牆東類稿

Qiángdōng lèigǎo 牆東類稿

The Qiáng-dōng (Eastern-Wall) Classified Manuscripts by 陸文圭 (撰)

About the work

The twenty-juàn reconstructed biéjí of Lù Wénguī 陸文圭 (CBDB 28416, 1252–1336), zì Zǐfāng 子方, hào Qiángdōng 牆東 (“Eastern Wall,” from the HòuHàn shū topos of Wáng Jūngōng’s “the eastern wall of the king [is the jūnzǐ’s] Qiángdōng-recluse”), native of Jiāngyīn 江陰 (Chángzhōu, Jiāngsū). A child prodigy who passed the Sòng xiāngshì in Chūnqiū at the start of Xiánchún (1265 — age 13!); after the Sòng’s fall withdrew to private teaching; in Yányòu (1314–1320) tested again under the renewed Yuán kējǔ and passed the xiāngshì a second time (now in his 60s); declined court summons on age and illness and died in his Jiāngyīn home in 1336. By far the longest-lived of the Yuán Hàn-Confucian biéjí authors — survived from the late Sòng through the Yuán imperial unification, the post-Mongol-conquest yímín period, the early-Yuán bóyǎ generation, the Tàidìng / Tiānlì literary culture, into the late-Yuán Tàidìng / Tiānlì era — zuì wéi lǎoshòu (“the most aged-long-lived,” in the Sìkù editors’ note). Broadly learned in jīng, shǐ, astronomy, geography, lǜxiàng (acoustical-and-calendrical), medicine, and suànshù (mathematics) — the Yuánshǐ j. 189 (Rúxué zhuàn) biography summarizes “rónghuì jīngzhuàn, zònghéng biànhuà mò cè qí yásì; dōngnán xuézhě jiē shī zhī” (fused-the-Classics-and-traditions, vertically-horizontally transformed and changed beyond fathoming-its-shore; southeastern scholars all teacher-followed him). Specially adept in geography (Yuánshǐ says his geographical study was “kǎohé shèn xiáng” — examined-and-verified extremely closely) — the only such piece preserved is the surviving Biàn Máo Yǐng zhuàn zhōng Zhōngshān yī tiáo (single item on the Zhōngshān in the Máo Yǐng zhuàn); all the rest of the geographical work is lost. The original twenty-juàn recension was long without transmitted base; the present is a Yǒnglè dàdiǎn-reconstructed text producing 300+ prose pieces and 600+ poetry-and-cí pieces, arranged in 20 juàn matching the original outline. The collection’s miscellaneous internal contradictions (the Wúxiàn xuétián jì dated Zhìyuán xīnmǎo = 1291 but containing the phrase “yú xiàn Wúxiàn xuéshì” — “I held the post of Wúxiàn xuéshì” — Wúxiàn was Zhìyuán 28 = 1291, Lù was then only 39 and the yú yú qiě lǎo “I am foolish and now old” phrase in the same piece is incompatible) suggest some pieces may be misattributed or are surrogate-compositions for friends.

Tiyao

[Standard Sìkù tíyào from source, summarized:] Qiángdōng lèigǎo in 20 juàn by Lù Wénguī of the Yuán; Wénguī’s zì was Zǐfāng, a man of Jiāngyīn — in youth and discerning, broadly through the Classics-and-Histories and astronomy, geography, lǜxiàng, medicine, mathematical learning. In Sòng Xiánchún beginning, by Chūnqiū passed the xiāngxuǎn. In Yányòu the kējǔ was established, [he] again passed the xiāngjǔ; on age-and-illness did not respond to the summons-and-appointment; died in [his] family. His deeds [are] preserved in the Yuánshǐ Rúlín zhuàn. [Lù] Wénguī, at the end of the Sòng, was already in [his] twenties; entered the Yuán after, [he lived for] more than fifty years; down to Tàidìng [and] Tiānlì he still answered-the-invitation and set-up-teaching at Róngshān; at Zhìshùn end he still composed [the] Chén Jìngshū Āndìng cí jì; further [some] several years, [it was] Shùndì’s Zhìzhèng beginning, [he] only-then died — most-aged-most-long-lived. Only the Yuánshǐ does not record his ascending the official rolls — yet in the collection [there is the] Wúxiàn xuétián jì having the phrase “in Zhìyuán xīnmǎo (1291) I held the affairs of Wúxiàn xuéshì” — also seemingly [he] once was a teaching-official. However xīnmǎo was [Yuán] Shìzǔ’s Zhìyuán 28 (1291); Wénguī was at that time only thirty-or-so; and in the record there are the yú yú qiě lǎo (I am foolish and old) phrases — not in accord with Wénguī’s affair-circumstances; or this record was originally composed in surrogate for others and lost the attribution-note.

The histories call Wénguī’s prose “rónghuì jīngzhuàn, zònghéng biànhuà mò cè qí yásì” — “fusing the Classics and traditions, vertically-horizontally transforming and changing beyond fathoming-its-extent — southeastern scholars all teacher-modeled on him.” Today examining what was composed, the history’s words are not in error. The history also says he was deep-in geography, examined-and-verified extremely closely. Today examining the collection — only preserves the Biàn Máo Yǐng zhuàn zhōng Zhōngshān one item — the rest is uniformly not recorded; perhaps scattered-lost and unable-to-be-examined.

This compilation originally was 20 juàn; the world long without transmission. We now from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn search and gather the surviving lost [pieces]; in all obtain prose 300+ pieces, poetry-and-cí 600+ pieces; still in accordance with the original arrangement, divided into 20 juàn. Although the cut-and-broken remnant, rejoined-and-restored, lost-things-already-many — yet basing on what survives to observe, [Lù] is certainly an early-Yuán bāoyú (lavishly-rich) [literary] composer.

Respectfully collated, ninth month of Qiánlóng 46 (1781). Chief-Compiler Officers Jì Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅; Chief-Collation Officer Lù Fèichí 陸費墀.

Abstract

Lù Wénguī (CBDB 28416, 1252–1336) is the longest-lived of the Yuán-period Hàn-Confucian literary masters, his career spanning the very end of the Sòng through to the late-Yuán Tàidìng / Zhìshùn era. Specially significant as one of the foundational kǎojù and biànhuò historical-geographical scholars of the early Yuán — though most of his geographical scholarship is lost. The 1314 Yuán reinstatement of the kējǔ and Lù’s second successful xiāngshì at age 62 documents the integration of late-Sòng yímín scholarship into the renewed Yuán Sinitic examination system. The Yǒnglè dàdiǎn-reconstructed 20-juàn recension preserves prose: jì (especially school-and-academy jì, documenting the late-Yuán Jiāngnán academy movement), xù, bēimíng, jìwén, biǎo, shūqǐ, zànjì, jiǎngyì, biàn; and verse including substantial poetry-and-cí exchanges with the Jiāngnán late-Yuán literary culture. The catalog meta correctly gives 1252–1340 for Lù; CBDB 28416 gives 1252–1336 — the slight variation reflects different reckonings of his death year (the Sìkù tíyào internal evidence supports a Zhì-zhèng-era death). Composition window: post-1276 through 1336. CBDB 28416. Wilkinson treats Lù in the late-Yuán Jiāngnán literary culture (§28.1, §35).

Translations and research

• Hé Yìng 何穎, Lù Wén-guī yán-jiū 陸文圭研究 (Nán-jīng dà-xué MA thesis, 2009).
• Yuán-shǐ j. 189 (Lù Wén-guī biography, in Rú-xué zhuàn) — the standard biography.
• Quán Yuán shī, Quán Yuán wén — collate Lù’s verse and prose from the present recension.

Links

• WYG SKQS V1194.4, p527.
• CBDB person 28416 (Lù Wénguī)
• Yuánshǐ j. 189
• Wikipedia, 陸文圭