Fānggǔ jí 芳谷集
The Fāng-gǔ (Fragrant-Valley) Collection by 徐明善 (撰)
About the work
The two-juàn prose-only collection of Xú Míngshàn 徐明善 (CBDB 35399, b. 1250), zì Zhìyǒu 志友, hào Fānggǔ 芳谷 (“Fragrant-Valley”), native of Déxìng 德興 (Jiāngxī, modern Ráozhōu). In Zhì-yuán-era served as Lóngxìng jiàoshòu; also Jiāngxī rúxué tíjǔ. Acted as imperial envoy to An-nán (Annam, Vietnam); also served as examiner for the Jiāngzhè, Húguǎng, and the third shěng — and is recorded as having recovered the great Yuán Confucian Huáng Jìn 黃溍 (1277–1357) 黃溍 from among the luòjuǎn (failed examination scripts) — i.e., Xú Míngshàn rescued Huáng Jìn’s career through editorial intervention. The Yùzhāng rénwù zhì records Xú as a famous literary scholar of his time.
The collection contains 120 pieces of prose, no poetry, no front-or-back prefaces. The Sìkù editors note that the Wāng Biāo mùmíng 1 piece is already incomplete; the Hénán liánfǎngshǐ Wúgōng mùmíng is entirely lost. Also notable: the Píngzhāng Dǒng Shìxuǎn sāndài zèngguān zhì 3 pieces are gàomìng dàiyán (imperial-decree drafts on behalf-of-another); Xú had never held Hànlín office and should not have composed such pieces. Examination of Sū Tiānjué’s Yuán wénlèi reveals the three Dǒng Shìxuǎn decree-drafts there, attributed to Yuán Míngshàn 元明善 — a different (Hànlín) figure. The Sìkù editors conclude that the Míng-period compiler of the Fānggǔ jí, seeing the name “Míngshàn” without checking authorship, mistakenly included Yuán Míngshàn’s pieces in Xú Míngshàn’s collection. The Sìkù editors removed these three pieces and corrected the attribution.
Tiyao
The Fānggǔ jí, 2 juàn, by Xú Míngshàn of the Yuán. Míngshàn, zì Zhìyǒu, [was] a Déxìng man. Fānggǔ [is] his biéhào. [In] Zhìyuán [he] held office [as] Lóngxìng jiàoshòu; further [was] Jiāngxī rúxué tíjǔ. [He] once [as imperial-commissioned] envoy [went to] Ānnán; [he was] commissioned [as examiner over] Jiāngzhè, Húguǎng, [and the] three shěng examinations — [he] selected Huáng Jìn from among the failed-papers. [He] was also a famous gentleman in literary-learning of his time. The Yùzhāng rénwù zhì rather records his deeds but does not say [he had] composed prose-collection — also calls [him] a Póyáng man — rather cāncuò (mixed-up) [and] not in-accord.
Recently Gù Sìlì selecting Yuán poetry, gathered up to several hundred jiā, and also [his] does not reach this collection — [it must be] its transmission already [is] xiǎn (rare). The collection contains prose without poetry; also no front-or-back prefaces. Altogether 120 pieces. [He] rather discusses xìnglǐ (nature-and-principle) and [his prose is] píngyì pǔshí (level-easy, plain-substantial); roughly yǎjié (refined-and-clean); still [he] is one [who] does not lose the jǔyuē (rule-and-standard) of the previous people.
His Wāng Biāo mùmíng, 1 piece, already incomplete; Hénán liánfǎngshǐ Wúgōng mùmíng, 1 piece, entirely lost. Also the Píngzhāng Dǒng Shìxuǎn sāndài zèngguān zhì, 3 pieces, lie down [as] gàomìng dàiyán (decree-drafts on-behalf-of-another) words — [but Xú] Míngshàn never held Hàn-lín-office — should not have this prose. Examining Sū Tiānjué’s Yuán wénlèi [it] contains [the] Dǒng Shìxuǎn three decrees [— their] prose [is] with this exactly the same — they are [by] Yuán Míngshàn composed [pieces]. The one who later edited the Fānggǔ jí, because [he] saw [the name] Míngshàn — without adding any examination-and-verification, mistakenly received-and-entered [the pieces]. Now particularly [we] add deletion-and-cutting and together correct-[and]-[rectify] [it] here.
Respectfully collated, fifth month of Qiánlóng 43 (1778). 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
The prose-only collection of Xú Míngshàn (CBDB 35399, b. 1250; death-date uncertain), a Yuán-era literary scholar best known for two contributions: (1) the recovery of Huáng Jìn from among the failed examination scripts in his role as examiner across Jiāngzhè, Húguǎng, and one further province — a single-instance editorial-rescue that gave the Yuán its greatest mid-Yuán Confucian-historian; (2) his role as imperial envoy to An-nán. The Sìkù editors evaluate Xú’s prose as píngyì pǔshí (level-easy, plain-substantial) and yǎjié (refined-and-clean) — preserving the Sòng jǔyuē (rule-and-standard) for prose composition.
A model case of Sìkù philological intervention: the editors detected and corrected the misattribution of three Dǒng Shìxuǎn imperial gàomìng drafts (composed by Yuán Míngshàn 元明善, the Hànlín official, and incorrectly assigned to the present author Xú Míngshàn on the basis of the shared given-name). The Sìkù editors removed these three pieces and corrected the attribution. The pre-Sìkù Yùzhāng rénwù zhì incorrectly recorded Xú as a Póyáng (i.e. Ráozhōu) rather than Déxìng man — a regional confusion that the Sìkù editors correct.
Composition window: from Xú’s adult literary activity (after c. 1280) through approximately 1310.
Translations and research
- Yuán-shǐ lacks a biography of Xú Míng-shàn. Principal biographical material in scattered Yuán-Míng sources.
- See Yáng Lián 楊鐮 et al., Quán Yuán wén for collated text.
Other points of interest
The Yuán Míngshàn / Xú Míngshàn misattribution problem documented in the Sìkù tíyào is a classic example of homonym-based mis-compilation in YuánMíng booklist tradition. The Sìkù editors’ practice of cross-checking against the Yuán wénlèi — an early-Yuán authoritative compilation — is a model of philological caution.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1202.3, p543.
- CBDB person 35399 (Xú Míngshàn)