Quán Qí Wén 全齊文
Complete Prose Writings of the Southern Qi Dynasty compiled by 嚴可均 嚴可均 (編)
About the work
This file contains the Quán Qí Wén 全齊文 section of 嚴可均’s Quán shànggǔ sāndài Qín Hàn Sānguó Liùcháo wén 全上古三代秦漢三國六朝文 (KR4h0176), spanning 27 juàn of prose attributed to writers of the Southern Qí 南齊 dynasty (479–502). The section opens with the writings of Emperor Gāodì 高帝 (Xiāo Dàochéng 蕭道成, r. 479–482) and proceeds through successive reigns to Hòufèi 後廢帝 (Emperor Donghun 東昏侯) and Emperor Hédì 和帝. Primary sources cited include the Nán Qí shū 南齊書 and Nán shǐ 南史 as well as literary encyclopedias.
The Southern Qi was a short but culturally productive dynasty, notable for the literary theories of Xiè Tiǎo 謝脁, Shěn Yuē 沈約, and the formulation of “four tones” (sìshēng 四聲) prosody. The prose corpus recovered by Yán Kějūn includes imperial edicts and rescripts, memorials, letters, philosophical essays, and prefaces to literary or Buddhist works by figures such as Xiāo Zīliáng 蕭子良 (Prince of Jìnglíng 竟陵王), whose salon was a center of late fifth-century literary culture, and the historian Shěn Yuē 沈約 (441–513).
For the structure of the broader anthology and the parallel Kanripo files for other dynasties, see the entry for KR4h0172.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. The Quán shànggǔ sāndài Qín Hàn Sānguó Liùcháo wén postdates the Sìkù quánshū and has no corresponding Siku tiyao.
Abstract
The Quán Qí Wén section of Yán Kějūn 嚴可均 (1762–1843)‘s Quán shànggǔ sāndài Qín Hàn Sānguó Liùcháo wén collects all surviving prose attributed to Southern Qi dynasty authors (479–502), drawn from official histories, encyclopedias, and Buddhist sources. The 27 juàn represent a systematic harvest of fragments and complete pieces, each annotated with source citations. The dynasty produced important literary-critical writings (notably Shěn Yuē’s discussions of prosody that laid the groundwork for regulated verse), and its royal family—especially Prince Xiāo Zīliáng’s Xīzhōng jù 西中局 patronage network—supported a vibrant literary culture. Yán’s anthology preserves many items surviving only in excerpts in Tang-dynasty encyclopedias. For full details of the compilation history and scholarly significance, see KR4h0172.
Translations and research
- Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A New Manual. §30.3.2.
- Qián Zhōngshū 錢鐘書. Guǎnzhuībiān 管錐編. 4 vols. Zhōnghuá, 1979.