Hòulè jí 後樂集
The After-Joy Collection by 衛涇 (撰)
About the work
Hòulè jí 後樂集 in 20 juǎn is the Sìkù-reconstructed biéjí of Wèi Jīng 衛涇 (1159–1226, zì Qīngshū 清叔, originally hào Zhuōzhāi jūshì 拙齋居士, then Xīyuán jūshì 西園居士, and finally Hòulè 後樂 — taking the cognomen from Fàn Zhòngyān’s Yuèyánglóu jì “xiān tiānxià zhī yōu ér yōu, hòu tiānxià zhī lè ér lè”), of Huátíng 華亭 (modern Sōngjiāng) settled at Kūnshān 崑山. Jìnshì zhuàngyuán (1st-place) of Chúnxī 11 (1184). Held office to Cānzhī zhèngshì (executive vice-councillor); ennobled as Qín guógōng 秦國公; canonized Wénjié 文節. The Sòngshǐ did not give him a biography (a Sìkù-noted omission); the editors reconstructed his career from the Sìkù recovered fragments plus the NánSòng Hànyuàn tímíng jì and the Sòngshǐ Zǎifǔ biǎo. Original collection was 70 juǎn, edited and cut at Yǒngzhōu by Wèi’s son Wèi Qiáo 衛樵; long lost. Catalog meta gives “d. 1226” — CBDB id 12066 confirms 1159–1226.
Tiyao
[The standard tíyào, here translated:] The Hòulè jí in 20 juǎn was composed by Wèi Jīng of the Sòng. Jīng’s zì was Qīngshū, a man of Huátíng; moved-residence to Kūnshān. Dēng the jìnshì of Chúnxī 11 (1184) — first place. Wáng Mào’s Yěkè cóngshū says: “The tide reaches Yítíng — produces a zhuàngyuán*; jiǎchén (1184) — Wèi Jīng indeed kuí-led the world*” — and so on. Successively-officed to Cānzhī zhèngshì; ennobled as Qínguógōng; died with posthumous title Wénjié. His career is not preserved in the Sòngshǐ; only NánSòng Hànyuàn tímíng jì records that Jīng in Kāixǐ 2 (1206), 7th month, [held] office as Zhōngshū shèrén concurrent xiū Yùdiéguān and zhí Xuéshìyuàn; 10th month [appointed] Lǐbù shìláng concurrent shìdú; 3rd year (1207), 10th month, appointed Lǐbù shàngshū; 11th month appointed Yùshǐ Zhōngchéng. The Sòngshǐ Zǎifǔ biǎo records that Kāixǐ 3rd year (1207), 11th month bǐngxū, Jīng from Zhōngfèng dàfū shì Yùshǐ Zhōngchéng was appointed Duānmíngdiàn xuéshì qiānshū Shūmìyuàn shì; dīnghài (next day) concurrent quán Cānzhī zhèngshì; 12th month rènxū, Jīng with Léi Xiàoyǒu jointly appointed Cānzhī zhèngshì. Jiādìng 1 (1208), 6th month yǐhài, dismissed-as Zīzhèngdiàn xuéshì zhī Tánzhōu. And the collection has xièbiǎo — from Tánzhōu afterwards once zhī Fúzhōu; again zhī Lóngxīngfǔ. His office-passing, year-and-month, can still be verified-and-seen. Jīng initially hào Zhuōzhāi jūshì; changed hào to Xīyuán jūshì; later built a hall, took Fàn Zhòngyān’s Yuèyánglóu jì phrase, tí-ed it Hòulètáng — therefore self-named [thereby], and named the collection accordingly. The original-běn was 70 juǎn — composed by his son [Wèi] Qiáo, once cut at Yǒngzhōu; years long, [it] was lost. Míng Yáng Shū’s Sōng gù shù barely survives the name; but the běn is no longer to be seen. Now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn gathering-collecting, ordering, dividing into 20 juǎn. The Wèi-clan in Sòng times was famous for wénxué; Jīng’s various uncles [including] Fūmǐn during Shàoxīng held office as Lǐbù shìláng; in court was rather distinguished. Jīng’s younger brother Shí also deeply [studied] jīngshù; his composed Lǐjì jíshuō — already separately catalogued. Jīng’s compositions are by-and-large hépíng wēnyǎ (peaceful, warm-and-elegant), having body-and-style. Guī Yǒuguāng’s Zhènchuān jí praises [Jīng’s] wénzhāng yìlùn (literary discussions) [as] benefitting the contemporary world. When Hán Tuōzhòu was in power, [Jīng] retired-and-lived for ten years; at the residence of Shípǔ opened the Xīyuán; firmly-lying [refused to] go out — his advance-and-retreat between, indeed could with lǐ self-maintain. Now examining the collection’s various zòushū: his yīngzhào lùn běifá zhāzǐ says: “Two states mutually-opposed; those holding-weighty are at-ease; those moving-light are in-danger; yīngbīng always-victorious; first-acting always thwarted; force-criticizing Tuōzhòu’s kāixìn (opening-rift) [as] not [right]” — diction-and-meaning extremely qiēzhí (penetrating-direct). His memorials impeaching Yì Fú, Zhū Zhì, Lín Xíng [and] various zhuàng are also able to dǐchù (oppose-and-attack) the wicked-and-sycophantic, kǎnkǎn bùē (firmly upright, not toadying). Other discussions and listings are also all hitting the essentials. At the time can be called an upright man. Only his executive-office was not long; the Sòngshǐ further omitted the transmission [of his biography]; his great-integrity nearly came to be sunk-and-vanished. Fortunately the surviving prose is again-revealed, still able to support seeing his career’s broad outline. Qiánlóng 46 (1781), 9th month, respectfully collated.
Abstract
Hòulè jí preserves the corpus of Wèi Jīng, the Chúnxī 11 (1184) zhuàngyuán whom the Sòngshǐ — for unrecorded reasons — failed to give a biography. The Sìkù editors used this fact polemically: like the case of Cài Kān (KR4d0258), they reconstructed Wèi’s career from the biéjí and the NánSòng Hànyuàn tímíng jì and the Sòngshǐ Zǎifǔ biǎo, then explicitly framed the recovery as supplementing the Sòngshǐ’s omissions. Wèi’s politically substantive content includes his yīngzhào lùn běifá zhāzǐ — opposing the timing of Hán Tuōzhòu’s 1206 Kāixǐ běifá (Northern Expedition) on classical strategic grounds — and his impeachments of Yì Fú 易祓, Zhū Zhì 朱質, and Lín Xíng 林行 (all Hán Tuōzhòu allies). His ten-year retirement at Shípǔ’s Xīyuán during Hán Tuōzhòu’s domination is the principal Sòng example of yǐnyì (reclusive) refusal to serve. The dating bracket: 1184 (Wèi’s jìnshì zhuàngyuán) through 1226 (his death year per CBDB id 12066).
The Wèi family’s literary distinction is broad: Wèi Jīng’s uncle Wèi Fūmǐn 衛膚敏 was Lǐbù shìláng; his younger brother Wèi Shí 衛湜 was the canonical Lǐxué exegete (author of the WYG-cataloged Lǐjì jíshuō 禮記集說).
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language monograph located.
- 黃寬重. 1990s. Several articles on the Kāi-xǐ běi-fá — treats the strategic-policy opposition of which Wèi was a principal voice.
Other points of interest
Wèi’s Hòulètáng cognomen — taken from Fàn Zhòngyān’s “after the world’s joys, then I rejoice” — is one of the more touching late-Sòng appropriations of Northern-Sòng moral rhetoric. Guī Yǒuguāng’s Míng-era praise of Wèi’s writings makes him an established figure in Míng qǔshì (taking-the-Sòng-as-master) anthologization.