Qiūshēng jí 秋聲集
The Autumn-Sound Collection by 黃鎭成 (撰)
About the work
A 4-juǎn truncated recension of Huáng Zhènchéng’s 黃鎭成 (1288–1362) poetic collection. According to Gù Sìlì’s Yuánshī xuǎn, the original Qiūshēng jí was 10 juǎn with a Zhèng Qián 鄭潛 preface; the present WYG recension preserves only 4 juǎn and only Huáng’s self-preface (Zhèng’s is lost). Huáng was a Shàowǔ (Fújiàn) recluse-poet who repeatedly declined recommendation; Wáng Shìzhēn’s Jūyì lù singles out for praise his Qiūfēng, Qiūshān xiǎojǐng, and Wǔqū jīngshè — the Qiūshēng title perhaps refers to these autumnal pieces. Mǐnshū depicts him as a gāoyǐn recluse — the Sìkù tíyào prefers Zhèng Qián’s contrary reading (“yǒu suǒ jī ér míng qí bùpíng”), supported by the Nántián gēngshè preface poem.
Tiyao
Qiūshēng jí, 4 juǎn. By Huáng Zhènchéng of the Yuán. Zhènchéng has Shàngshū tōngkǎo already in the catalog. Per Gù Sìlì’s Yuánshī xuǎn, the original was 10 juǎn with a Zhèng Qián preface — this version has only 4 juǎn and only Zhènchéng’s self-preface — Zhèng’s preface is not preserved. Looks like an incomplete recension. Wáng Shìzhēn’s Jūyì lù praises Qiūfēng, Qiūshān xiǎojǐng, and Wǔqū jīngshè as having fēngdiào (style and resonance). Examining the collection: largely biānfú shāoxiá (narrow scope), qìwèi shāobáo (somewhat thin in flavor) — owing to limited cái. But jìntǐ comes out in yǎjié (clean elegance); gǔtǐ in qīngxīn (freshness) — also good at exploiting his weakness; so géyùn chǔchǔ (style well-modulated), retaining the residue of the QiánLǎng manner. Compared to the xiānnóng (slender and lush) styles of Yuán-era xiānnóng zhī tǐ (Wēn-Tíng-yún-derived), this is “outside the chénmò.” The Mǐnshū says Zhènchéng in mid-Zhì-zhèng built a house south of the wall, called Nántián gēngshè; provincial commissioners repeatedly recommended him; he refused — so a gāoyǐn zhī shì. But Zhèng Qián’s preface says he was a man jī ér míng qí bùpíng. Checking the collection, the Nántián gēngshè preface itself says the fù normally compares him to an old farmer — “men each have their zhì; sharing a bed and not aware of each other” — the second piece: “Zhòng tián Nánshān xià / tǔbáo liángmiáo xī / tībài rì yǐ zhǎng / túliǎo sè zhōngqí / lù féng hédiào rén / xiānggù tú jiēzī / wǒ yù shān qí wú / dàn niàn jīnlì wēi / zhōng yān xiān jiāgǔ / héyǐ fèng niánjī / shuí lìng ècǎo gēn / yì méng yǔlù zī / qǐ wú lìgēng shì / yōuyōu xìng wǒ sī.” — Zhènchéng lived through chaos; had ambition to kuāngshí (right-the-times) but could not act, hence tuō ér táo (took refuge in indirection) — so much of the collection is yōushí gǎnshì (lamenting the times and feeling for events). Zhèng’s preface understood his heart; treating him merely as a recluse misses what he actually held. Respectfully collated.
Abstract
The Qiūshēng jí preserves the principal Fújiàn biéjí of the late Yuán, surviving in partial form. The interpretive crux — recluse vs. failed activist — is treated unusually carefully in the Sìkù tíyào, which prefers Zhèng Qián’s preface-reading against the Mǐnshū. The signature poem of this reading — the Nántián gēngshè second piece, with its plowing-allegory of the late-Yuán political weeds — is the principal interpretive evidence. Composition window: from Huáng’s earliest preserved compositions (c. 1310) to his 1362 death — particularly thick in the late-Zhì-zhèng war years.
Translations and research
- Yáng Lián. 2003. Yuán-shī shǐ.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1212.4, p523.