Xǐngqiān jí 省愆集
Self-Examining-Errors Collection by 黃淮 (撰)
About the work
Xǐngqiān jí 省愆集 in 2 juǎn — the prison-decade poetry of Huáng Huái 黃淮 (黃淮, 1367–1449), zì Zōngyù 宗豫, native of Yǒngjiā 永嘉 (Wēnzhōu, Zhèjiāng), posthumous title Wénjiǎn 文簡. Hóngwǔ dīngchǒu (1397) jìnshì, zhōngshū shèrén 中書舍人; on the Yǒnglè usurpation (1402), one of the qīrén (Seven Men — including Xiè Jìn 解縉, Hú Guǎng, Yáng Róng, Yáng Shìqí, Hú Yǎn, Jīn Yòuzī) summoned to the inaugural Yǒnglè cabinet Wényuāngé duty; promoted yòu Chūnfáng dàxuéshì; served as fǔ Huáng tàizǐ jiānguó (assisting the Crown Prince [later Rénzōng] in regency); slandered by the Hànwáng Gāoxù 漢王高煦 and imprisoned for ten years in the zhàoyù (1414–1424); restored to office at Hóngxī’s accession; Wǔyīngdiàn dàxuéshì, eventually Shàobǎo. Xǐngqiān jí is the poetry composed in his decade of imprisonment — title means “self-examination of one’s transgressions”, a Confucian topos. The Sìkù editors note Huáng’s complicity in Xiè Jìn’s death (Huáng repeatedly informed against his colleagues, and so the Sìkù editors regard his rénpǐn (personal character) as bù shèn chún (not very pure)); but the prison poetry is hépíng wēnhòu wú suǒ yuànyóu (peaceful-warm, without resentment) — kept because it does not lose the poet’s spirit. Huáng’s other writings — the Tuìzhí, Rùjìn, Guītián triple-manuscript jointly edited as Jièān jí 介庵集 — are not separately catalogued, on the principle that the Táigé tǐ register is sufficiently represented by the Dōnglǐ jí corpus (KR4e0090).
Tiyao
Xǐngqiān jí in 2 juǎn — by Huáng Huái of the Míng. Huái, zì Zōngyù, native of Yǒngjiā. Hóngwǔ dīngchǒu (1397) jìnshì; appointed zhōngshū shèrén. After the Yānwáng usurped the throne, ordered to enter on duty at the Wényuāngé, raised to Hànlínyuàn biānxiū; rose by stages to yòu Chūnfáng dàxuéshì, assisting the Crown Prince in regency. Slandered by the Hànwáng Gāoxù; imprisoned in the zhàoyù for ten years. At the beginning of Hóngxī, restored to office and conferred Wǔyīngdiàn dàxuéshì; cumulatively raised to Shàobǎo. On death, posthumous title Wénjiǎn. The events are detailed in his biography in Míng shǐ. Huái at the moment of géchú (dynastic-replacement) served two reigns — could not avoid being a báiguī zhī diàn (jade-token’s stain). History also says Huái’s nature was rather narrow; if a colleague had a small fault, he would [reportedly] memorialize it. Xiè Jìn’s death — Huái had a hand in it. His personal character is also not very pure. Yet he was penetrating in the zhìtǐ (forms of governance), with much xiàntì (proposing-and-replacing) [counsel]; his guidance of Rénzōng in cóngróng tiáohù (relaxed protection) was particularly meritorious. Although for this he was slandered and incurred guilt, after his cìhuán (gift-of-return) he again rose to the inner-near offices; reaching his yǐnnián (advanced years) and returning to his native place, he received three reigns’ favoured-treatment for several decades more — his zāojì zhī lóng (favourable encounter) virtually equal to the Sān Yáng. His prose is chōngróng ānyǎ (rich-leisurely, peaceful-elegant), also approximately equal to the Sān Yáng in style. The present collection was made in his xìyù (imprisonment) days — hence titled Xǐngqiān. In days of misfortune and yōuyōu (deep grief), it is hépíng wēnhòu wú suǒ yuànyóu (peaceful-warm, without resentment) — can be said not to lose the fēngrén (poet)‘s import. So we specially keep it to show the outline of his composing. As for his Tuìzhí, Rùjìn, Guītián three manuscripts together edited as Jièān jí — the threshold-and-path (style and approach) is no different from the Sān Yáng. Since the Dōnglǐ and other collections are already recorded, this can be set aside for now. Compiled and presented respectfully in the sixth month of Qiánlóng 43 (1778). Chief Compilers: Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì. General Editor: Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
The selection — only the prison-decade Xǐngqiān jí, not the Jièān jí main corpus — is one of the cleaner editorial decisions in the Sìkù: the editors keep what is documentary-distinctive (the prison poetry) and discard what is duplicative (the Táigé tǐ mode already represented by KR4e0090 Dōnglǐ jí). The prison-poetry mode — hépíng wēnhòu wú suǒ yuànyóu — is taken as evidence of Confucian fēngrén discipline.
The Sìkù editors are unusually candid on Huáng’s character: complicity in Xiè Jìn’s death and narrow nature are noted explicitly. The defence rests on his policy-substance: Yǒng-lè-era xiàntì (proposing-and-replacing) counsel; particularly his cóngróng tiáohù of the future Rénzōng during the regency period. His final zāojì (encounter) — three reigns’ favoured-treatment, yǐnnián retirement — is presented as virtually equal to the Sān Yáng’s.
CBDB id confirmation needed; the catalog meta gives 1367–1449 — followed here. The existing person note (黃淮) does not yet exist as a numbered file — checking shows it does already exist. (Consulting confirms it does exist; not overwritten.)
Translations and research
- L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds., Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368–1644. New York: Columbia UP, 1976. Major notice of Huáng Huái.
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.4 (Míng bié-jí).
- Míng shǐ j. 147 — Huáng Huái biography.
Other points of interest
The decade-of-imprisonment compositional context (1414–1424) of the Xǐngqiān jí is one of the most precisely-bounded compositional windows in the early-Míng biéjí corpus. The Sìkù editors’ editorial decision — to keep this and discard the Jièān main corpus — is one of the cleaner cases of source-distinctiveness criteria in the Sìkù selection process.