Lùyì jì 錄異記
Record of Marvels by 杜光庭 (撰, completed 921–925)
About the work
An eight-juǎn compendium of yì 異 (marvels, marvellous phenomena and beings) compiled by 杜光庭 (Dù Guāngtíng, 850–933) at the Former-Shǔ court between 921 and 925. The work is a Daoist counterpart to the Tang anomaly-collection tradition (Yìwén jí 異聞集, Bówù zhì 博物志, Shùyì jì 述異記) but with a distinctly Daoist framing: the marvels are signs of the yīnyáng (yīnyáng) cosmic order and divinatory in significance.
Abstract
The preface declares: “Guàilì luànshén, suī shèngrén bù yǔ, jīnggào shǐcè wǎngwǎng yǒu zhī. Qiándá zuòzhě: ‘Shùyì jì’, ‘Bówù zhì’, ‘Yìwén jí’ jiē qí liú yě.” 怪力亂神，雖聖人不語，經誥史册往往有之。前逹作者：《述異記》《博物志》《異聞集》皆其流也 (“The strange-and-violent and the chaotic-spirit: although the sage did not speak of them, scriptures and historical chronicles often record them. Earlier authors — the Shùyì jì, Bówù zhì, Yìwén jí — are all of that genre”). The preface then sets out Dù’s Daoist editorial position: the liùjīng túwěi héluò zhī shū 六經圖緯河洛之書 (the Six Classics, the apocrypha, the Yellow-River and Luò-River writings) record yīn-yáng-divine-transformations, omens of fortune and misfortune; these arise with the qì and respond to the Five Phases; even though jǐngxīng gānlù 景星甘露 (auspicious stars, sweet dew) and hébì liánzhū 合璧連珠 (linked-jade-and-strung-pearls) and jiāmài jiāhé 嘉麥嘉禾 (auspicious wheat and grain) and zhēnqín zhēnshòu 珍禽珍獸 (rare birds and beasts) are conventionally read as auspicious — the discerning eye sees a deeper cosmic logic.
The eight juǎn organise the marvels thematically: marvellous stones, animals, plants, atmospheric phenomena, divine beings, anomalous human persons. Many entries record concrete dates and places, often in Shǔ — and are valuable historical evidence for late-Táng to Five-Dynasties anomaly-reports as well as for Dù’s Daoist hermeneutics of them.
Schipper & Verellen (Taoist Canon 2: 444–445, Franciscus Verellen) date the completion to between Wáng Jiàn’s death (918) and Wáng Yǎn’s deposition (925); the date 921–925 is conventionally accepted.
Translations and research
- Verellen, Franciscus. Du Guangting (850–933): Taoïste de cour à la fin de la Chine médiévale. Paris: Collège de France, 1989.
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. Vol. 2: 444–445 (DZ 591, Franciscus Verellen).
- Verellen, Franciscus. Imperiled Destinies: The Daoist Quest for Deliverance in Medieval China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2019 — treats Dù’s anomalous-records context.