Xìngqíng jí 性情集
Nature-and-Feeling Collection by 周巽 (撰)
About the work
A six-juǎn reconstructed poetry collection by Zhōu Xùn 周巽 (sobriquet Xùnquán), a late-Yuán / early-Míng Jízhōu literatus whose biography is otherwise undocumented in extant sources. The collection was lost in independent transmission and is reconstructed from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn — which had indexed it as Zhōu Xùnquán Xìngqíng jí. The Jí’ān prefectural gazetteer preserved two pieces (Báilùzhōu and Xǐ’ěrtíng); these match the Dàdiǎn reconstruction, anchoring the attribution. From the Nǐgǔ yuèfǔ xiǎoxù’s self-attribution as Lóngtáng màoài Zhōu Xùn, the Sìkù compilers establish that Xùn is his given name and Xùnhēng and Xùnquán are his style and sobriquet respectively. The collection’s latest internal date is bǐngchén jiǔyuè = Hóngwǔ 9 (1376), proving Zhōu survived the dynastic transition.
Tiyao
Xìngqíng jí, 6 juǎn. By Zhōu Xùn of the Yuán. Zhōu’s career-record is not in other sources; his poetic collection is also not catalogued by various sources. Only the Wényuān gé shūmù records Zhōu Xùnquán Xìngqíng jí one bù one cè — the title matches the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn index. The Jí’ān fǔzhì also records the Báilùzhōu and Xǐ’ěrtíng two poems by Zhōu Xùnhēng — examined and confirmed as matching pieces in this collection. And the collection’s Nǐgǔ yuèfǔ xiǎoxù self-titles its author Lóngtáng màoài Zhōu Xùn. Taking these together: Xùn is his given name; Xùnquán and Xùnhēng are his sobriquet and style-name. The collection records that he once served on campaign against the Yáo bandits at Dào and Hè counties, receiving the post of Yǒngmíng zhǔbù — so under the Yuán he had been on the salary roll. The recorded cyclic year bǐngchén jiǔyuè must be Hóngwǔ 9 (1376) — so he was still alive in the early Míng. Zhōu’s poetic frame is not high, lacking chényù dùncuò effect, but his rendering of mood and scene is rather natural, and does not slip away from yǎzé. The collection is titled Xìngqíng, so its commitment can be inferred. In the late Yuán, the single prefecture of Jízhōu had Zhōu Tíngzhèn (see KR4d0562), Yáng Yǔnfú (see KR4d0570), Guō Yù (see KR4d0568) and others all with circulating collections — only Zhōu Xùn’s was lost: this too is a matter of luck and ill-luck. We now reconstitute from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, dividing into 6 juǎn, so that it may stand alongside the Shíchū jí etc. — not lagging behind the road. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng forty-sixth (1781), ninth month. Compilers: Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì; head proofreader: Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
Xìngqíng jí is the principal example in this batch (alongside Wúwú lèigǎo KR4d0565) of Yǒnglè dàdiǎn-based reconstruction of a lost late-Yuán biéjí. The Sìkù’s detective work — using the Dàdiǎn index, the Wényuān gé shūmù, the Jí’ān fǔzhì, and the collection’s own self-attribution in the Nǐgǔ yuèfǔ xiǎoxù — collectively triangulates Zhōu Xùn’s identity. The internal bǐngchén (1376) date proves post-Yuán survival; the Yǒngmíng zhǔbù posting documents the Yuán-era career. Composition window: from c. 1340 (Zhōu’s young maturity / Yáo-suppression campaign era) through to Hóngwǔ 9 (1376). The Jízhōu late-Yuán literary geography is one of the better-documented late-Yuán regional clusters; this collection adds Zhōu Xùn to Zhōu Tíngzhèn (KR4d0562), Yáng Yǔnfú (KR4d0570), and Guō Yù (KR4d0568) in the same axis.
Translations and research
- The Yǒnglè dàdiǎn salvage methodology is treated in Sino-Western studies of high-Qīng textual scholarship.
- No substantial dedicated treatment of Zhōu Xùn located — his identity as a person is essentially restored only by this collection.
Other points of interest
- The collection is one of the cases where the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn — itself a lost work by the time of the Sìkù — preserved a small Yuán-era biéjí that would otherwise have vanished. This is a useful documentary anchor for understanding the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn’s archival role in late-imperial scholarship.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1221.1, p1.