Shítián wénjí 石田文集
The Shí-tián (Stone-Field) Collection by 馬祖常 (撰)
About the work
The 15-juàn collection (5 juàn of poetry and fù, 10 juàn of prose) of Mǎ Zǔcháng 馬祖常 (CBDB 24523, 1279–1338), zì Bóyōng 伯庸**, hào (collection-name) Shítián 石田 (from his Shítián shānfáng 石田山房 residence). Posthumous shì Wénzhēn 文貞. Yuánshǐ j. 143 gives the substantial biography.
Ethnic-political background. Mǎ Zǔcháng was a Yōnggǔ 雍古 (Öngüt) tribesman by descent — i.e. a member of the Önggüt (a Nestorian-Christian Inner-Mongolian tribe; sometimes called White Tatars). The family settled at Jìngzhōu 靖州 (Tiānshān region, modern Inner Mongolia). The high-grandfather Xīlǐjìsū 錫里濟蘇 (Sìkù-era corrected transliteration; originally written Xīlǐjísī 錫里吉思) held end-Jīn office as Fèngxiáng bīngmǎ pànguān. Descendants — following the Mongol-Yuán practice of using the ancestral office’s first character as surname — adopted the surname Mǎ (from Bīngmǎ pànguān). The great-grandfather Yǎhā 雅哈 (Sìkù-corrected; originally Yuèhé 月合) accompanied Khubilai south and settled at Biàn (Kāifēng); later relocated to Guāngzhōu 光州.
Career. In Yányòu 1 (1314), at the restoration of the imperial examination system, Mǎ Zǔcháng came first (dìyī) in both the xiānggòng (provincial) and huìshì (metropolitan) examinations, and second (dìèr) at the imperial tíngshì (court) examination — the singular non-Hàn examinee to perform at such a high level in the restored Yányòu examinations. Awarded Yìngfèng Hànlín wénzì; promoted to Yánchá yùshǐ (Salt-Inspection Censor); successfully impeached the Grand Councillor Tèméndéěr 特們德爾 (Sìkù-corrected; originally Tiěběndiéér 鐵本迭兒). After Tèméndéěr returned to power and demoted Mǎ to Kāipíngxiàn yǐn (county-magistrate), Mǎ withdrew on grounds of avoiding troubles. After Tèméndéěr’s death, Mǎ was appointed Hànlín dàizhì; rose to Lǐbù shàngshū; soon Cānyì Zhōngshūshěng shì; in Yuántǒng 1 (1333) appointed Yùshǐ zhōngchéng; transferred to Shūmì fùshǐ; requested return; died Zhìzhèng 4 (1344).
The Sìkù editors evaluate the collection: “Prose [is] jīngshàn hónglì (refined-and-rich, vast-and-magnificent) — entirely washing-out the róumàn bēirǒng zhī xí (soft-and-weak, low-and-redundant practice). Poetry’s talent-and-strength [is] fùjiàn (rich-and-firm) — like the Dōumén zhuàngyóu (Capital-Gate Vigorous-Travel) various pieces — long piān great compositions — jiǒng bóbēn téng (vast-and-overlapping, expansive-and-leaping) — possessing not-receiving jīlè (bridle-restraint) qì.”
Position in Yuán literary history. Sū Tiānjué’s compilation of the Yuán wénlèi records 20 of Mǎ’s poems and 20 of his prose pieces — more than any other author. Sū secured imperial approval to cut the Shítián jí and personally composed the preface, calling Mǎ as one who “jiē wǔ Suí-Táng, shàng zhuī Hàn-Wèi” (takes-up the lineage of Suí-Táng, ascending to track Hàn-Wèi); his “wénzhāng wèi zhī yī biàn” (literary art was, by him, one-transformation). With Yuán Juè 袁桷 (of Kuàijī), Yú Jí 虞集 (of Shǔjùn), and Wáng Gòu 王搆 (of Dōngpíng) in gēngdié chànghé (alternating-exchange-composition) like jīnshí xiāng xuān (metals-and-stones mutually-sounding) — yet “the wén increased in marvel”. The Dàdé and Yányòu eras’ literary culmination — and Mǎ Zǔcháng was among the few jùbǎ (giant-thumbs).
Tiyao
[Substantively translated above. The Sìkù tiyao continues:]
The compilation also preserves Qián-lóng-era corrections of Mongol-Yuán proper names:
- Xīlǐjísī 錫里吉思 → Xīlǐjìsū 錫里濟蘇
- Yuèhé 月合 → Yǎhā 雅哈
- Tiěběndiéér 鐵本迭兒 → Tèméndéěr 特們德爾
Respectfully collated, third month of Qiánlóng 44 (1779). 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 collected works of Mǎ Zǔcháng (CBDB 24523, 1279–1338), one of the principal Yuán-era non-Hàn literary figures and an institutional foundational figure of the post-1314 Yuán imperial-examination Confucian establishment. As the Yōnggǔ (Önggüt / Nestorian-Mongolian) descendant who placed first in both provincial and metropolitan examinations and second at the court examination in the restored Yányòu jìnshì system (1314), Mǎ established the principle of literary-meritocratic non-Hàn participation in Yuán imperial Confucian governance.
The Sìkù editors place Mǎ among the jùbǎ (giant-thumbs) of the Dàdé / Yányòu cultural climax, alongside Yuán Juè of Kuàijī (Níngbō), Yú Jí of Shǔjùn (Sìchuān), and Wáng Gòu of Dōngpíng (Shāndōng) — the geographic-cultural fourfold core of mid-Yuán imperial-literary culture. Sū Tiānjué’s Yuán wénlèi canonized Mǎ with the largest single corpus of any author (20 poems + 20 prose pieces).
The collection’s principal contents:
- 5 juàn of fù and shī — including the Dōumén zhuàngyóu (Capital-Gate Vigorous-Travel) long-poem sequence, characterized as jiǒng bóbēn téng (vast-and-overlapping, expansive-and-leaping) — the foundational mid-Yuán Hànlín pictorial-poetic work
- 10 juàn of prose — Hànlín state-papers, bēimíng, mùzhì — characterized as jīngshàn hónglì (refined-rich, vast-magnificent)
Political career. As Censor, successfully impeached the Grand Councillor Tèméndéěr 特們德爾 (= Temüder) — the senior Mongol prime-minister whose corruption marred the Khubilai-and-successor regime. Mǎ’s career exemplified censor-officials’ constitutional role against imperial corruption. Subsequently rose through Lǐbù shàngshū, Cānyì Zhōngshūshěng shì, Yùshǐ zhōngchéng, Shūmì fùshǐ — the senior Yuán imperial offices for a non-Hàn Confucian.
Composition window: from Mǎ’s earliest preserved Hànlín pieces (after 1314) through 1338.
Translations and research
Reminder: AI generated list - beware of hallucinations. Corrections and additions welcome
- Yuán-shǐ j. 143 (Mǎ Zǔ-cháng biography).
- Igor de Rachewiltz et al. (eds.), In the Service of the Khan — Mǎ discussed.
- Toshio Sugimura, Mongolian Buddhism in Yuan China — broad context on Önggüt cultural participation.
- Hok-lam Chan studies of mid-Yuán imperial Confucian literary culture.
Other points of interest
The Yányòu 1 (1314) imperial-examination restoration — and Mǎ Zǔcháng’s place as principal-ranked non-Hàn examinee — is one of the most-consequential moments in Yuán-imperial-Confucian institutional history. The Yuán court’s deliberate decision to admit non-Hàn (Önggüt, Khangli, Tangut, etc.) candidates into the jìnshì system — and the success of figures like Mǎ Zǔcháng — established a permanent precedent for multi-ethnic Confucian-imperial participation that influenced later dynasties.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1206.6, p459.
- CBDB person 24523 (Mǎ Zǔcháng)
- Wikipedia, 馬祖常
- Yuánshǐ j. 143