南華真經章句音義

Nán huá zhēn jīng zhāng jù yīn yì 南華真經章句音義

Phonetic and Philological Notes on the Chapters and Phrases of the True Scripture of the Southern Florescence

by 陳景元 (Chén Jǐngyuán, hào Bìxūzǐ 碧虛子; 1024–1094) — the major Northern-Sòng philological apparatus to the Zhuāngzǐ; dated 1084

A 14-juàn philological-phonetic apparatus to the [[KR5c0051|Nán huá zhēn jīng]] (the Zhuāngzǐ) by Chén Jǐngyuán 陳景元 (1024–1094). Dated 1084. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 736 / CT 736 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類). Chén Jǐngyuán’s systematic philological treatment of the Zhuāngzǐ — providing fǎnqiè pronunciations, variant-reading notes, textual-critical comparisons, and a comprehensive list of pre-Sòng commentators — establishes the scholarly baseline for subsequent SòngYuán Zhuāngzǐ scholarship.

About the work

Complementary role to Chén Jǐngyuán’s other works

Chén Jǐngyuán produced a coordinated body of scholarly work on the classical Daoist texts. Alongside his famous Dàodé jīng commentary (DZ 714, KR5c0103, 1072), the present DZ 736 constitutes his primary Zhuāngzǐ apparatus. Chén also composed:

• DZ 737 Nán huá zhēn jīng zhāng jù yú shì 南華真經章句餘事 — a supplementary apparatus (yú shì 餘事 = “remnant matters”).
• Further Zhuāngzǐ scholarship mentioned in 18th-c. bibliographies.

Together these works constitute Chén’s comprehensive Zhuāngzǐ scholarly programme.

Scope

The DZ 736 covers:

1. Phonetic glosses (yīn 音) — fǎnqiè readings and homophone glosses for difficult characters in the 33 piān.
2. Textual notes (zhāng jù 章句) — chapter-and-phrase explanations, following the textual order of Guō Xiàng’s 郭象 received recension.
3. Variant-reading comparisons — cross-references between different manuscript and print editions of the Zhuāngzǐ.
4. Bibliographical apparatus — a list of major pre-Sòng commentators on the Zhuāngzǐ (cited in DZ 734 KR5c0127 of Chǔ Bóxiù as the authoritative Northern-Sòng bibliography).

Abstract

The DZ 736 is the most important Northern-Sòng philological-critical apparatus on the Zhuāngzǐ. Its systematic treatment of the text’s philological-phonetic issues set the standard for subsequent Daoist scholarship. Chǔ Bóxiù’s 1265 compilation (KR5c0127) explicitly bases itself on Chén Jǐngyuán’s commentator-list.

Dating. 1084 per the work’s own date. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1084 as the composition date. Dynasty: 宋.

Author. See 陳景元 for the comprehensive biography.

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, DZ 736 entry. Primary reference.
• See 陳景元 for the author’s biography and related works.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0129
• Parent text: KR5c0051 Nán huá zhēn jīng.
• Author: 陳景元.
• ctext.org: 南華真經章句音義