Yìngzhāi zázhù 應齋雜著
Miscellaneous Writings from the Yìng-zhāi by 趙善括 (撰)
About the work
Yìngzhāi zázhù 應齋雜著 in 6 juǎn is the Sìkù-reconstructed biéjí of Zhào Shànkuò 趙善括, a sixth-generation descendant of Tàizōng’s fourth son Shāngwáng Yuánfèn 元份 (per the Sòng zōngshì shìxì biǎo). No biography in the Sòngshǐ; the Sìkù editors reconstructed his career exclusively from the collection’s own self-references: jìnshì; magistrate of Chángshú; vice-prefect of Chángshā (Tánzhōu); prefect of Èzhōu; Húběi tíjǔ; ending as Yuèzhōu cáozuǒ (revenue-deputy of Yuèzhōu). Substantial chánghé (call-and-response) poetic exchanges with 洪邁, Zhāng Fǔ 章甫, and especially Xīn Qìjí 辛棄疾 — whose poetic-political register Zhào shared.
Tiyao
The Yìngzhāi zázhù in 6 juǎn was composed by Zhào Shànkuò of the Sòng. Shànkuò: the Sòngshǐ has no biography; only the zōngshì shìxì biǎo lists this name as a sixth-generation descendant of Tàizōng’s fourth son Shāngwáng Yuánfèn. Examining the collection there is a tomb-inscription for Zhào the yùngàn — naming the same-surnamed elder brother [Zhào] Kědà 可大 as a seventh-generation descendant of Yìzǔ — which agrees with the zōngshì biǎo’s generation-sequence; therefore he is the same man. Yet the biǎo does not detail his rank or hometown. Now examining the collection: the yà Huáng shūmì zhī Lóngxīngfǔ qǐ contains “one-shop as a hometowner; should cultivate the respect of mulberry-and-catalpa” — therefore [his] registration was at Lóngxīng [Nánchāng]. The jì Hànyáng Zhàoshǒu Wén has “as a clansman of Xiānyuán sworn-bond, equally [we] grasped yàntǎ” — therefore he had the jìnshì degree. The dé Chángshúzǎi xiè zhèngfǔ qǐ has “lifting body in the kēdì: a thousand-year encounter” — therefore in his post-graduation appointment he was Chángshúlìng. The hè Zhào shūmì qǐ has “surplus member as biéjià; reluctantly drawing salary in the capital area” — and further the Chángshā cuì shǔ Qìngzhǎo poem — then by xiànlìng he was cuì jùn. The yǔ Húběi Zhāng ānfǔ qǐ has “reluctantly grasping a single banner; deeply ashamed of gònglǐ” — and further Èzhōu shàngdiàn sān zhāzǐ — then from jùncuì to Zhī Èzhōu. The xiè zǎizhí qǐ has “newly nourishing the gōuhè anxiety; suddenly added the mùfǔ count” — xiè Húnán shuài qǐ has “forty years rocking-back-and-forth at zhōuxiàn; thirty thousand li running-and-rushing in dust” — then on completing his term he lived at leisure, again filled a staff-post. Further cì jìmù zhūyǒu yùn shī xiè Yuècáo qǐ — then he ended at Yuèzhōu cáozuǒ. This collection: the Sòngzhì does not record [it]; the original juǎn and contents cannot be examined. Now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn’s recordings, [we] gathered them as 6 juǎn. Sòng memorials are mostly floating-words obstructing the essentials, given to ten-thousand-words at every turn — often eclipsing their basic intent. Shànkuò’s submitted zhāzǐ are by-and-large concise-and-fitting, capturing the essence of discussing affairs. As for [his] description of confused-changes’ defects and his correction of reward-and-punishment failures, all deeply hit time’s defects. Yet during Yǒnglè the compilation of the Lìdài míngchén zòuyì did not record one word — for what reason it is not clear. His poetry-and-cí are mostly call-and-response with Hóng Mài and Zhāng Fǔ, and exchanges-and-presents with Xīn Qìjí especially many. His cí-spirit’s swift-and-vigorous quality is also similar [to theirs]. Examining his Jīnlíng yǒugǎn shī: “Xiè Ān and Wáng Dǎo too can be blamed; / today thus making nánběi divided phrases” — his dissatisfaction with mountain-and-water song-and-dance, civil ease and military ease — the yìqù (taste) is by-and-large the same as Qìjí — fittingly they corresponded with each other. Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 2nd month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Yìngzhāi zázhù is one of the few surviving Sòng imperial-clansman biéjí of substantive literary value, recovered by the Sìkù editors from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn. Zhào Shànkuò is otherwise undocumented — even the Sòngshǐ Zōngshì biǎo lists only his name. The Sìkù editors’ tíyào is a textbook example of biéjí-based prosopography: working entirely from the collection’s biǎo and qǐ greetings, they reconstruct a detailed career covering at least seven distinct posts spanning the Chángshú magistracy, the Chángshā vice-prefecture, the Èzhōu prefecture, Húběi judicial-supervision, and ending at Yuèzhōu revenue-deputy.
The collection’s most distinctive feature is Zhào’s poetic-political alignment with Xīn Qìjí 辛棄疾 辛棄疾 — visible in extensive chánghé exchanges and in poems like the Jīnlíng yǒugǎn (cited by the Sìkù editors), which criticizes the appeasement-policy line via a backward-glance at Xiè Ān 謝安 and Wáng Dǎo 王導. Other principal correspondents are 洪邁 and Zhāng Fǔ. The Sìkù editors’ observation that the Yǒnglè-era Lìdài míngchén zòuyì recorded none of Zhào’s memorials is left unexplained — possibly reflecting the zōngshì’s political marginalization or the biéjí’s late and limited circulation. The dating bracket: 1163 (Zhào’s earliest dateable post — the Lóngxīng / Qiándào transition is when he was Chángshúlìng) through 1207 (the death year of Xīn Qìjí, his principal correspondent — Zhào’s own death year is unknown).
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. The principal references are the Sòng-rén zhuàn-jì zī-liào suǒ-yǐn and the Sì-kù tíyào itself.
Other points of interest
The Sìkù tíyào’s prosopographical methodology — reconstructing a career entirely from a biéjí’s biǎo and qǐ greetings — is one of the more impressive examples of late-imperial biéjí-based historical research, and the entry deserves attention as a methodological model.