Shi Lin Guang Ji

Author: Chen Yuanliang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-02-01
Features: The Shilin Guangji is a type of Chinese folk encyclopedia from ancient times, categorized as a daily-use comprehensive book. The author is listed as Chen Yuanliang. According to the research by the renowned Qing Dynasty book collector Lu Xinyuan, Chen was a native of Chong'an, Fujian, during the late Southern Song Dynasty. The original manuscript of this book is lost, and the existing editions are variously printed in the Yuan and Ming dynasties and Japan, all of which have been expanded and revised. In 1963, Zhonghua Book Company published a photolithographic edition of the Shilin Guangji from the Jian'an Chunzhuang College in the Zhishun period of the Yuan Dynasty (1330–1322). Both a Hong Kong publishing house and the Kyoto Chinese Publishing House in Japan (1988) reprinted this edition based on the Zhonghua Book Company's 1963 photolithographic version. In 1976, Tokyo Shogakukan reprinted a Japanese edition from the Genroku 12th year (1699, 38th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty) by Jin Kai in Kyoto, compiling it into the Hekeben Lishu Jicheng series. These are the two most common editions today, especially the Zhonghua Book Company's photolithographic version, which is frequently cited by scholars. The 1963 Zhonghua Book Company photolithographic edition includes a preface written by the modern Chinese scholar Hu Daojing. This preface can be considered the first comprehensive and in-depth study of the Shilin Guangji since its publication. It provides clear analyses and conclusions on Chen Yuanliang's life and works, as well as the content and editions of the Shilin Guangji. The preface contains numerous original insights. To this day, it remains a starting point for research on the Shilin Guangji. Therefore, when we photolithographically reprint the Zhengshi Jicheng Tang edition from the post-Zhishun Yuan Dynasty and the Genroku 12th year Japanese reprint, we still include Hu's preface as an appendix. For many issues that Hu addressed, we have omitted further discussion. The Japanese scholar Morita Kenji spent many years independently investigating the editions of the Shilin Guangji after Hu. His paper, On the Editions in Japan (published in the International Conference on Song History Proceedings in August 1992 by Hebei University Press), describes the various Chinese and Japanese editions of the Shilin Guangji in detail. It is the second important paper on the book's editions and a must-read for researchers. We have also included this paper as an appendix. The 1963 Zhonghua Book Company photolithographic edition was printed using the plates made from the photographs of the Palace Museum's complete edition before the War of Resistance. Hu mentions two points in his preface. The original plates of this edition have been preserved for decades, with some pages. Since the original book is now in Taiwan and cannot be verified, no repairs have been made. The fifth volume of the first set is missing, as are the "Two Instruments" and "Two Brights" illustrations in the eleventh volume of the first set, as well as page 16 of the second set, all of which remain as originally printed. These are inherent flaws. Additionally, since the project was merely "utilizing the original plates," no further direct version investigation or supplementary work was conducted before or during publication, which has left shortcomings in this photolithographic edition. Both Hu and Morita mentioned the Zhengshi Jicheng Tang edition from the post-Zhishun Yuan Dynasty, but neither had the opportunity to see it. Morita had encountered a version similar to the Peking University Library's edition, and according to his paper, the Saga Prefecture Education Committee in Japan still holds a single copy of the same version. By comparing the 1963 Zhonghua Book Company photolithographic edition of the Jian'an Chunzhuang College in the Zhishun period of the Yuan Dynasty with the Peking University Library's Zhengshi Jicheng Tang edition, we found numerous differences. For example, the table of contents is arranged differently. The Peking University Library edition is divided into ten sets and twenty-two volumes, with fifty-two subheadings, and its arrangement differs greatly from that of the Palace Museum's edition. Interested readers can compare them on their own. The Peking University Library edition includes the "Two Instruments and Two Brights" illustration in the first set, which can supplement the missing illustration in the Palace Museum's edition. The "Calendar" and "Festival" sections are complete, which can also fill the gap in the second set, page 16, of the Palace Museum's edition. Of course, the text, content, and layout of these two editions are not entirely consistent. According to Morita's account, the National Diet Library's edition is from the same system as the Palace Museum's but is a later printing and is well-preserved. The relationship between these two editions is closer than their relationship with the Peking University Library edition. This library edition might directly supplement the gaps in the Palace Museum's edition. Due to our limitations, we have not seen the National Diet Library edition and can only hope for future opportunities. There are many discrepancies in the content and wording of the two editions, which also affect the layout. A clear example is the categories such as "Confucianism," "Literary Office," "Zen Buddhism," and "Official System," which show significant differences. The illustrations in the book also differ in many places, and interested readers can compare them on their own. The Peking University Library edition has supplementary handwritten notes, such as the last page of the "Youxue" section and the page of the "Literary Office" section, both of which are handwritten supplements. In summary, the content of these two editions is largely similar, but their arrangements are quite different. For this new printing, we considered that the Palace Museum's edition still cannot provide new photographic plates, and the existing plates may become increasingly with each printing. Moreover, three photolithographic editions have already been published, while the Peking University Library edition is easily accessible for plate production, and few scholars have seen it. Therefore, we decided to photolithographically reprint the Peking University Library edition. According to various bibliographies in China, major libraries such as the Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, Nanjing, and provincial and municipal libraries in Hubei all hold complete or incomplete Japanese photolithographic editions of the Shilin Guangji, mostly the Genroku 12th year (1699) reprints. Regarding this edition, Morita's paper provides a detailed description, which readers can refer to without further elaboration. Morita mentions in his paper, "This book differs significantly from other Chinese-printed Shilin Guangji in terms of the number of volumes and the content of individual entries." This Japanese reprint is the latest known printed edition of the Shilin Guangji. We believe that including this edition will allow readers to compare our new and old photolithographic editions, not only supplementing each other but also enabling a preliminary study of the three existing early and late printed editions. By examining the differences and similarities among these three editions, we can further explore the process of expansion and revision in the Shilin Guangji. This is a meaningful endeavor. Thus, we have proceeded accordingly. Our academic and working capabilities are limited, and we are bound to make errors and oversights. We welcome readers' corrections. Bai Huawen and Bian Yuqian October 1998
Excerpt:
The name Zheng was derived from the birth month, and the ruling was by whom? The character Zheng is from the Ping sound. The person of the Zheng calendar is on the seventh day of the first month. The person of the Zheng calendar is Dongfang Shuo, who wrote a book on the first day of difficulty, the second day of the dog, the third day of the pig, the fourth day of the sheep, the fifth day of the ox, the sixth day of the horse, the seventh day of the person, the eighth day of the grain. On this day, if it is sunny, it indicates that the things born will thrive. If it is cloudy, it will be obscure. The Zheng character is written at the door on the seventh day, and the person is carved on the door. This is why. The beginning of spring is the beginning of the twenty-four solar terms. The Book of Rites, Monthly Ordinances says, "Dig out an ox to show the early and late of the morning." The annotation says, "Yi Chun is in the eleventh or twelfth day before the full moon. The ox is brought forward to show the early morning." If it is the last day of the month or the first day of the new year, it is in the middle to show the morning. The Monthly Ordinances, Annotations say, "In the twelfth month, the earth is in Chen. Chen is the earth, so the thing is given to rescue and sent to rise with the sun." The first day of the month is the Lantern Festival. The first day of the first month is the Shangyuan. The Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Music says, "The Han family sacrifices to Taiyi to correct the time. The sacrifices are in the clouds and the sky." The person says, "Now, people on the first day of the first month set up lanterns, which is the story." The Tang Zheng Yan Ming Huang says, "The Emperor was in the eastern capital and stopped on the night of the first day of the full moon, moving the face to the front and setting up candles, which were connected without interruption, forming thirty lantern towers thirty feet high, hanging with pearls and jade. When the wind blew, it made a clanging sound." The second month is the month of the moon. The day of the moon is the day of the moon. The day of the moon is the first day of the second month, which is the day of the middle of the three yangs. The person of the middle of the three yangs is to measure the harmony of benevolence. The Shidiao is the first day of the month. The Tang Rites and Music Records say, "In the middle of spring, the middle of the month is to sacrifice to Wenxuan Wang with the upper and lower days, or to sacrifice to the school with the wine, the wine, the wine, and the music to perform the rites." The flower morning is the fifteenth day of the second month. The Customs of the Land says, "The customs of the land in the land say that in the spring order, the middle of the flowers is the time when the flowers are competing in the palace. The flower morning is the long-standing saying of the moon." The moon is the night of the eighteenth day of the eighth month. The Shidiao has no fixed day. The Book of Rites, Monthly Ordinances says, "Choose the first day of the month to order the people to sacrifice to the earth as the earth." The annotation says, "The first day of the month is the day."