HuángQīng wényǐng 皇清文頴
Refined Prose of the August Qīng by 陳廷敬, 張廷玉
About the work
A 124-juǎn imperial compilation of the early Qīng dynastic prose (Shùnzhì through early Qiánlóng), in two formal parts: 24 juǎn of yùzhì shīwén (imperially-composed poetry-and-prose by the Kāngxī, Yōngzhèng, and Qiánlóng emperors) and 100 juǎn of chéngōng fùsòng jí zhūtǐ shīwén (ministers’ and officials’ fù, sòng, and miscellaneous-form poetry-and-prose) — the catalog meta’s “100 juǎn” extent refers to the latter, principal portion. The compilation was begun under the Kāngxī emperor, who commissioned Chén Tíngjìng (陳廷敬, 1639–1712, Dàxuéshì) to undertake the selection; Kāngxī’s death in 1722 prevented printing. The Yōngzhèng emperor assented to court officials’ request to open a guǎn (editorial office) to continue the work, but did not finish it. The Qiánlóng emperor, in Qiánlóng 12 (1747), ordered the compilation completed for the period up to Qiánlóng jiǎzǐ (1744) — assigning the senior Grand Secretary Zhāng Tíngyù (張廷玉, 1672–1755) as principal xùbiān (continuation editor). The imperial preface is dated Qiánlóng dīngmǎo mèngdōng (10th month of Qiánlóng 12 = November 1747); Zhāng Tíngyù and others’ jìnbiǎo (memorial of presentation) is preserved with the work.
The work is organised on the standard zǒngjí model: imperial poetry-and-prose first (3 emperors × 24 juǎn); then imperial-clan members’ verse; then ministers’ compositions classified by genre (biǎo memorials, fù-and-sòng / rhapsody-and-eulogy, zhāng / zhāo poems, shī / cí poetry, etc.). The Qiánlóng preface positions the work in the dynastic-anthology lineage: Hàn — Xī Hàn wén lèi; Táng — Wényuàn yīnghuá, Táng wéncuì; Sòng — Wénhǎi, Wénjiàn; Yuán — Wénlèi; Míng — Wénhéng; Qīng — HuángQīng wényǐng. The selection-principle is conservative: only jīngjìn zhī zuò (pieces presented to the throne) and cháotíng guǎngé zhī piān (court-bureau pieces) are admitted — pieces composed for the cháotíng (imperial court), not personal biéjí output. This differentiates the Wényǐng from the contemporaneous biéjí compilations and gives it a specifically institutional-political character — an anthology of court culture, not personal expression.
Tiyao
[The SKQS source carries the Qiánlóng imperial preface (皇清文頴序, dated Qiánlóng 12/10) and Zhāng Tíngyù’s jìnbiǎo in place of the standard Sìkù 提要. Translated and abridged here.]
Qiánlóng imperial preface. Our great Qīng has received the Mandate for over one hundred years. The lièzǔ (successive ancestors)’ moral teaching has nourished and illumined the world — the yòuwén zhī shèng bǐngrán yǔ Sāndài tóngfēng (the brilliance of literary-respecting governance matches the Three Dynasties). We have continued and humbled Ourselves to learning, treating this as both xué (learning) and zhì (governance), aiming at wéndé (cultural virtue) — for already a jì (12 years) since We received the throne. The Yì says: “guān hū rénwén yǐ huà chéng tiānxià” — “by observing the human wén, the world is shaped.” Indeed, since the existence of heaven-and-earth, men’s traverses fill the middle. The shìjūnzǐ’s every word and every action, the state’s zhìdù wénwèi lǐyuè xíngzhèng (institutions, accomplishments, ritual, music, punishment, government) — distributed as instruction and assembled as achievement — wúfēi wén yě (nothing is not wén).
Our Imperial Ancestor [Kāngxī] commanded Dàxuéshì Chén Tíngjìng to xuǎnjí HuángQīng wényǐng (select and edit the HuángQīng wényǐng), storing it in the Yángé (the Wényuān gé annex), but not yet getting to printing-publication. The Imperial Father [Yōngzhèng] again accepted the court officials’ request to open a guǎn (editorial office) for compilation, adding pieces as time passed; long un-completed. We then ordered: pieces from before Qiánlóng jiǎzǐ (1744) to be first arranged in order.
In total: 24 juǎn of imperially-composed poetry-and-prose; 100 juǎn of ministers’ fù, sòng, and various-form poetry-and-prose. After recording the contents, this preface is written at the head of the volume.
Earlier, those who discussed wén yǐ dài wèi cì (by dynasty as sequence): for the Hàn there is the Xī Hàn wén lèi; for the Táng, the Wényuàn yīnghuá and Táng wéncuì; for the Sòng, the Wénhǎi and Wénjiàn; for the Yuán, the Wénlèi; for the Míng, the Wénhéng — all bózōng yīdài zhùzuò zhī lín, wútǐ bù bèi (broadly cover one dynasty’s compositions, no form lacking). The present compilation is only of pieces presented to the throne and bureau-and-pavilion pieces — yǔ zhūshū xiǎoyì (slightly different from the other compilations). However, to observe this dynasty’s wénfēng shàngshǎng (literary-style and esteemed-things), there is reason to take this.
In the Yì, the huàn hexagram’s image says “wind flows on water” — shàn lì yán zhě yǐ wéi tiāndì zìrán zhī wén (those who excel at establishing words consider this as nature’s wén). And the xùguà receives it with jié, yán wén zhī bùkě guò yě (warning that wén must not be excessive). Continuing with zhōngfú, yán yǒu shí yě (warning of substance). Jié ér bù liú, zhēng zhī yǐ xìn (regulated and not flowing, verified by xìn-trust). Yǒu diǎn yǒu zé, kě jiǔ zhī dào (having canon and rule — the way of duration) — this lies herein. We diligently apply Ourselves to canonical learning, seeking what shàn chí (well-maintains) wén, and so use this for those who chíwén (handle prose) as their hú (target) — to mutually miǎn (encourage). Qiánlóng dīngmǎo (12 = 1747), early winter month.
Zhāng Tíngyù’s jìnbiǎo (memorial of presentation) documents:
- The compilation history: Chén Tíngjìng’s Kāngxī work → Yōngzhèng guǎn → Qiánlóng completion.
- The selection principle: jīngjìn zhī zuò (pieces presented to the throne) + cháotíng guǎngé zhī piān (court-bureau pieces) — not personal collections.
- The methodological model: Liú Shèrén [Liú Xié]‘s Wénxīn diāolóng on genre-distinction; Zhōng Jìshì [Zhōng Róng]‘s Shīpǐn on poetic-grading.
- The selection-principle: chóng yǎzhèng (esteem the orthodox-and-proper).
Abstract
Date. Imperial preface and completion Qiánlóng 12 / 10th month (November 1747). Coverage extends down through Qiánlóng jiǎzǐ (1744). The compilation thus represents about 100 years of Qīng dynastic literary output in its imperial / official aspects.
Significance. (1) The HuángQīng wényǐng is the standard early-Qīng dynastic prose-and-poetry anthology — placing the Qīng in the dynastic-anthology lineage from Xī Hàn wén lèi through Wénhéng. (2) The work’s deliberate restriction to court-presented compositions makes it a unique anthological genre: not personal-literary but institutional-political-cultural. It is the primary source for early-Qīng court literary culture — what officials wrote at the emperor’s command or for court occasions. (3) The compilation’s chronological span — Shùnzhì through 1744 — gives it special documentary value for the high Kāngxī through early-Qiánlóng court literary establishment, particularly the zhāojì-style of literary politics. (4) Zhāng Tíngyù’s role as final editor establishes the compilation in the lineage of the mid-Qīng’s most senior Hàn official’s literary-and-political projects (cf. his work on the Míngshǐ completed 1739, on the Qīndìng shòushí tōngkǎo (KR3d0010), etc.). (5) The fact that the work required three reigns to complete (Kāngxī commission, Yōngzhèng continuation, Qiánlóng completion) is itself a documentary feature of the Qīng’s gradual literary-canon construction.
A continuation volume — the HuángQīng wényǐng xùbiān 皇清文頴續編 (200 juǎn) — was compiled in Qiánlóng 60 (1795) covering the period from 1744 onward; that work is separately catalogued.
Translations and research
- R. Kent Guy, The Emperor’s Four Treasuries: Scholars and the State in the Late Ch’ien-lung Era (Cambridge MA, 1987) — for the Qiánlóng-era imperial literary-canon context.
- Jonathan Spence, The Death of Woman Wang and The Search for Modern China — context for early-Qīng court culture.
- 葛兆光 Gě Zhào-guāng, Zhōng-guó sī-xiǎng shǐ, vol. 2 — for early-Qīng court intellectual context.
- 黃進興 Huáng Jìn-xìng, Yōu-rù shèng-yù: quán-lì, xìn-yǎng yǔ zhèng-dāng-xìng 優入聖域 — for the relevant background on Qīng imperial cultural authority.
Other points of interest
The work’s anomalous classification — it is in the jíbù zǒngjí lèi of the SKQS, but its content is largely institutional-bureaucratic rather than literary — illustrates the Qīng court’s distinct attitude toward the political function of literature: court-presented compositions are placed alongside (and read as continuous with) traditional belles-lettres, on the principle that zhì (governance) and wén (literary culture) are not separable. The compilation thus functions both as an anthology and as a documentary record of Qīng court-cultural practice.