Zōngbó jí 宗伯集
Collection of the Grand Master of Rites by 孫繼臯 (撰)
About the work
The literary collection of Sūn Jìgāo 孫繼臯 (1550–1610), zì Yǐdé 以德, hào Bǎigǔ 柏谷, of Wúxī 無錫 (Jiāngsū). Wànlì jiǎxū (1574) jìnshì in the dìyī rén (top-graduate, zhuàngyuán) rank; cumulatively officed Lìbù shìláng. The title Zōngbó (“Grand Master of Rites”) is from Sūn’s posthumous elevation to Lǐbù shàngshū (Minister of Rites). The 10-juǎn collection comprises 9 juǎn of miscellaneous prose + 1 juǎn of poetry. Sūn’s most famous political moment was his memorial opposing the Shénzōng (Wànlì) emperor’s refusal to send off the funeral coach of the Chén tàihòu (Empress Dowager Chén); when the Sāndiàn (Three Halls) fire occurred in 1596 and most senior officials zìchén (self-reported their faults) were wèiliú (retained), Sūn alone zhìshì qù (took retirement and left). After retirement he was posthumously Lǐbù shàngshū. The collection’s juǎn 2 colophon by Sūn’s son Sūn Yuánwén 孫源文 explains the collection’s textual incompleteness: xiānfù shēngpíng bù gǎn zìjū yú míng, yǐ gù jiàncǎo dōu fén (“our late-father in his lifetime did not dare to claim míng (reputation), so all his jiàncǎo (remonstration-drafts) were burned”). Out of the 18 memorials he submitted, only 3 survive; his other writings — biographies and stelae — were re-collected by Yuánwén from various sons-and-grandsons and friends.
Tiyao
Zōngbó jí in 10 juǎn — by Sūn Jìgāo of the Míng. Jìgāo, zì Yǐdé, native of Wúxī. Wànlì jiǎxū (1574) jìnshì in the first-rank-first-place; cumulatively officed Lìbù shìláng. When Chén tàihòu’s zǐgōng fāyǐn (coffin set off), Shénzōng chēngjí bùkěn sòng (claimed-illness, not-willing-to-see-off); Jìgāo memorialized contestation, offended the zhǐ (edict). When the Sāndiàn zāi (Three Halls fire) occurred and the great ministers zìchén (self-reported faults), all were wèiliú (consoled-and-retained); only Jìgāo zhìshì qù (took retirement and went). After-death posthumously Lǐbù shàngshū. This work titled Zōngbó jí follows the suǒ zèng guān (posthumous office). Together záwén 9 juǎn, shī 1 juǎn. At the end of juǎn 2 has his son Yuánwén’s colophon-language, saying: his father in his lifetime bù gǎn zìjū yú míng, yǐ gù jiàncǎo dōu fén qiè zhōng zhī cún císhū shíbā yòu qiú dé qí sān; qí liúzhōng zhě wúcóng mìgǎo (“did-not-dare-to-claim míng, hence remonstration-drafts were all burned. Surviving in the chest, the císhū (memorials) were 18, again sought-and-got their 3; the imperial-store-retained ones had no way to find drafts”); even his other compositions yì duō bùcún (also mostly not preserved). Now what is cut — the bēimíng zhìzhuàn zhī wén — all are what Yuánwén zádé (mixedly-obtained) from his various sons-grandsons and xiǔjiān bàishàn (rotten-letter-cases, ruined-fans) with what circulated in the world.
Hence what the collection records — mostly yìngzhì (responding-to-edict) and chóuzèng (returning-offerings, gift-poetry) works. Yet at Jìgāo’s time, shìxí tiāo (the literati customs were frivolous) and wéntǐ (literary style) was also decayed: the Seven Masters’ fēng (style) was not yet exhausted; the Three Yuán (Yuán brothers of Gōngān) yàn (flame) was just newly-bright; or jíjù gōuzhāng (thorn-line, hook-chapter) or jīnqí diàoguǐ (proudly-strange, condoling-the-unusual). Those wielding-the-brush chū cǐ rù bǐ (out-of-this, into-that), broadly suíbō ér mí (follow-the-wave and be-tipped-over). Jìgāo’s poetry-and-prose alone is yōngróng tiányǎ (dignified-leisurely and content-elegant), has chéngpíng táigé zhī yífēng (the leftover-wind of the chéngpíng (peaceful) era-canopy and tower) — also can be called bù yí yú sú (not-shifted by vulgarity). Compiled and presented in the third month of Qiánlóng 45 (1780). Compilers as usual.
Abstract
Sūn Jìgāo of Wúxī is one of the most interesting cases of a late-Wàn-lì zhuàngyuán (top-graduate) whose principled retirement after the Sāndiàn fire (1596) and the Chén tàihòu funeral controversy stood out at a moment when most senior officials accepted wèiliú (court-retention) after self-reporting. The collection’s textual difficulties — much of Sūn’s writing was burned in his lifetime out of bù gǎn zìjū yú míng (not-daring-to-claim-reputation) — make this a difficult biéjí to read as a historical document: only 3 of 18 surviving memorials remain. The Sìkù tíyào’s literary verdict is also distinctive: at a moment when the Hòu Qī Zǐ style was waning and the Gōngān brothers’ style was rising — Sūn alone maintained the yōngróng tiányǎ (dignified-leisurely, content-elegant) táigé tǐ (court-cabinet style) of an earlier era. His son Sūn Yuánwén compiled the surviving 10 juǎn.
Date bracket: 1574 (Wànlì jiǎxū jìnshì) — 1610 (death). CBDB 129807 confirms 1550–1610.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
- Míng shǐ (no main biography; biographical notice in Wú-xī gazetteer).
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, §28 (Míng bié-jí).
Other points of interest
The Sūn family’s self-burning of jiàncǎo (remonstration drafts) — out of bù gǎn zìjū yú míng — is one of the more striking documented cases of late-Míng official self-censorship of his own moral testimony.