Shānhǎi màntán 山海漫談
Mountain-Sea Casual Talks by 任環 (撰)
About the work
The surviving writings of Rén Huán 任環 (1519–1558), zì Yìngqián 應乾, hào Fùān 復菴, of Chángzhì 長治 (Shānxī). Jiājìng 23 (1544, 甲辰) jìnshì; successively zhīxiàn of Guǎngpíng, Shāhé, and Huáxiàn; transferred to Sūzhōu tóngzhī. By his yùwō (Japanese-pirate-repelling) merit was elevated to Ànchásī qiānshì; zhěngchì Sū Sōng èrfǔ bīngbèidào; Shāndōng yòu cānzhèng. Rén was one of the most distinguished Jiājìng wōkòu (Japanese-pirate) field commanders. The 3-juǎn biéjí (2 juǎn prose, 1 juǎn poetry-and-cí) is what Rén’s xiāngrén (hometown-man) Yǔ Yú 庾璵 cut; the surviving jí is bù jí shí zhī yī — less than one-tenth of Rén’s original output — because Rén’s writings, like his contemporary Shěn Liàn’s, were lost in the political and military upheavals of his career. The title Shānhǎi màntán preserves what was earlier given the collection.
Tiyao
Shānhǎi màntán in 3 juǎn — by Rén Huán of the Míng. Huán, zì Yìngqián, hào Fùān, native of Chángzhì. Jiājìng jiǎchén (1544) jìnshì; successively zhī of Guǎngpíng, Shāhé, Huáxiàn; transferred to Sūzhōu tóngzhī; by his yùwō (pirate-repelling) merit elevated to Ànchásī qiānshì; zhěngchì Sū Sōng èrfǔ bīngbèidào; Shāndōng yòu cānzhèng. Affairs detailed in Míngshǐ main biography. This collection is what his xiāngrén Yǔ Yú cut; wén 2 juǎn, shīcí 1 juǎn. Huán yùwō had quite remarkable qíjì (wonderful achievements); the time all considered the shǎng (reward) thin, insufficient to chóu láo (repay his toil). His surviving collection was long scattered-and-lost. His sons-and-grandsons searched and gathered, edited what they got — bù jí shí zhī yī (not reaching one-in-ten). Still named Shānhǎi màntán, following its early form.
The prose, having been obtained from cánhuǐ zhī yú (after-damage remnants), was jiàn jí shōu (immediately on seeing, gathered), with no time for quánzé (selecting); many are liáocǎo yìngchóu (rough-grass, responding-to-occasion). But evaluating what is preserved, the ancient-style prose is zhǎnzhǎn yǒu bǐlì (clear-cut, with brush-strength) and gāojiǎn yǒu fǎdù (lofty-simple, with rule-and-measure). Such pieces as the Sūmén shuāngjié jì (Sūmén Twin-Virtues Record), the Chóngxiū Báiyún máowū jì (Restoration Record of Báiyún Thatched House), the Chóngxiū wénmiào jìqì jì (Restoration of Confucian-temple sacrificial-vessels record), Qǐ Míngshān xiānshēng shū (Letter to Mr. Qǐ Míngshān) — although not avoiding cānzá súgé (intrusion of vulgar-frames) — as for the Sòng Xiāo Xīquán and Zhū Púxī two prefaces, the Défēngtíng and Huáxiàn xíngguǎn two records, the Wáng Nányá-Dá Wáng Dōngtái two letters — all are jué fēi Míngrén wénjí yǐ shíwén wéi gǔwén zhě (“absolutely not the Míng-people’s biéjí type that took shíwén (essay-style) for gǔwén”) — even placed among great zuòzhě (composers), can hold ground. The poetry — such as Chá fàn Xīnghé qiū zuò kè; jiàn héng Cānghǎi yè tán bīng (“Raft drifts on the Galaxy in autumn as guest; sword crosses the Vast-Sea — at night we discuss war”) — also has some viewable pieces. But the rǒngsú (clutter-and-vulgar) are many — surely his descendants’ biāncì (ordering) failed in deleting-and-removing too much. Yet Rén Huán’s wéirén (being-a-person) — there is no shame in zhōngxiào; not necessary to bind him by rhyme-and-language. Compiled and presented in the tenth month of Qiánlóng 42 (1777). Compilers as usual.
Abstract
Rén Huán of Chángzhì is one of the principal Jiājìng wōkòu field commanders memorialized in the Míngshǐ. The literary collection is much smaller than its original — less than one-tenth survives — and was reconstructed by Rén’s family after his death; the Sìkù compilers’ editorial regret is that the family preserved too much liáocǎo yìngchóu (rough-and-occasional) material rather than carefully selecting. The pieces the tíyào singles out as genuinely high-quality include the Sūmén shuāngjié jì (commemorating a zhēnjié pairing at Sūmén), several prefaces (Sòng Xiāo Xīquán, Zhū Púxī), and two letters (to Wáng Nányá and Wáng Dōngtái) — explicitly distinguished from the Míng shíwénwéigǔwén (essay-as-classical-prose) habit. Rén’s prose places him in the Tang-Sòng-pài-adjacent orbit. The poetry, the tíyào concedes, is mixed but contains striking qīyán lǜ couplets reflecting his frontier-military career.
Date bracket: 1544 (Jiājìng 23 jìnshì) — 1558 (death in Shāndōng on duty). CBDB 34715 gives 1519–1558; catalog meta has no dates; standard reference works confirm CBDB.
Translations and research
- Míng shǐ j. 205 — Rén Huán main biography (in the wō-kòu campaign sequence with Hú Zōng-xiàn 胡宗憲 etc.).
- L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds., Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368–1644. New York: Columbia UP, 1976.
- Kwan-wai So, Japanese Piracy in Ming China during the 16th Century (East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 1975) — context for Rén’s military role.
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28 (Míng bié-jí) and §41 (wō-kòu).
Other points of interest
The Sìkù tíyào’s distinguishing of Rén’s better pieces from the Míngrén shíwénwéigǔwén (essay-as-classical-prose) habit is one of the more pointed Sìkù critical statements about the late-Míng shíwén contamination of gǔwén — an important methodological remark.