Fù Yǔlì jí 傅與礪集
Fù Yǔ-lì’s Poetry and Prose Collection by 傅若金 (撰)
About the work
The combined 20-juǎn poetic and prose collection of Fù Ruòjīn 傅若金 (1303–1342). Originally zì Rǔlì 汝礪 (whence the original collection title); renamed Yǔlì 與礪 by Jiē Xīsī 揭傒斯. Native of Xīnyú (Jiāngxī); rose from a youth so poor he wove mats and tailored needles to a yìcái recognized at court. The collection has a complex layered transmission: original collections during life (Chūgǎo, Nánzhēng gǎo, Shǐhuán xīngǎo, Niúduóyīn) all prefaced by Fàn Pèng 范梈, Yú Jí, etc.; combined by his brother Ruòchuān 若川 in Zhìzhèng as Qīngjiāng jí 清江集; Hóng-wǔ-era additional cutting of 11 juǎn wén + 1 juǎn fùlù; the present combined form is by an unknown later compiler. The collection’s principal evidence-value lies in its preserved poetic exchanges with Fàn Pèng (Fù’s teacher) and Jiē Xīsī (his renamer); Jiē’s preface that Fù “is like seeing Fàn Déjī again” is one of the most famous evaluations in Yuán poetic criticism.
Tiyao
Fù Yǔlì shīwén jí, 20 juǎn. By Fù Ruòjīn of the Yuán. Ruòjīn originally zì Rǔlì; Jiē Xīsī changed it to Yǔlì. Native of Xīnyú (Jiāngxī). Cáo Ān’s Lányán chángyǔ records his youth in dire poverty — supporting himself by weaving mats — then changing his work to needle-tailoring — then having some setback — that he turned to reading — and his verse became kuàizhì rénkǒu. He used [his life-story] to encourage others to self-discipline — also a qíshì (extraordinary scholar). His verse-method came from his fellow-Jiā-zhōu compatriots Fàn Pèng and Yú Jí. Sòng Jiǒng 宋褧 recommended him for his exceptional talent; he assisted the embassy to Ānnán (Vietnam) and on return was named Guǎngzhōu wénxué jiàoshòu. Zhìzhèng 2 (1342), aged only 40, he died. His verse — Chūgǎo, Nánzhēng gǎo, Shǐhuán xīngǎo, Niúduóyīn etc. — Fàn, Yú and others each prefaced. In Zhìzhèng era his brother Ruòchuān combined and printed them — called Qīngjiāng jí. In Hóng-wǔ-era, the wénjí 11 juǎn + 1 juǎn fùlù were further cut. The present recension combines shī and wén into a single edition — unknown by whom merged. Jiē Xīsī said: “Every time I read Yǔlì’s verse it is like seeing Fàn Déjī again — Déjī’s qīyán gēxíng exceeds; Yǔlì’s wǔyán gǔlǜ exceeds; the rest are xiāng bózhòng.” Wáng Shìzhēn’s Jūyì lù says “his gēxíng got one fish-scale and one tile of old Dù [Fǔ]; his qīyán lǜshī also has gédiào” — slightly different from Jiē Xīsī’s view; Wáng’s account should be preferred. His old gǔwén is yúshì (residual work) — yet also hépíng yǎzhèng, without jíwěn shìshé (bitten lip, stung tongue) tones. Although not able to língkuà zhūjiā (overstride the others), in his time also a jùncái (excellent talent). Respectfully collated.
Abstract
The Fù Yǔlì jí preserves the principal monument of mid-Yuán poetic pedagogy — the cízōng lineage Fàn Pèng (one of the sìdàjiā) → Fù Ruòjīn (Fàn’s pupil) → Jiē Xīsī (Fù’s patron and renamer) is densely visible in the prefaces and exchange-poetry. The recension’s complex transmission history (life-time gǎo + 1349 brother-edition Qīngjiāng jí + Hóng-wǔ-era prose additions + post-Hóng-wǔ combined recension) is unusually well-documented in the tíyào. The signature mat-weaving / needle-tailoring origin story (preserved in Cáo Ān’s Lányán chángyǔ) makes Fù one of the few Yuán literati for whom the rise-from-poverty narrative is documented. Composition window: from Fù’s earliest documented compositions (c. 1325, the Chūgǎo) through his death in 1342.
Translations and research
- Yáng Lián. 2003. Yuán-shī shǐ.
Other points of interest
The Vietnam embassy that produced Fù’s Nánzhēng gǎo is one of the more concretely documented Yuán missions to Đại Việt. Fù’s Shǐhuán xīngǎo contains the return-journey poetry.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1213.2, p181.