Wǔdàishǐ Quēwén 五代史闕文
Missing Text from the Five Dynasties History by 王禹偁
About the work
A one-juàn supplement (quēwén 闕文, “missing text” or “blanks”) to the official Jiù Wǔdài shǐ 舊五代史 (Old History of the Five Dynasties, 974 CE), comprising 17 short biographical accounts (piān 篇) of persons omitted from the official history. Composed by 王禹偁 Wáng Yǔchēng (954–1001; CBDB id 3997), one of the earliest and most important Northern Song prose writers, based on oral testimony gathered from elderly informants who had lived through the Five Dynasties period. The text includes a preface that explicitly invokes the Confucian dictum about “blanks in a text” (wǒ yóu jí shǐ zhī quēwén — Lúnyǔ 論語 15.26).
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
王禹偁 Wáng Yǔchēng (954–1001; CBDB id 3997) was among the earliest advocates of gǔwén 古文 prose reform in the Northern Song and a celebrated poet and prose stylist. He served in the Hanlin Academy and produced important official documents, poetry, and essays. His collected works are preserved in the Xiǎochùxuéguǎn wénjí 小畜學館文集.
The preface to the Wǔdàishǐ Quēwén explicitly cites the Lúnyǔ: “I still get to see the blanks left in a text” (我猶及史之闕文也), attributing the compilation to his concern that the official Jiù Wǔdài shǐ had left out many persons and events “whether through official reticence, or through scribal omission.” Wang’s position as an early Northern Song official who could still interview survivors of the Five Dynasties period makes his oral-history data exceptionally valuable. The 17 entries cover all five dynasties (Liang 3, Later Tang 7, Jin 1, Han 2, Zhou 4).
The work is an important source for both the gaps in the official Five Dynasties historiography and for early Northern Song attitudes toward the recent historical past. It is also a methodologically interesting document: Wang Yucheng’s acknowledgment that he is filling gaps from oral testimony is unusually self-aware for a Chinese historical bǐjì.
Translations and research
- Davis, Richard. 2004. Historical Records of the Five Dynasties. Columbia UP. Provides context for the Jiù Wǔdài shǐ that Wang supplements.
- Bol, Peter K. 1992. “This Culture of Ours”. Stanford UP. Context of Song gǔwén movement.
Links
- Wikidata: no dedicated entry located