Liu Xiaoguo Collection with Annotations (Revised Edition)

Author: (Southern Dynasties of Liang) Liu Jun / Luo Guowei, edited and annotated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-06-01
Features: This book is a revised edition of Luo Guowei's Collected Works of Liu Xiaozhao with Annotations, published by Shanghai Guji Press in 1988. The revised edition retains the basic structure and strengths of the first edition—such as comprehensive coverage and meticulous annotations—while making significant improvements in the following three aspects.
First, the arrangement of materials in the book has been substantially adjusted. Liu Xiaozhao's collected works were recorded in the Siku Zhi as a six-volume set, which is now lost. The original arrangement is unknown; thus, the current recompilation can only be a collated edition. The collated materials must be as complete as possible and well-organized. The first edition Collected Works of Liu Xiaozhao with Annotations arranged the texts in the order of books, treatises, letters, essays, prefaces, and poems. The revised edition, however, rearranges them as poems, letters, books, essays, prefaces, and treatises. This adjustment is well-founded, as we know that early medieval writers' collected works were generally arranged with poems first (if there were fu, they were placed before the poems). The revised edition moves poems to the front, aligning with this tradition.
Second, the collation work has been further refined. Since this is a collated edition, there is no single base text. Instead, each chapter is treated as a unit, with other texts and versions used for comparison. While the first edition already did well in this regard, the revised edition maintains the old approach while making progress. Take, for example, the letter To Song Yushan Yuan Si. It contains the phrase "practicing Kuang Ding's interpretation of the Book of Songs." The first edition's annotation read: "Kuang Ding is Kuang Heng. The Book of Han records: 'Scholars said, 'If you want to explain the Book of Songs, Kuang Ding is here. Kuang's explanation of the Book of Songs delights the mind.' The annotation adds: 'Ding means 'to be right.'" Zhang Yan annotated the Book of Han as 'Ding' being the character of Kuang Heng. Liu Xiaozhao had a Book of Han annotation of 120 volumes (recorded in the Siku Zhi under the history section), so either Liu Xiaozhao mistakenly believed Zhang's explanation or a copyist miswrote 'Heng' as 'Ding.' The collation suggestion here was that the original text's 'Kuang Ding' was likely incorrect and should be 'Kuang Heng.' The revised edition has made significant revisions to this annotation, changing it to: 'Kuang Ding is Kuang Heng. The Book of Han records: 'Scholars said, 'If you want to explain the Book of Songs, Kuang Ding is here. Kuang's explanation of the Book of Songs delights the mind.' Yan Shigu's annotation adds: 'Ding means 'to be right.'" Zhang Yan annotated the Book of Han as 'Ding' being the character of Kuang Heng. Liu Xiaozhao had a Book of Han annotation of 140 volumes (recorded in the Siku Zhi under the history section), so either Liu Xiaozhao accepted Zhang's explanation. The Biography of Xue Guang from Northern Qi states: 'Kuang Ding shared his delightful interpretation, Du Yu compared him to someone with a passion' (Compendium of Chinese Historical Inscriptions Collected by the Beijing Library Vol. 7), showing that 'Ding' was used as Kuang Heng's character during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, and Liu Xiaozhao was not mistaken. The revised edition's conclusion is clearly more reasonable.
Third, the annotations are more accurate. Let's take another example. In the Preface to the Collected Works: "Liu Jun, styled Xiaozhao, was from Pingyuan. He was born in Muling County and returned to his hometown after one month." The term "one month" was annotated in the first edition as "one full month," citing Zuo Zhuan (Xianggong 8): "In summer, the Di attacked Jin, avenging the campaign at Caisang. They returned after one month." The revised edition now annotates it as "one year," citing The Analects (Zilu): "If someone were to use me, I could achieve it within one month," as well as Liu Baonan's Commentary, which states: "A full year is called 'qiyue,' which is also called 'qiyue.'" So, is it one month or one year? For the term "qiyue," both meanings are plausible, but the key is to choose the one that fits the specific context. I prefer the interpretation as "one full year." When traveling with a child, starting after one month would be too young, so it's safer to wait until they are one year old.