Yue Fei Collection with Annotations

Author: Guo Guangji Notes
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-05-01
Features: Yue Fei, during the Song Dynasty, was not renowned for his literary works; he had no collected works during his lifetime, and his writings were scattered after his persecution. His son Yue Ke "tried to gather old tales, cross-referencing differences, sometimes obtaining them from the records of former officials, sometimes from the preserved manuscripts, sometimes from the official documents of the family hall, or from the direct accounts of folk historians," collecting what was missing and entrusting his son Ke to complete his ambition. Yue Ke compiled 164 articles, two poems, and one ci poem, totaling 167 pieces with 36,171 words, dividing them into ten volumes, leaving out the concluding sections of the last volume to await further additions. The title was "Jingjin Jiaji," which was Yue Fei's earliest collected works, completed in the 11th year of the Jiading era of the Ningzong reign of the Song Dynasty (1218 AD), and included in "Jintuo Cuiben." However, the collected poems and articles were not complete. In the preface to "Jiaji," Yue Ke said, "The scattered volumes that cannot be traced cannot be known in number." In the 15th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (), Xu Jie compiled "Yue Wumu Yiwen" in one volume, which was included in the Qing Dynasty's Siku Quanshu. During the late Ming Dynasty, Mao Yuanyi of Guian compiled "Yue E Wang Yiwen," along with the military strategies of Yue Fei's campaigns against enemies, drawing them as illustrations and engraving them in Zhejiang, but the plates were later destroyed. In the 11th year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1638 AD), Shan Xun "collected the poems and articles from 'Jingjin Jiaji' and 'Tongshi' and other books, compiling and preserving them, reflecting the admiration for loyalty and filial piety that has lasted for thousands of years," and edited "Yue Zhongwu Wang Ji" (included in Wu Shenglan's "Yihai Zhudan"), selecting 42 articles, 8 poems, and 2 ci poems, totaling 52 pieces, making new gains in collecting Yue Fei's. In the 34th year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1769 AD), Huang Bangning "gathered the materials from 'Jingjin Jiaji,' 'Jintuo Cuiben,' 'Xubian,' and 'Chengshi,' cross-referencing and mutually verifying them, and supplemented them with materials not found in other books," editing "Yue Zhongwu Wang Ji" in eight volumes, collecting 159 articles, 14 poems, and 2 ci poems, totaling 175 pieces. Qianlong-era scholar Qian Ruyun compiled "Song Yue E Wang Ji," collecting 182 articles, 14 poems, and 3 ci poems, totaling 199 pieces, divided into three volumes. In the collection of Yue Fei's, there have been continuous gains.