Tōng xuán zhēn jīng 通玄真經 (Zhū Biàn 朱弁 commentary)
True Scripture of Communion with the Mystery — the Wénzǐ with Zhū Biàn’s commentary
辛鈃 (Xīn Jiān, attributed); commentary by 朱弁 (Zhū Biàn, 1085–1144)
A Southern-Sòng commentary on the Wénzǐ / Tōng xuán zhēn jīng (KR5c0118) by Zhū Biàn 朱弁 (1085–1144) — the early-Southern-Sòng scholar who was held hostage for decades by the Jīn. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 749 / CT 749 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類) in 7 juàn.
About the work
Author
Zhū Biàn 朱弁 (1085–1144, CBDB 16681) had an extraordinary biography. An imperial university student at the time of the Jīn invasions (1126–27), he became an officer in the Sòng army. His first wife, surnamed Cháo 晁, was killed by Jurchen soldiers during the invasion. Zhū Biàn was later held hostage by the Jīn for 16 years — during which he served as a loyal Southern-Sòng emissary, writing and preserving Sòng literary culture under captivity. His poetry was admired by Cháo Yuè zhī 晁說之 (father of his executed first wife’s brother), who then gave him another of his nieces in remarriage.
Identified in Zhū Xī’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) sacrificial prayer as Zhū Xī’s grand-uncle — making Zhū Biàn a direct ancestor of the great Neo-Confucian philosopher. The family-lineage connection is well-documented (Huī zhōu fāng zhì 9.3b–4b).
The commentary
Zhū Biàn’s commentary on the Wénzǐ is the main Southern-Sòng commentary on the text. Its philosophical character:
- Integrates Confucian-Daoist categories in characteristic Northern-Sòng-to-Southern-Sòng synthetic style.
- Cross-references the Wénzǐ with the Dàodé jīng and Zhuāngzǐ.
- Provides philological and interpretive glosses chapter by chapter.
Zhū Biàn’s work is mentioned in Dù Dàojiān’s 杜道堅 subsequent Wénzǐ zuǎn yì (KR5c0143, 1310) as one of the principal earlier commentaries — indicating Zhū Biàn’s authoritative standing in the Southern-Sòng / Yuán Wénzǐ commentarial tradition.
Abstract
The commentary is a significant Southern-Sòng reading of the Wénzǐ by a notable biographical figure — the ancestor of Zhū Xī. Preserved as a 7-juàn text in the Daozang.
Dating. Zhū Biàn was held hostage 1127–1143; he died in 1144. Composition of his Wénzǐ commentary must fall within his scholarly life, probably during or after his captivity. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1127–1144 as the composition window. Dynasty: 宋.
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 749 entry.
- Sòng shǐ 宋史 437.12963 biographical notice on Zhū Biàn.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5c0145
- Parent text: KR5c0118 Wénzǐ.
- Parallel commentary: KR5c0140 (Xú Língfǔ, Táng), KR5c0143 (Dù Dàojiān, Yuán).
- ctext.org: 通玄真經 (朱弁)