Yùnpì màngǎo 運甓漫稿
Brick-Carrying Loose Manuscripts by 李昌祺 (撰)
About the work
Yùnpì màngǎo 運甓漫稿 in 7 juǎn — the poetry (ancient-and-modern style poems plus cí) of Lǐ Chāngqí 李昌祺 (1376–1452), míng Zhēn 禎, zì Chāngqí 昌祺 (he went by his zì), native of Lúlíng 廬陵 (Jíān, Jiāngxī). Yǒnglè jiǎshēn (1404) jìnshì; selected shùjíshì (the Sìkù tíyào notes a kǎozhèng point: in early Míng all six kē had shùjíshì, not only the Hànlín — so Lǐ could be directly appointed Lǐbù lángzhōng without going through the Hànlín); through office to Guǎngxī and Hénán zuǒ bùzhèngshǐ 左布政使. The studio name yùnpì (carrying bricks) is a Jìn shǐ allusion to Táo Kǎn’s 陶侃 daily brick-carrying as moral discipline. The collection was edited in Tiānshùn 3 (1459) by Zhèng Gāng 鄭綱, then Jíān jiàoshòu. Míng shǐ records that Lǐ took part in the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn compilation, fán pìshū yíshì rén duō jiù zhì (whenever there were obscure books or doubtful matters, people often went to him for resolution). The Sìkù editors’ literary judgement is positive: qīngxīn huáshàn, yīnjié zìrán (clear-fresh and richly-stocked, sound-meter natural). Chén Xún’s 陳循 preface says: “Founded on principle, filled out with breath; so plain-and-light, clear-and-beautiful, vast-and-grand, fresh-and-marvellous all complete.” Zhū Yízūn’s Jìngzhìjū shīhuà compares Lǐ’s compositional method to Duàn Chéngshì 段成式 (the Yǒuyáng zázǔ author): qǔcái jiétǐ pō yǔ Duàn Kēgǔ xiāngsì (taking-material structurally rather similar to Duàn). Zhèng Yuàn’s 鄭瑗 Jǐngguān suǒyán — disparaging the collection as fúyàn tàichěng, bù lèi zhuāngrén yǎshì zhī suǒ wéi (floating-extravagance going too far, not what a serious-elegant gentleman would write) — is criticized by the Sìkù editors as too narrow.
Tiyao
Yùnpì màngǎo in 7 juǎn — by Lǐ Chāngqí of the Míng. Chāngqí, míng Zhēn, went by his zì; native of Lúlíng. Yǒnglè jiǎshēn (1404) jìnshì; selected shùjíshì; appointed Lǐbù lángzhōng. (Note: in the early Míng all six kē had shùjíshì, not only the Hànlín, hence the direct appointment as lángzhōng.) Passed through Guǎngxī and Hénán zuǒ bùzhèngshǐ. The events are detailed in his biography in Míng shǐ. The present compilation is all ancient-and-modern style poems plus cí; edited in Tiānshùn 3 (1459) by Jíān jiàoshòu Zhèng Gāng. History says Chāngqí took part in the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn compilation; whenever there were obscure books or doubtful matters, people often went to him to resolve. His poetry is qīngxīn huáshàn (clear-fresh and richly-stocked); sound-meter natural. Chén Xún’s preface says: “Founded on principle, filled out with breath, so plain-and-light, clear-and-beautiful, vast-and-grand, fresh-and-marvellous, all complete; need not measure far against the ancients; in current terms, of a thousand or hundred only a few of his sort.” Cáo Ān’s 曹安 Lányán chángyǔ 讕言長語 supremely extols his single piece On Wénchéngxiàng’s inkstone 題文丞相硯. Zhū Yízūn’s Jìngzhìjū shīhuà also says Lǐ Zhēn’s poetry *strives to discard the morning’s flower, forcefully opens the evening’s bloom; in taking material and structuring composition, rather similar to Duàn Kēgǔ”. Clearly because he transformed the practice of qǐmí xiānqiǎo (silken-elegant slim-clever) and brought it forth in liúyì (free-and-untrammelled) form, hence specially xiānrùn (fresh-moist), distinct from common-and-overgrown. Zhèng Yuàn’s Jǐngguān suǒyán however says: “Lǐ bùzhèng Chāngqí — people often praise his firm-and-unbending; I have observed his Yùnpì shīgǎo — fúyàn tàichěng (floating-extravagance going too far), not what a serious person, an elegant scholar would do; what is called Chéng — there is desire — how can one then be gāng (firm)?” — etc. This is to say that one Méihuā fù 梅花賦 is enough to drag down the lifetime of Sòng Jìng 宋璟. To use the Wénzhāng zhèngzōng (Orthodox-Lineage of Literature) one volume to advance-or-retreat the writers of past and present — is this not also narrow? Among the pieces, the Zōuyú gē 騶虞歌 and Biànchéng yuèwǔ 汴城閲武 — perhaps slightly bǐsú (base-vulgar). Yet to discuss one piece of poetry, one should weigh by zìzhū jùliǎng (gram-by-character, ounce-by-line); to discuss one school’s poetry, one should comprehensively view the whole structure — not by one or two pieces decide skill-or-clumsiness. 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
Lǐ Chāngqí is independently famous as the author of the Jiǎndēng yúhuà 剪燈餘話 (mid-Yǒng-lè zhìguài / chuánqí short-story collection, sequel to Qú Yòu’s 瞿佑 Jiǎndēng xīnhuà) — one of the principal literary documents of the early-Míng zhìguài revival. The present Yùnpì màngǎo preserves only the formal poetry and cí; the famous narrative work is not included. CBDB id 34496 / 67089 (1376–1452) confirms the catalog meta dates.
The Sìkù tíyào contains a notable institutional kǎozhèng — the parenthetical note that in the early Míng all six kē had shùjíshì, not only the Hànlín — preserves an institutional fact about the early-Míng shùjíshì system that is commonly forgotten in later sources.
The literary debate preserved in the tíyào is also notable: Chén Xún, Cáo Ān, Zhū Yízūn all extol; Zhèng Yuàn disparages on moral-rectitude grounds (Sòng Jìng’s Méihuā fù analogy). The Sìkù editors’ position is the moderate — judge a single poem by line-by-line craft, but a poet’s school by the whole arc. The famous Zhū Yízūn comparison to Duàn Chéngshì locates Lǐ in a yànlì jíshàn (rich-and-beautiful, dense-and-complete) sub-tradition.
The studio name yùnpì (Carrying Bricks) is the Táo Kǎn 陶侃 (Jìn) self-discipline allusion: Táo daily moved bricks from house to courtyard and back as a discipline against indolence.
Translations and research
- L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds., Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368–1644. New York: Columbia UP, 1976. Notice of Lǐ Zhēn / Chāng-qí, particularly for the Jiǎn-dēng yú-huà.
- Anne E. McLaren, Chinese Popular Culture and Ming Chantefables. Brill, 1998. (For the Jiǎn-dēng tradition.)
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28.4 (Míng bié-jí).
- Míng shǐ j. 161 — Lǐ Zhēn / Chāng-qí biography.
Other points of interest
The disjuncture between the Yùnpì màngǎo (formal poetry, Sìkù-canonical) and the Jiǎndēng yúhuà (informal narrative, in the xiǎoshuō tradition) is a striking case of two-track Míng literary identity: Lǐ Chāngqí is the same hand behind both, but the Sìkù selects only the formal-canonical face.