Quán Dōngwèi Wén · Quán Běiqí Wén 全東魏文·全北齊文
Complete Prose Writings of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties compiled by 嚴可均 嚴可均 (編)
About the work
This file contains the Quán Dōngwèi Wén 全東魏文 and Quán Běiqí Wén 全北齊文 sections 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). The file opens with writings attributed to Shénwǔdì 神武帝, the posthumous imperial title conferred on Gāo Huān 高歡 (496–547), the warlord who in 534 split the Northern Wei 北魏 and established the Eastern Wei 東魏 as a puppet state under his control. The Quán Dōngwèi Wén covers the short-lived Eastern Wei (534–550), followed by Quán Běiqí Wén (24 juàn), covering the Northern Qi 北齊 (550–577) founded by Gāo Huān’s son Gāo Yáng 高洋 (Emperor Wénxuān 文宣帝). Primary sources cited throughout include the Běi Qí shū 北齊書, Běi shǐ 北史, and Suí shū 隋書 (the last for figures whose careers bridged Northern Qi and Sui). The Northern Qi produced influential writers; the section preserves documents by figures such as Wèi Shōu 魏收 (506–572), compiler of the Wèi shū 魏書, and Yán Zhītuī 顏之推 (531–591+), author of the Yánshì jiāxùn 顏氏家訓.
For the structure of the broader anthology, see KR4h0172.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The Eastern Wei (534–550) and Northern Qi (550–577) together represent one of the five successor states carved from the collapsing Northern Wei empire. The literary output of both dynasties is modest in volume compared to the Southern courts but includes important administrative documents, letters, and prefaces. Gāo Huān himself is represented in the anthology primarily through memorial and military documents. The Northern Qi section is more substantial, including literary figures who are also prominent in subsequent Tang-dynasty cultural memory. Yán Kějūn 嚴可均 drew on official histories, encyclopedias, and Buddhist collectanea to assemble this section. The content overlaps chronologically with the parallel Northern Zhou section (KR4h0175) and precedes KR4h0182 (Northern Wei). For compilation history, see KR4h0172.
Translations and research
- Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A New Manual. §30.3.2.