Liáng wénjì 梁文紀
Records of Liáng Prose by 梅鼎祚
About the work
A 14-juǎn late-Míng anthology of Liáng dynasty prose by Méi Dǐngzuò (梅鼎祚) — covering the Liáng dynasty (502–557), the most literarily-decorative of the Southern Dynasties. The Liáng court of Wǔdì (502–549) and his sons (the jiǎnwén 簡文 and yuán 元 emperors, the Liáng prince of Xiāngdōng) was the cultural climax of pre-Táng southern letters: the palace-style (gōngtǐ shī) verse of the Yùtái xīnyǒng circle (compiled by Xú Líng 徐陵 under Jiǎnwéndì’s sponsorship) flourished here. The volume includes Wǔdì’s own writings, the Jiǎnwéndì and Yuándì’s, Xú Líng 徐陵, Yǔ Xìn 庾信 (Yǔ Xìn’s most famous later work was in Northern-Zhōu — cf. KR4h0129), Liú Xié 劉勰 (the Wénxīn diāolóng author), Xiāo Tǒng 蕭統 (Zhāomíng Tàizǐ, compiler of the Wénxuǎn), and many others.
Tiyao
[Catalog meta SKQS tiyao records that:]
This compilation gathers the Liáng-dynasty prose — drawing mostly from the Liángshū, Nánshǐ, and various individual collections. Records are not too profuse; collation also fairly jīnghé (refined-and-correct). Only — placing HòuLiáng’s Xiāo Kuì 蕭巋 — tuì fù wàiguó zhī hòu (relegated and attached to “foreign-state” category after the rest) — without grouping him with the various princes — shū guāi cìxù (jars with proper sequence).
Further: Hóu Jǐng’s false zhào — included within Jiǎnwéndì’s prose — is also not factually accurate.
Other defects: Liáng Wǔdì’s qǐngshì answer does not record by whom — slightly shūlòu (omissive). Jiāng Yān’s collection containing works composed during the Qí period — split out and placed in the Qí compilation — but the Qí wénjì has already issued an example. Hé Tuózhī’s prose - he says “the above were written in Qí, the below in Liáng” — but it’s only a fēnzhù (footnote), and all entered this collection — also a zìluàn qí lì (self-disorder of his own rules). But compared with the other collections, this volume is more orderly.
The Liáng age continued the Yǒngmíng old institution — competing in fúhuá (drifting and flowery) — therefore Péi Zǐyě 裴子野 wrote his Diāochóng lùn 雕蟲論 to píng (challenge) its faults. Jiǎnwéndì in a letter to the Xiāngdōngwáng said: “The Six Canons and Three Rites — when applied, have their proper place; but for auspicious-and-funereal, joyous-occasion guests, applying them — never heard of. Chanting nature-and-feeling — one would model on the Inner Code (Nèizé) chapters; raising brush to express ambitions — to copy the Liquor Pronouncement (Jiǔgào); the late spring days, instead studying the Guīcáng (one of the three Yìjīng versions); the deep-deep river-waters, then approximated to the Dàzhuàn (Great Commentary)“. Again: “At this time there are those imitating Xiè Kānglè (Xiè Língyùn) and Péi Hónglú (Péi Sōngzhī) — also somewhat confused. Master Xiè vomits up speech from heavenly extraction — extraordinarily natural — but at times not strictly correct: that is his chaff. Master Péi was a great-historian’s talent — but with no piānshí (verse-pieces) beauty. Xiè cannot be approached for cleverness; Péi cannot be wisely emulated for clumsiness”.
A whole-dynasty emperor’s chílùn (sustained-argument) was like this. Yí qí fēngmí bōdàng wéntǐ rìqū huárù yě (No wonder the manner spread like waves; the literary form was daily heading toward more-and-more flowery).
However, 古文 gǔwén (ancient prose) at Liáng becomes extinct; piántǐ (parallel-form) reaches with Liáng its jíshèng (utmost flourishing) — the cángāo shèngfù (remaining oil and surplus fragrance) nourishes inexhaustibly — even Táng-era taking material from it cannot exhaust. As late-Táng Wǔdài: their verse is all zèdiào (oblique tones) — yet their cí (lyrics) is zhèngshēng (regular sounds); cùn yǒu suǒ cháng — sìliù (parallel-prose) cannot be abolished; nor can Liáng-era houses be cast aside.
Reverently submitted, tenth month of Qiánlóng 43 (1778). Editor-in-Chief Jǐ Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì. General Collator Lù Fèichí.
Abstract
Date. c. 1615–1618 compilation; posthumous publication 1620s–1638.
Significance. (1) The work is the canonical Míng anthology of Liáng-dynasty prose, the apex of pre-Táng decorative piántǐ literary culture. (2) Jiǎnwéndì’s letter to the Xiāngdōng prince — quoted extensively in the SKQS tiyao — is one of the foundational documents of Chinese literary theory: it articulates Liáng’s rejection of moral-pedagogical literary criticism in favour of aesthetic-formal criticism. (3) The volume preserves prose of all the major Liáng-court literary figures: Liú Xié, Xiāo Tǒng, Xú Líng (the Yùtái xīnyǒng compiler), Yǔ Xìn (early career), Shěn Yuē, Wáng Yùn 王筠, Rèn Fǎng 任昉, etc. (4) The SKQS editors’ praise — “gǔwén died at Liáng; piántǐ reached its peak with Liáng — the surplus oil and remaining fragrance nourish inexhaustibly” — is a definitive Qīng-era assessment of Liáng’s literary status. The Qīng Tóngchéng pài generally accepted that parallel prose cannot be abolished — making Liáng’s tradition essential to balanced literary education.
Translations and research
- Tian Xiaofei, Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (Cambridge MA, 2007) — the standard Western Liáng-literature monograph.
- Anne M. Birrell, New Songs from a Jade Terrace: An Anthology of Early Chinese Love Poetry (London, 1986) — translation of Yù-tái xīn-yǒng.
- Vincent Yu-chung Shih, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (Hong Kong, 1983) — translation of Wén-xīn diāo-lóng.
- Stephen Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought (Cambridge MA, 1992) — translates Jiǎn-wén-dì’s letter.
Other points of interest
The work documents the Liáng literary moment that produced the Wénxuǎn (the canonical pre-Táng anthology), the Wénxīn diāolóng (the canonical Chinese literary theory text), and the Yùtái xīnyǒng (the canonical gōngtǐ anthology) — i.e. three of the most influential Chinese literary documents of all time. Méi Dǐngzuò’s anthology gathers the contextual prose — letters, memorials, decrees — that surrounded these masterworks.
Links
- ctext
- Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual §32, §38.