Collected Works of Yuan Zhen: An Annotated Chronological Edition -- Poetry Volume

Author: Yang Junzhan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-06-01
Features: Yuan Zhen had already organized his poems and prose during his lifetime, which eventually formed the Yuan Shi Changqing Ji in one hundred volumes. This edition was lost in the Northern Song Dynasty, but during the Xuanhe period, Liu Lin and his son in Jian'an copied and compiled the scattered fragments, obtaining sixty volumes for publication, which became the ancestor of all surviving Yuan Zhen collections. The original appearance of the Liu edition is no longer visible today. The two Song Dynasty printed versions originally based on the Liu edition have also become incomplete: the Zhejiang edition of Yuan Shi Changqing Ji survives with eight volumes, and the Shu edition of Xin Kan Yuan Wei Zhi Wen survives with twenty-four volumes. This book records five hundred seventy Yuan Zhen poems, with the original poems split into eight hundred. The main part is copied from the Yuan Shi Changqing Ji, based on Yang Yi; the remaining parts are separately copied from the supplements of Ma Yi's external collection, the collected fragments in Bian Xiaoxuan's Yuan Zhen Nianpu, the supplementary additions to the external collection of Yuan Zhen Ji, and Chen Shangjun's Quan Shi Jiao Wu Biao. The Yuan Shi Changqing Ji had never had an annotated edition, and the creation of this book itself carries a pioneering significance. However, Yuan Zhen, the talented poet, was not reluctant to display his talent when writing, especially in the lengthy parallel prose pieces and the works where he competed with Bai Juyi. He quoted extensively from classics, showing off his skills and abilities, making it truly challenging. With my limited knowledge, I was able to annotate the Yuan Zhen collection after three changes of seasons, and I have received much assistance from others. In poetry, I emphasize abundant references to historical and literary facts, explaining the origins of words. For contemporary and past references, I provide detailed or brief annotations accordingly. When the same event is mentioned multiple times, I provide more detailed annotations upon the first occurrence.