Complete Notes on the Song Dynasty (Volume 1, Part 2)

Author: Zhu Yian / Fu Xuancong, et al. (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Upon reviewing this book, the editor found the following characteristics: First, the book scientifically defines the term "notes" and strives to collect as many notes written by Song Dynasty scholars as possible, truly reflecting the "comprehensiveness" of the Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty, avoiding omissions and disorganization. The compilers adhere to the principle that "notes are spontaneous records rather than deliberately composed works." They limit the collection to "complete collections of notes by Song Dynasty scholars" and exclude "scattered individual notes that have not formed complete collections," as well as "specialized collections with focused themes and rigid structures," such as "poetic discussions, recorded sayings, genealogical records like The Tea Classic, Painting Spectacle, Records of Prominent Officials, and Official Precepts," and certainly not "novels or biographies that narrate stories in detail." Comparing this book with the Grand Collection of Notes and Fiction published by Taiwan's Emerging Books Company in 1984, the latter, while including many Song Dynasty notes, has two shortcomings: first, it mixes Song Dynasty notes with fiction, genealogical records, popular tales, poetic discussions, etc., and second, some of the versions are not refined. Of course, the reviewer judges this book only from the perspective of Song Dynasty notes and does not deny its overall documentary value. Comparing it with the Comprehensive Collection of Notes and Fiction from the Song Dynasty published by Hebei Education Press in 1995, the latter has the following shortcomings: first, it only includes 188 Song Dynasty notes, and some important notes are inexplicably excluded, such as Hong Mai's Rongzhai Xueshi, Zhou Mi's Gixin Zazhi, Zhou's Qingbo Zazhi, Wang Guoguo's Xuelin, Yue Ke's Muchen Shi, Luo Daqing's Helin Yulu, Wang Bi's Mianshui Yantalu, Ouyang Xiu's Guiquan Lu, He's Chunzhu Jiyun, Peng's Moke Huixi (which has already included ten volumes of Xu Moke Huixi), Zhao Liantian's Houling Lu, Ye Mengde's Shilin Yanyu, Lu You's Laoxue Anbi, Gong Mingzhi's Zhongwu Jiyun, etc. Without these notes, it is difficult to reflect the full picture of Song Dynasty notes, which is a great regret. Additionally, the catalog of Song Dynasty notes and fiction compiled in the latter contains numerous errors, such as the author of Yanji Yimolu being mistakenly listed as "Wang Muyong" instead of "Wang Yong," the author of Ding Jin Gong Tanlu being listed as "Ding Wei" instead of "Ding Wei," the author of Song Jingwen Gong Bizhi being listed as "Song Qi" instead of "Song Qi," the character "zhou" being mistakenly written as "zhou" in Pingzhou Ketao, the character "ji" being mistakenly written as "yi" in Jiyu Bilianlu, the character "zhu" being mistakenly written as "shu" in Zhuqian Xulun, the author Dai Hu being listed as "Dai Zhi" instead of "Dai Zhi," the author Zhao Jin being listed as "Zhao Jinlu" instead of "Zhao Jinlu," and the author Chen being listed as "Chen" instead of "Chen," and so on. Second, most of the Song Dynasty notes in this book are newly collated and punctuated for the first time, reflecting the "new" characteristic. In the 49 notes in this volume, 13 have already been collated and punctuated by Zhonghua Book Company and Shanghai, while 36 are newly collated and punctuated, accounting for over 73% of the total. Among these newly collated and punctuated notes, some of the more important ones include Zhang Ji's Jia Shi Tanlu, Wang Zeng's Wang Wen Zheng Gong Bilu, Song Qi's Song Jingwen Gong Bizhi, Jiang Xiufu's Jiang Linji Zazhi, Zeng Bu's Zeng Gong Yilu, Su Shi's Quchi Bilu, Su Shi's Yujiao Xianhua Lu, Chao Shuozhi's Chao Shi Keyu, Wang Qiner's Wang Shi Tanlu, etc. Some of these notes, though not very long, contain content related to the social economy, politics, and customs of the time, leaving behind valuable historical materials for later generations, making them extremely precious. Third, compared to previously collated and punctuated Song Dynasty notes, this book has a relatively "accurate" characteristic, meaning the collation and punctuation are more precise. The compilers and collators of this book are mostly scholars with outstanding achievements in the field of ancient Chinese history and literature, especially in Tang and Song literature and history. Although it is not daring to call them the best in the world, they can be considered first-class. Taking the compilation of this volume as an example, particularly Kong Fanli, who collated and punctuated works such as Dongpo Zhilin, Quchi Bilu, Yujiao Xianhua Lu, Longchuan Luezhi, and Longchuan Biexhi, Deng Guangming and Zhang Xiqing, who collated and punctuated Sishui Jiyun, Yu Yunuo, who collated and punctuated Nanbu Xinshu, Jinshi Huayuan, Diao Ji Litan, and Ding Jin Gong Tanlu, and Huang Chunyan, who collated and punctuated works such as Sun Weimin Zhengnan Lu, etc., are all renowned experts in Song Dynasty history or Song Dynasty literature research. This is sufficient to ensure that the collation, punctuation, and collation of this book are presented to readers with high quality. For example, the previously published Xiangshan Yelu by Shi Wenying (Zhonghua Book Company, 1984 edition) contains some punctuation errors, such as the original text in the first volume: "The Prime Minister of the Ministry of Works, Wang Gong, served as the director of the Qiao Prefecture in the Zhitao era" (page 23), mistakenly taking the last reign name of Emperor Taizong of Song, "Zhitao," as the name of "the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Works, Wang Gong." This has now been corrected to: "The Prime Minister of the Ministry of Works, Wang Gong, served as the director of the Qiao Prefecture in the Zhitao era." Similarly, in the first volume of Song Minqiu's Chunming Chu Chao Lu (Zhonghua Book Company, 1980 edition), the original text reads: "In the eleventh month of the Kaibao era, Jiangnan was pacified, and the Bian River was left to await the boat of the Liguang ruler" (page 5). This has also been corrected to: "In the eleventh month of the Kaibao era, Jiangnan was pacified, and the Bian River was left to await the boat of the Liguang ruler." These improvements are evident, thus ensuring that the quality of the punctuation in this book has further improved. In conclusion, The Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty is the third large-scale anthology in the field of Song Dynasty literature and history after The Complete Poems of the Song Dynasty and The Complete Writings of the Song Dynasty. Although it has only published the first volume so far and inevitably contains some shortcomings such as incorrect annotations and punctuation errors, according to the compilers' plan, the entire book is divided into about 10 volumes and will be completed in five to six years. The reviewer believes that as the compilers gradually accumulate experience and the collators steadily improve their skills, they will eventually present a new and high-quality documentary anthology to the readers.