juǎn), Chūnqiū hòuzhuàn (12 juǎn, surviving as KR1e0038), Zuǒshì zhāngzhǐ (30 juǎn, lost), Zhōulǐ jìnshuō (3 juǎn), Jìndú Yìzǔ huángdì shílù (1 juǎn), and the unfinished Shī xùnyì, ZhōuHàn yǐlái bīngzhì (= Lìdài bīngzhì 8 juǎn, surviving), Huángcháo dàshì jì, Huángcháo bǎiguān gōngqīng bàibàpǔ, Huángcháo cáifù bīngfáng zhìguānzhì gǎo. This list is the principal source for the inventory of his jīngshì corpus.

The jiādìng 1208 family-disciple recension preserves no extra-Cáo-Shū-yuǎn material; the SBCK reproduces this directly. The dating bracket: 1167 (the Méitán settlement-fixation point Cáo identifies as the recension’s terminus a quo) through 1203 (Chén’s death year).

Translations and research

• Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. 1982. Utilitarian Confucianism: Chen Liang’s Challenge to Chu Hsi. Harvard. Treats the Yǒng-jiā / Yǒng-kāng schools and Chén Fù-liáng’s role.
• Niu Pu. 2003. Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the Late Chosŏn Dynasty. Treats the East-Asian jīng-shì genealogy in which Chén stands.
• 葉子奇 / 王宇. 2008. Yǒng-jiā xué-pài tōng-lùn. The principal modern monograph on the Yǒng-jiā school.

Other points of interest

Cáo Shūyuǎn’s 1208 preface — with its self-conscious five-stage chronological articulation of Chén’s intellectual development — is one of the most carefully constructed Southern-Sòng biéjí prefaces and serves as the principal contemporary biographical document. The lost Zuǒshì zhāngzhǐ (30 juǎn) — recoverable only in fragments via the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn — is one of the more significant Sòng Zuǒzhuàn studies that did not come through.

Links

• Chen Fuliang (Wikipedia)
• Wikidata Q15913115
• Sòng shǐ j. 434 (Chén Fùliáng biography).