沖虛至德真經解

Chōng xū zhì dé zhēn jīng jiě 沖虛至德真經解

Explanations of the True Scripture of the Void and Supreme Virtue

by 江遹 (Jiāng Yù) — Northern-Sòng scholar-official at the Hángzhōu Prefectural Academy; c. 1110

A major Northern-Sòng commentary on the [[KR5c0049|Chōng xū zhì dé zhēn jīng]] (the Lièzǐ 列子) in twenty juàn, by Jiāng Yù 江遹, a Northern-Sòng scholar-official. Probably composed c. 1110 during the Huīzōng 徽宗 era. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 730 / CT 730 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類), in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY135, and in the Wén yuān gé Sìkù quánshū as Chōng xū zhì dé zhēn jīng jiě.

About the work

Hans-Hermann Schmidt’s notice in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004, 2:2749–94, DZ 730) gives the authoritative modern framing.

Dating

Jiāng Yù’s title “Nèi shè shēng of the Háng zhōu Prefectural Academy” (Háng zhōu zhōu xué nèi shè shēng 杭州州學內舍生) allows a rather precise dating: the three-grade examination system (sān shè 三舍) was introduced under Shénzōng 神宗 for the National Academy in the capital (Tài xué 太學) and was also applied to prefectural academies (zhōu xué 州學) between 1099 and 1121 (Huáng Sòng shí cháo gāng yào 皇宋十朝綱要 14.6b; 18.9b). Jiāng Yù’s commentary must therefore date from this 22-year window.

The formula at the beginning of the text suggests it was meant to be presented to the court — consistent with the scholarly-official context of its composition.

Method and quality

The Sìkù quánshū zǒng mù 四庫全書總目 146.1245 notes that Jiāng Yù relies on the style of Guō Xiàng’s 郭象 (郭象) Zhuāngzǐ commentary — i.e., without heavy philological annotations, instead presenting intuitive interpretive understanding. The Sìkù editors judge his explanations highly — praising them for elegance of style and thorough textual understanding, and placing them above Lín Xīyì’s (林希逸) Lièzǐ commentary (KR5c0120).

Textual issues

The DZ 730 edition has some lacunae at 4.25a, 9.1b, and 20.11a. These are also found in:

• The Dàozàng jíyào edition (in 3 juàn).
• The Sìkù quánshū zhēn běn 四庫全書珍本 edition (in 8 juàn).

The shared lacunae suggest a common archetypal defect in the transmitted text.

Prefaces

The DZ 730 text preserves the presentation-formula at the beginning — a standard court-submission format — but no substantive authorial preface.

Abstract

The commentary is one of the two most highly-regarded Sòng commentaries on the Lièzǐ, the other being Lín Xīyì’s KR5c0120 kǒu yì. Where Lín’s kǒu yì is colloquial-pedagogical, Jiāng Yù’s jiě is literary-elegant and philosophically ambitious — in the style of Guō Xiàng’s mature Zhuāngzǐ commentary. The two works together define the mainstream Sòng reception of the Lièzǐ.

Dating. Per the bracketing of the sān shè examination system at Jiāng Yù’s academy, the commentary dates between 1099 and 1121 CE. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1099–1121 as the composition window. Dynasty: 宋.

Author. Jiāng Yù 江遹 is otherwise “unknown” (Schmidt in Schipper & Verellen 2004, 2:2749). His title as “Nèi shè shēng of the Hángzhōu Prefectural Academy” identifies him as a mid-level examinee under the three-grade sān shè system — in the “Inner Hall” (nèi shè 內舍), the middle of three grades below the top shàng shè 上舍.

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:2749–94 (DZ 730, H.-H. Schmidt). Primary reference.
• Graham, A. C. The Book of Lieh-tzu. London: John Murray, 1960. For the Lièzǐ generally.
• See KR5c0049 for the base text, KR5c0120 for Lín Xīyì’s parallel kǒu yì, and KR5c0122 for Huīzōng’s imperial commentary.

Other points of interest

Jiāng Yù’s commentary was included unabridged in the collection DZ 732 Chōng xū zhì dé zhēn jīng sì jiě 沖虛至德真經四解 (compiled by Gāo Shǒuyuán 高守元, dated 1189) — where it appears alongside three other commentaries (including Zhāng Zhàn’s 張湛, Sòng Huīzōng’s 宋徽宗, and a fourth). This four-commentary compilation preserves a fuller version of Jiāng Yù’s work than DZ 730 in some sections.

Jiāng Yù’s reliance on Guō Xiàng’s commentarial style is an interesting interpretive choice: by modelling his Lièzǐ commentary on Guō Xiàng’s Zhuāngzǐ commentary, Jiāng Yù implicitly affirms the close relationship between the Lièzǐ and Zhuāngzǐ traditions — a Daoist-interpretive move that had been central to the Lièzǐ’s reception since the Eastern Jìn.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0121
• Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon (2004), 2:2749–94 — DZ 730 entry (H.-H. Schmidt).
• Parent text: KR5c0049 Chōng xū zhì dé zhēn jīng.
• Companion commentaries: KR5c0120 (Lín Xīyì), KR5c0122 (Sòng Huīzōng’s imperial commentary).
• ctext.org: 沖虛至德真經解