Dǒunán lǎorén jí 斗南老人集
The Old Man of Dǒu-nán Collection by 胡奎 (撰)
About the work
Dǒunán lǎorén jí 斗南老人集 in six juǎn (over 1,900 poems in total — one of the largest single-author biéjí of the early Míng) is the verse collection of Hú Kuí 胡奎 (1331–1405), zì Xūbái 虛白, hào Dǒunán lǎorén 斗南老人 (“Old Man of the South-of-the-Dipper”), native of Hǎiníng 海寧 (Zhèjiāng). Born in the Yuán Zhìshùn 至順 era; in his youth a pupil at Gòng Shītài 貢師泰’s gate. In the early Míng was summoned as a rúshì (literatus) and appointed Níngwángfǔ jiàoshòu 寧王府教授 (Princely Tutor at the Establishment of Níng — under Zhū Quán 朱權 [1378–1448], Hóngwǔ’s seventeenth son and the famous Níngwáng literary patron, who succeeded to the principality in 1391). The hào Dǒunán lǎorén has a legend attached, preserved in Zhū Quán’s preface to the present collection: in his late years Hú anchored his boat at Póyáng Wànghútíng 鄱陽望湖亭; seeing Sū Shì’s carved verse Hēiyún duī mò wèi zhē shān 黑雲堆墨未遮山 (“Black clouds piled like ink not yet covering the mountain”), he composed a matching-rhyme verse; soon an old man came and recited his verse, asking “Are you not the Old Man of Dǒunán?” — and Hú adopted the name. Zhū Yízūn 朱彝尊’s Jìngzhìjū shīhuà takes this as suspect. Hú’s principal external transmission: the WYG base is the early-Míng Níngwángfǔ Wényīngguǎn 寧王府文英館 cut (recorded in the Níngfān shūmù 寧藩書目) — distinct from the Tiānlàigé 天籟閣 four-juǎn manuscript by Yáo Shòu 姚綬 (the Yúndōng yìshǐ 雲東逸史) that is the parent of the four-juǎn recension circulating in Xiàng Yuánbiàn’s 項元汴 family library and afterward in Gāoshì Jīgǔtáng 高氏稽古堂 and Mǎ Sīzàn 馬思贊’s libraries.
Tiyao
The Dǒunán lǎorén jí in six juǎn — by Hú Kuí of the Míng. Kuí, zì Xūbái, native of Hǎiníng. Born in Yuán Zhìshùn (1330–1333). Once travelled to Gòng Shītài’s gate. In the early Míng on rúxué zhēng (literatus-summoning) he was appointed Níngwángfǔ jiàoshòu. At the front of this collection is Níngwáng [Zhū] Quán’s preface, saying: “In his late years [Hú] anchored his boat at the Wànghútíng on Lake Póyáng. Seeing Sū [Dōngpō]‘s stone-cut Hēiyún duī mò wèi zhē shān verse, he composed a cìyùn hé matching it. Suddenly an old man came and recited his verse, saying ‘Are you not the Dǒunán lǎorén?’ Therefore he took it as his hào.” The matter is quite strange — we suspect hàoshì zhě (busy-bodies) joined it together; there is no way to verify the true-or-false. Zhū Yízūn in Jìngzhìjū shīhuà says: “My township’s Yúndōng yìshǐ [Yáo Shòu 姚綬] once hand-copied his manuscript — the old [copy] held by Xiàngshì at Tiānlàigé; later passed to Gāoshì Jīgǔtáng; afterward held by Mǎ Sīzàn of Huáshān.” Now: the current transmitted Kuí-collection all comes from the Tiānlàigé manuscript — only in four juǎn, with Xiàng Yuánbiàn’s inscription at the front but no Níngwáng’s original preface. This copy was cut by the early-Míng Níngwángfǔ Wényīngguǎn, seen in the Níngfān shūmù. Kūnshān Xúshì Chuánshìlóu 崑山徐氏傳是樓 then yǐngchāo (shadow-copied) from the original cut: actually divided into six juǎn, with over 1,900 poems in all. Cross-checking with the Xiàngshì copy, we know the latter has many tuōyì (slip-omissions) and is not a full text. Looking at the Níngwáng preface, it also records: “Zōngzhé Xú jiāngjūn 宗哲徐將軍 lived at Xīshān 西山; a Daoist visited and ate jué 蕨 (bracken-fern); the Daoist intoned a juéjù: ‘A single fist could pierce the earth’s skin; clutched, holds the east wind, will not release the fist; only waiting for the dùjuān 杜鵑 [cuckoo] to call blood; then unfolding the phoenix-tail will begin to face the sky.’ Asked what he had composed, [the Daoist] used chopsticks to write the four characters Dǒunán yī rén (One Man of Dǒunán). At that time the Master had not yet had this title. Afterwards we obtained the Master’s manuscript and only then knew the Master was he.” With the Wànghútíng cìyùn matter the prose is continuous. Yet Zhū Yízūn in Jìngzhìjū shīhuà alone did not record [this]. We know Yízūn saw only the Tiānlàigé fragmentary copy. His record of the Wànghútíng matter is also taken from Dū Mù 都穆’s Nánháo shīhuà 南濠詩話. Kuí’s verse does not engage in diāoshì (carving-decoration), and often has zìrán zhī zhì (natural quality). Yízūn says: “His gōnglì is already deep; the gédiào cannot avoid being too cooked. Reading him, [pieces] are as if from an ancient man’s collection already” — his words are not excessive. Yet chōngróng héyǎ (gracefully gathering, harmonious-elegant) — his strength cannot be hidden. Compared to those who later collected-and-imitated, he has truly jiàn (an interval, i.e., a clear difference). Compiled and presented respectfully in the fourth month of Qiánlóng 46 (1781).
Abstract
Hú Kuí’s lifedates 1331–1405 are confirmed by CBDB (id 28456: 1331–1405, fl. 1370). The CBDB confidence is unusually high for an early-Míng poet whose principal external record is the Níngwáng establishment context. The 1,900+ poem corpus makes this one of the most substantial single-author biéjí of the early Míng.
The textual transmission history is the principal scholarly interest: the Níngwángfǔ Wényīngguǎn Hóng-wǔ-era cut → Kūnshān Xúshì Chuánshìlóu yǐngchāo (shadow-copy) → WYG six-juǎn recension; vs the parallel Yáo Shòu manuscript → Tiānlàigé Xiàng Yuánbiàn → Gāo Jīgǔtáng → Mǎ Sīzàn four-juǎn line. The Sìkù editors’ explicit comparison and preference for the Xúshì six-juǎn recension is a model Sìkù-era textual judgement.
The connection with Zhū Quán (the Níngwáng, 1378–1448) — Hóngwǔ’s seventeenth son, one of the most distinguished early-Míng literary patrons, author of the Tàihé zhèngyīn pǔ 太和正音譜 (the foundational Yuánzájù treatise) and many other works — is the principal cultural-historical context. Wilkinson, Chinese History, §28.4, treats Hú Kuí within the Yǒng-lè-era princely-establishment literary circle around Zhū Quán.
The Dǒunán lǎorén origin-legend — preserved in Zhū Quán’s preface and replicated in Dū Mù’s Nánháo shīhuà — is one of the more elaborate hào-naming legends in the early-Míng biéjí tradition; the Sìkù editors’ careful agnosticism on its truth is a model of kǎozhèng-era folkloristic skepticism.
Translations and research
- L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds. Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368–1644. New York: Columbia UP, 1976. Notice of Hú Kuí (under Zhū Quán, vol. 1, p. 305).
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.4 (Míng bié-jí); §31 (princely establishments).
Other points of interest
The dual transmission of Hú Kuí’s collection — through (1) the Níngwángfǔ Wényīngguǎn Hóngwǔ cut (six juǎn, complete) and (2) the Yáo Shòu / Xiàng Yuánbiàn / Tiānlàigé manuscript (four juǎn, partial) — is one of the cleaner cases of parallel textual lines in the early-Míng biéjí tradition. The Sìkù editors’ identification of the textual base (the Xúshì yǐngchāo of the Wényīngguǎn cut) is a model of textual-archeology.
Links
- Sìkù tíyào, Kyoto Zinbun digital edition
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.4 (Míng biéjí); §31 (Míng princely establishments).