Xīcūn jí 西村集
West-Village Collection by 史鑑 (撰)
About the work
The writings of Shǐ Jiàn 史鑑 (1434–1496), zì Mínggǔ 明古, hào Xīcūn 西村, of Wújiāng 吳江 (Sūzhōu, Jiāngsū) — a yǐnjū bùshì (recluse, did not take office) Wú-region intellectual of the Chénghuà–Hóngzhì transition who declined office despite Wáng Shù’s 王恕 invitation when Wáng was xúnfǔ (governor) of Jiāngnán. 8 juǎn (4 prose + 4 verse) plus appended Míng-early lièzhuàn (biographies) and supplements. Notable for the Wúzhōng shuǐlì (Wú-region water-works) detail in his prose — the most concrete contemporary discussion of the Sūzhōu hydraulic infrastructure in mid-Míng. The Sìkù notes a textual problem on Wáng Shìzhēn 王世貞’s authority: Xīcūn jí apparently survives in a 28-juǎn recension selected by Chén Jìrú 陳繼儒 — the WYG’s 8 juǎn are thus incomplete.
Tiyao
Xīcūn jí in 8 juǎn — by Shǐ Jiàn of the Míng. Note: in Xiànzōng and Xiàozōng times there were two Shǐ Jiàn: one of Chángzhōu, Hóngzhì jǐwèi (1499) jìnshì, seen in the Tàixué tímíng bēi; one of Wújiāng, zì Mínggǔ, hào Xīcūn, yǐnjū bùshì (recluse, did not take office) — namely the author of this collection. Jiàn took jīngshì (governing the world) affairs to heart. Sānyuán Wáng Shù when xúnfǔ (governor) of Jiāngnán heard of his name and met him, asked him on timely-politics; Jiàn pointed out advantages-and-defects; Shù was deeply impressed with his talent, taking him as one who could dāng yī miàn (handle one side). The poetry 4 juǎn and prose 4 juǎn he wrote — in Jiājìng his grandson Zhōu gathered and cut them; with the mùbiǎo (tomb-tablet) and various people’s lamenting poems appended at the end. Zhōu Yòng and Lú Xiāng each made a preface. His prose jiūxī wùqíng, liàndá shíshì (investigates things’ feelings, exercises in time’s affairs), much related to the state’s count and the people’s life; on Wúzhōng water-works speaks especially in detail. Juǎn 5 is all Míng-early people’s lièzhuàn (biographies), narrated simply-and-clearly — appears to wish to make a yěshǐ (unofficial history) but did not complete. His poetry is also luòluò wú súyùn (clear-and-clear, without vulgar tone); but in gǔshī (ancient-style verse) he did not know gǔyīn (ancient pronunciation), so the yèyùn (matching-rhyme) notes have many errors. In the prose, the Jì Xú Yǒuzhēn wén (Sacrificial Composition for Xú Yǒuzhēn) and the Wénhòu bá (Post-Composition Colophon), because of sīēn (private gratitude) reasons, made lìbiàn (force-arguments) on the Duómén (Door-Seizure) affair [of the Yīngzōng Tiānshùn restoration of 1457] — could not avoid being qūbǐ (twisting-pen). According to Wáng Shìzhēn’s Xiāngzǔ bǐjì: “Wújiāng disciple Xú the hànlín Diànfā [= Xú Zhāo’s zì] sent Xīcūn jí in 28 juǎn — by my rural-elder Shǐ Jiàn Mínggǔ composed. The collection has Zēngzǔ Wénzhì fǔjūn xíngzhuàng — only saying Hóng-wǔ-period binding-corrupt-officials-and-arriving-at-the-palace event, not one word touching the Jìngnán. The collection was Chén Jìrú Zhòngchún selected, etc.” So Jiàn’s collection original is 28 juǎn — not yet complete. But now have not seen Jìrú’s selected běn; therefore still take this běn for recording; and append his juǎnzhì (volume-arrangement) difference-and-sameness, ready for verification. Compiled and presented in the eleventh month of Qiánlóng 41 (1776). Compilers as usual.
Abstract
Shǐ Jiàn is one of the cleanest mid-Míng yǐnjū (reclusive) intellectuals preserved in the Sìkù Míng biéjí. The Wáng Shù episode — a major late-Chéng-huà–early-Hóng-zhì governor making the journey to meet a Wújiāng recluse — is the locus classicus for the Wáng Shù qīnshì (Wáng-Shù-personally-consulted) trope in mid-Míng documentary tradition. Shǐ’s expertise on Wúzhōng shuǐlì (Sūzhōu hydraulic engineering) is the principal substantive content; his 5th juǎn of Míng-early lièzhuàn (an aborted private history) is unusual in biéjí-tradition format.
The textual problem flagged by the Sìkù — that the WYG 8 juǎn are only a partial witness, and that Chén Jìrú had access to a 28-juǎn recension preserved by Xú Zhāo of Wújiāng (as recorded in Wáng Shìzhēn’s Xiāngzǔ bǐjì) — is one of the cleaner cases in the Sìkù Míng biéjí corpus of an acknowledged-incomplete recension. The editors’ cún qí tóngyì, bèi kǎozhèng (“preserve the discrepancies, ready for verification”) policy here is a model of Sìkù textual-criticism transparency.
The Sìkù further flags an editorial blemish: Shǐ’s Jì Xú Yǒuzhēn wén and its post-colophon — on the Duómén (Door-Seizure) affair of Tiānshùn 1457 — were qūbǐ (a twisted pen) motivated by sīēn (private gratitude). This is a rare case of a Sìkù biéjí tíyào identifying a specific factional-bias piece by title.
CBDB id 34601 confirms 1434–1496.
Translations and research
- L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds., Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368–1644. New York: Columbia UP, 1976: notice of Shǐ Jiàn.
- Míng shǐ j. 298 — Shǐ Jiàn biography (in Yǐn-yì zhuàn, Recluse Biographies).
- Joseph P. McDermott, A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books and Literati Culture in Late Imperial China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2006) — for the Sū-zhōu cultural milieu.
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28 (Míng bié-jí) and §22 (water-works literature).
Other points of interest
The detection by the Sìkù editors of a specific Wújiāng vs. Chángzhōu Shǐ Jiàn homonym confusion — and their explicit disambiguation in the opening of the tíyào — is one of the cleaner Sìkù documentary identifications in the Míng biéjí corpus. The 28-juǎn Chén Jìrú selection mentioned in Wáng Shìzhēn’s Xiāngzǔ bǐjì survives separately and would be the principal modern reference recension; the WYG’s 8 juǎn are a deliberately preserved partial witness.