石田文集

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 SuíTáng, shàng zhuī HànWèi” (takes-up the lineage of SuíTáng, ascending to track HànWèi); 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

• 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