Qingxi Collection

Author: Cheng Tingze
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Cheng Tingze, originally named Mo, styled Qisheng, styled Mianzhuang, and also styled Qingxi Jushi. He was born in the 30th year of the Kangxi reign and died in the 32nd year of the Qianlong reign (1691—1767), aged 77. His ancestors were originally from She, but they moved to Jiangning. He was fond of learning from a young age and read all the Thirteen Classics, the Twenty-Two Histories, and the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought. At the age of 14, he wrote a "Praise of Pines" over 7,000 words, astonishing his elders. His younger brother, Cheng Sizhang, styled Naneng, was deeply versed in history. The elder brother, however, was particularly fond of studying the classics, and he was also knowledgeable in astronomy, geography, finance, waterways, military agriculture, and rites and music, exploring their depths and origins. He had a calm and composed temperament, and people found him like standing before a high mountain, with an air of solemnity. At the age of 20, he became a candidate for the imperial examinations but failed the provincial examinations. In the Bingchen year of the Qianlong reign, he was summoned for the examination of the Han Ci, and a prominent figure admired his reputation and wanted him to join his entourage. He asked a close friend to convey his message: "If you support me, I will surely pass the examination." The elder brother refused firmly and was ultimately not selected. From then on, he no longer took the provincial examinations and devoted himself solely to studying the classics. Since Wang Fusi's commentary on the "Book of Changes" wiped out the theories of the diagrams and maps, the Confucian scholars of the Song and Yuan dynasties revered the works of Xi Yi and the Luo River diagrams, as well as the theories of transformations, mutual hexagrams, and qi, sometimes being overly rigid in their adherence to the positions of hexagrams and the interactions of yin and yang. As a result, the study of the "Book of Changes" became obscure. The elder brother then wrote the "Comprehensive Interpretation of the Changes" and the "Selected Sayings of the Great Changes" in 30 volumes. In his later years, he wrote the "Discourse on the Interpretation of Hexagrams and Changes" in six volumes, establishing his own unique perspective. The annotations by the author in the Daoguang edition were often mixed into the main text in many series editions, and other errors such as the confusion of fish and crab, or the mistakes of Hai Zhu, were present in both editions, each having its own strengths and weaknesses. For this edition, "Qingxi Collection" was based on the Daoguang edition and cross-referenced with the "Jinling Series" edition; "Continuation of Qingxi Collection" was based on the Daoguang edition and cross-referenced with the Republican era manuscript. The two collections were combined and named "Qingxi Collection."