Jiānghú zhǎngwēng jí 江湖長翁集
The Old-Man-of-the-Lakes-and-Rivers Collection by 陳造 (撰)
About the work
Jiānghú zhǎngwēng jí 江湖長翁集 in 40 juǎn is the biéjí of Chén Zào 陳造 (1133–1203, zì Tángqīng 唐卿, hào Jiānghú zhǎngwēng 江湖長翁), of Gāoyóu 高郵 (modern Jiāngsū). Jìnshì of Chúnxī 2 (1175); held office to Huáihǎi tíjǔ. The collection is one of the larger Southern-Sòng biéjí, with significant prose-and-poetry-correspondence with 范成大, 尤袤 (one of the four great Southern-Sòng poets — Yóu Mào), and 楊萬里. CBDB id 15459 confirms 1133–1203 lifedates.
Tiyao
[The KR4d0280 source file contains the WYG zǒngmù 目錄 first; the standard Sìkù tíyào (j. 159) recognizes Chén Zào as a competent late-Southern-Sòng polymath whose prose-and-poetry are well-represented in this large collection. The collection’s structural division (per the WYG zǒngmù): cífù (1 juǎn), wǔyán gǔshī (5 juǎn), qīyán gǔshī (4 juǎn), wǔyán lǜ (1 juǎn with páilǜ appendix), qīyán lǜ (5 juǎn), wǔliùyán juéjù (1 juǎn), qīyán juéjù (3 juǎn), jì (2 juǎn), xù (1+ juǎn), and various memorial-administrative prose extending to juǎn 40. Chén’s seven-syllable regulated verse (5 juǎn, ~365 pieces) is the most substantive single body in the collection.]
Abstract
Jiānghú zhǎngwēng jí is one of the more architecturally complete Southern-Sòng biéjí: 40 juǎn with substantive coverage of every major genre. The collection’s poetry contains 196 wǔyán lǜ and over 360 qīyán lǜ (regulated verse) plus 700+ juéjù (quatrains) — making Chén Zào one of the most prolific Southern-Sòng regulated-verse poets, comparable to Yáng Wànlǐ in volume if not in critical recognition. Chén corresponded with Fàn Chéngdà, Yóu Mào, and Yáng Wànlǐ — three of the four great Southern-Sòng poets — placing him within the inner literary circle of his generation. The dating bracket reflects his actual life: 1167 (around when he passed early-stage examinations) through 1203 (his death year per CBDB id 15459).
The hào Jiānghú zhǎngwēng establishes Chén as a senior figure of the Jiānghú (rivers-and-lakes) cultural complex centered on lower Yángzǐ / Huáihǎi — a different (and earlier) constellation than the formal Jiānghúpài of 戴復古 and the Línān booksellers. Chén’s connection to the Huái military district (he was Huáihǎi tíjǔ) gives the collection its distinctive frontier-garrison element.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
- Chinese scholarship limited; Sòng-rén zhuàn-jì zī-liào suǒ-yǐn gives the standard biographical entry.
Other points of interest
The collection’s volume of regulated verse and quatrains is a useful test case for studying the Chúnxī / Qìngyuán poetic milieu beyond the four great masters; Chén Zào provides a baseline of the period’s mainstream practice.