Zhāng Zhuāngxǐ wénjí 張莊僖文集
Prose Collection of Zhāng Zhuāng-xǐ by 張永明 (撰)
About the work
The literary collection of Zhāng Yǒngmíng 張永明 (1499–1566), zì Zhōngchéng 鍾誠 (the catalog meta gives 鍾城 — a Sìkù-era typographical slip for 鍾誠), of Wūchéng 烏程 (Húzhōu, Zhèjiāng), posthumous shì Zhuāngxǐ 莊僖. Jiājìng 14 (1535, 乙未) jìnshì; office reached Xíngbù shàngshū; transferred to Zuǒ Dū yùshǐ. The original Zhāng biéjí was unusual: arranged in 6 collections named for the Six Arts (禮 Lǐ, 樂 Yuè, 射 Shè, 御 Yù, 書 Shū, 數 Shù) — Lǐjí for gàomìng, sacrificial prose, zànlěi, stele-inscriptions; Yuèjí and Shèjí for the Nányuán jiàncǎo (Southern-wall remonstration drafts) of his Nánjīng jǐshìzhōng days; Yùjí and Shūjí for the Zhōngzhōu shūlüè (Central-Province memorial-summaries) and bùyuàn dànzòu (ministry-and-court impeachments); Shùjí for jiāxùn (family-instructions), yǔlù, zázhù (miscellaneous writings), poetry-and-prose, with an appended wàijì in 2 pieces. The Sìkù compilers deemed this biāncì biāomù (ordering and titling scheme) yōnglòu (mediocre-and-tasteless), removed the Lǐjí, and recompiled the remainder into 5 juǎn. This is a notable Sìkù editorial intervention worth recording.
Tiyao
Zhāng Zhuāngxǐ wénjí in 5 juǎn — by Zhāng Yǒngmíng of the Míng. Yǒngmíng, zì Zhōngchéng, native of Wūchéng. Jiājìng yǐwèi (1535) jìnshì; office reached Xíngbù shàngshū; transferred to Zuǒ Dū yùshǐ; died, shì Zhuāngxǐ. Affairs detailed in Míngshǐ main biography. The work in its original běn was divided into 6 collections — using Lǐ, Yuè, Shè, Yù, Shū, Shù (the Six Arts) as headings. Lǐjí was for gàomìng, sacrificial-prose, zànlěi, stele-tablet types. Yuèjí and Shèjí both were Nányuán jiàncǎo — composed when he served as Nánjīng jǐshìzhōng. Yùjí and Shūjí were Zhōngzhōu shūlüè and bùyuàn dànzòu affairs. Shùjí was jiāxùn yǔlù zázhù (family-instructions, recorded-sayings, miscellaneous writings), poetry-and-prose — with appended wàijì 2 piān. Its biāncì biāomù (ordering and titling) were all yōnglòu (mediocre-and-tasteless). Now [we] deleted the Lǐjí, edited it into 5 juǎn. His prose is píngshí zhìpǔ (level-substantial, simple-and-pure); not esteeming carving-and-flowers; but with many yǒuyòng zhī yán (useful words). When he was jǐshìzhōng, he impeached Yán Sōng for jiāotōng Guō Xūn péngbǐ yúlì (“interconnecting with Guō Xūn, forming a clique for fishing-of-benefit”); those who heard were zhènsǒng (struck-with-awe). When he was Hénán xúnfǔ, Yī Wáng Diǎnyìng 伊王典楧 sìnüè yīfāng (was tyrannical in his region), with very heavy authority; whatever the suǒsī (responsible offices) slightly opposed, would be zhōng yǐ dān (struck-by-poison-darts); none dared challenge him. Yǒngmíng also kàngshū hèzòu (boldly memorialized impeaching); finally extended state-law. His qìjié (vital-integrity) is yǒu zú duō zhě (more than worthy of much praise); hence what was issued forth as wénzhāng differs from the wúwù zhī yán (rootless words). Compiled and presented in the third month of Qiánlóng 44 (1779). Compilers as usual.
Abstract
Zhāng Yǒngmíng of Wūchéng is one of the more remarkable Jiā-jìng-period upright officials of the anti-Yán-Sōng wing. The Sìkù tíyào singles out two prosecutions: (i) his impeachment of Yán Sōng for the Guō Xūn 郭勛 clique-and-profit affair while serving as Nánjīng jǐshìzhōng; (ii) his successful impeachment of the Yī prince Diǎnyìng (伊王典楧, a notorious Míng-imperial-clan delinquent) while xúnfǔ (regional inspector) of Hénán — a prosecution that, exceptionally, succeeded: Diǎnyìng was a violent and corrupt prince who had poisoned officials trying to restrain him.
The collection is interesting also as a textual-historical case: the original Six-Arts-themed arrangement (a Míng-mid editorial conceit common in biéjí-by-civic-virtues) was deemed yōnglòu (mediocre-and-tasteless) by the Sìkù compilers, who excised the Lǐjí and recompiled the remainder into 5 juǎn. The transmitted WYG text is therefore a substantially edited recension.
Date bracket: 1535 (Jiājìng 14 jìnshì) — 1566 (death). CBDB 34711 gives 1499–1566 (death year confirmed at 1566); the catalog meta has 1499 birth implied but no death year. Míngshǐ j. 202 confirms 1566.
The catalog meta gives Zhāng’s zì as 鍾城 — almost certainly a typographical slip for the standard form 鍾誠 (preserve and flag).
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
- Míng shǐ j. 202 — Zhāng Yǒng-míng main biography.
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28 (Míng bié-jí).
Other points of interest
The Sìkù’s explicit editorial deletion of the Lǐjí and re-compilation into 5 juǎn is one of the more transparent admissions of Sìkù-era recension intervention in a Míng biéjí. The original Six-Arts-themed structure is preserved only in the tíyào’s description.