Yǎ yí jí 雅宜集
Collection of Refined-Suitability
by 陳仲遠 (Chén Zhòngyuǎn — huángguān Daoist priest of Qīngchéngshān 青城山, fl. mid-late 18th c.); preface by 張銑 (Zhāng Xiǎn) of Màozhōu 茂州, dated 乾隆己亥暮秋之朔日 = 1 September 1779 (Qiánlóng 44)
A two-juàn anthology of liturgical-document templates and miscellaneous Daoist writings by the huángguān (yellow-cap = Daoist priest) Chén Zhòngyuǎn of Sìchuān, preserved in DZJY through the supplement. The work assembles shūshì (memorial-templates), xùlián (preface-couplets), shījì (poetry-and-gāthās), with attention to zé rì (day-selection) for the avoidance of unfortunate days and the establishing of jiào rituals for prolonging the state-fortune.
Prefaces
Preface (Zhāng Xiǎn of Màozhōu), dated 乾隆己亥暮秋之朔日 = 1 September 1779. “*I have heard: the difficulty-of-talent — old and new have the same disease. Confucians by zhāng jù take the kē dì, sparse in the jīng jì zhī cái (ordering-the-world’s talent) — they fall into pedantry. Buddhists and Daoists by mù huà (alms-collection) feed mouth-and-belly, lacking the techniques of cremation-and-redemption — they fall into demon-and-evil. Surveying the Three Teachings, hard to find the bù jī (un-bridled) talent. Quietly observing the four-quarters, who is called gāo dào (high-aim)? — I, returning from my Lián mù (curtain-establishment, an official’s residence-tent) work, in choosing friends-and-companions am pinch-meeting; at Qīngchéng I stood-fast in zhū shǒu (column-keeping) — bái yǎn (white-eyed) for haughtiness against people. — Alas, that talent is hard to find — is it not so? — How surprised I was to encounter, amidst the wind-and-dust, the yellow-cap Chén Zhòngyuǎn. I would say of him: as Confucian, he does not take the kē dì; as Buddhist, he does not sit kū chán (dry-Chán); calling him a one-age rénlóng (man-dragon), he does not occupy tú zhèn (chart-and-formation) — he is most-thick with me. — Watching what he does, observing what he passes through, examining where he rests — at last I knew: he models on the gǔ xiān (ancient-immortals) and his heart of saving-the-world is full-and-pressing — only fearing that men in their prayer-and-warding-off do not know the taboos, and especially worrying that the world’s begging-fortune comes-up against disaster. Therefore in his zé rì he must follow auspiciousness and avoid evil; in establishing jiào he can prolong-the-mandate; in his composing the Yǎ yí jí circulating in the world — he filters out the dross, never abandoning the spittle, exposing his heart-tact, mystery-penetrating up-and-down. The collection records shū shì (memorial-templates), xù lián (preface-couplets), shī jì (poetry-and-gāthās), measuring antiquity and certifying-with-the-present, by-the-time depicting the scene; brushing his hand strongly-strongly追-following the former-attainers; producing his lines wind-flowing-surpassing-and-imaging — neither falling into pedantry nor entering demon-and-evil. On unrolling-and-reading, I cannot bear to release-it from hand. Knowing well that this collection will not perish, I joyfully write its preface. — Time: imperial-Qīng Qiánlóng jǐhài, late-autumn 1st-day; deliberation-merit gòng [licentiate of merit-deliberation], scholar of Màozhōu, Zhāng Xiǎn, kē-shǒu-and-respectfully-composed.”
Abstract
A late-Qián-lóng era anthology by a Sìchuān Qīngchéngshān yellow-cap Daoist (Chén Zhòngyuǎn), prefaced 1779 by Màozhōu shìrén Zhāng Xiǎn (a yìxù gōng — meritorious-deliberation licentiate). The text is one of the more provincially-rooted DZJY items, with explicit Sìchuān provenance (Qīngchéngshān, Màozhōu) — i.e., from the same broader Sìchuān Daoist establishment that would become the home of the DZJY through the Èr xiān ān in Chéngdū. The work was incorporated into DZJY through the supplement track.
Translations and research
- No substantial secondary literature located.
- For Sì-chuān late-imperial Daoism see Olles, Ritual Words (2013); Esposito, Facets of Qing Daoism.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5i0094
- Author: 陳仲遠 (Sìchuān yellow-cap, fl. mid-late 18th c.); prefacer: 張銑.