Qin Guan Collection -- Basic Collection of Chinese Family Bookshelves

Author: Wang Xingjie
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Qin Guan (1049-1100), styled Shaoyou, also known as Tai xu, and styled Hangu Jushi, was known as Huaihai Jushi among scholars. He was from Gaoyou, Yangzhou (now part of Jiangsu Province). At the age of fifteen, he lost his father and stayed at home to care for his mother, studying classics, military texts, and historical records. In 1085 (Yuanfeng 8), he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as the chief clerk of Dinghai and the professor of Cai Prefecture. In the early years of Yuanyou (1086), Su Shi recommended Qin Guan to the court for his outstanding talent, appointing him as a doctoral scholar at the Imperial Academy. Later, he was transferred to the position of compiler at the National History Institute, where he participated in compiling the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong. He was also a close associate of Huang Tingjian, Chao Buzhi, and Zhang Lei, who were collectively known as the "Four Scholars of Su's School." In the early years of Shaosheng (1094), Qin Guan was implicated in the Yuanyou faction and was dismissed as the assistant magistrate of Hangzhou. He was further demoted to oversee Chuzhou, Chenzhou, Hengzhou, and Leizhou. After Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, he was transferred to the capital. Qin Guan was appointed as Xuandekang and later died on his way back north from Fengzhou.
Qin Guan was a young man of great talent and ambition, with a passion for extraordinary achievements. His literary works were filled with passionate and expressive language. In 1077 (Xining 10), he visited Su Shi in Xuzhou and wrote the Yellow Tower Ode the following year, which impressed Su Shi as having the talent of Qu Yuan and Song Yu. In 1084 (Yuanfeng 7), he compiled a ten-volume collection of his poems and prose, which Su Shi recommended to Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi praised his works for their fresh and elegant style, akin to that of Bao Zhao. With guidance from renowned masters and opportunities to engage with fellow scholars, coupled with his innate talent, his literary achievements were remarkable. He authored The Huaihai Collection in forty volumes, supplemented by a six-volume Posthumous Collection. His lyric poetry is collected in The Huaihai Lyrics, also known as The Short and Long Verses of Huaihai Jushi. Xu Peijun's annotated edition of The Short and Long Verses of Huaihai Jushi extensively collates various versions for textual criticism and annotation, including a chronology, biographical essays, and historical critiques, making it the most comprehensive work available.
Qin Guan was already renowned in his time and hailed as the "lyric poet of the age" (Chen Shidao, Post-Shan Poetry Notes). In Huai and Chu regions, he was particularly revered. Later generations even called him the "greatest lyric poet of the Song Dynasty" (Li, Rain Village Lyrics Notes). His lyrics inherited the legacy of The Flower Pavilion and The Front of the Cup, while also incorporating the strengths of Liu Yong and Su Shi, creating a fresh and distinctive style. His works often focus on emotion, blending personal sentiments with romantic themes. They are elegant and refined in form, with a melancholic and sorrowful tone, making him the master of lyrical poetry. His influence on later figures such as Zhou Bangyan and Li Qingzhao was profound.
Qin Guan's works include The Huaihai Collection and The Short and Long Verses of Huaihai Jushi. The Short and Long Verses of Huaihai Jushi is also known as The Huaihai Lyrics.
Commentaries on Qin Guan include:
(Zhu Xiaozang) Recent authors cannot match Shaoyou. For example, "Beyond the setting sun, scattered crows, winding streams surround a lone village"—even those who cannot read know this is natural beauty.
(Chao Wujao) Su Shi's poetry excels in expression, while Qian Qianyi excels in emotion. Only Shaoyou perfectly balances both.
(Cai Boshi) The greatest lyric poets of the age are only Qin Qiyu and Huang Jiuyu, surpassing the Tang dynasty.
(Chen Shoushan) Qin's lyrics focus on emotion but lack historical allusions, like a poor family's beautiful woman—though exquisitely elegant, she lacks the grace of wealth.
(Li Yian) Shaoyou's lyrics are graceful, but his style is too weak.
(Hu Yuanren) Qin Shaoyou's lyrics are elegant and refined, with a strong spirit. Their clarity does not break the flow, and their essence lingers long in the mind.
(Zhang Shuxia) Shaoyou's lyrics excel in both emotion and rhyme, surpassing Su Shi and Huang Tingjian. Though less widely circulated, he is a master of lyrical poetry.
(The Siku Quanshu Preface) Shaoyou is indeed a master, opening the way for Zhou Bangyan and guiding the future; he draws inspiration from Wen and Wei but avoids imitation, transforming lyric poetry. Yet, this transformation does not deviate from the essence, so critics do not fault it but rather see it as inevitable. Later generations often compare Qin and Liu, but Liu, in turn, is but a slave to Qin—how can they be compared?
The Short and Long Verses of Huaihai Jushi preserved in the Japanese Nankaku-kan Library is the most complete Song dynasty edition known to date. This book uses it as the base text, with annotations referencing other versions. Qin Guan's prose and poetry are also based on the same edition. During the annotation process, this book draws heavily on the research of predecessors and contemporaries, for which we express deep gratitude. To aid readers, appendices include a "Brief Chronology of Qin Guan," "Major Documents on Qin Guan Research," and famous quotes from his poetry.