Collection of Xin Qiji -- Basic Library for Chinese Families

Author: (Song) Xin Qiji
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Where can the land of Zhongguo be seen? The eyes are filled with the scenery of Beiguo Tower. How many events of rise and fall in history? Vastly. The endless Yangtze River rolls forward. At a young age, wearing countless helmets, he sat in command of the southeast, still fighting. Who can rival the heroes of the world? Cao Cao and Liu Bei. To be born a son, one should be like Sun Zhongmou. — Xin Qiji, "Nanxiangzi · Ascending Beiguo Tower with Nostalgia"
The ancient mountains and rivers, where can the heroes of the past be found? At Sun Zhongmou's place. The dance pavilions and singing stages, where the elegance once flourished, are now scattered by the rain and wind. The setting sun, grass and trees, ordinary lanes and alleys, where the man of the way once lived. Thinking of the past, with golden weapons and iron horses, he devoured the world like a tiger. The Yuanjia period was hasty, sealing the wolf into the Xixia, winning only a panicked look to the north. Forty-three years, still remembering the beacon fires along the Yangzhou road in sight. How can one bear to look back? Under the shrine of Fuli, a piece of divine crows and sacrificial drums! Who can ask: "Lian Po is old, can he still eat?" — Xin Qiji, "Yongyule · Nostalgia for Beiguo Tower"
A nation's culture has its source and flow. At the very least, the broad masses of the people should know what the true source of traditional Chinese culture is, and what its basic flow is. As publishers, we have no need to explore this issue, but we have the obligation to present publications that embody the essence and mainstream of Chinese culture to the people. Thus, we have created this series, "Essential Library for Chinese Families." This is a publishing plan that is nearly boundless, but it reflects the sincere hearts of us as publishers. We know that the Chinese family is the basic unit of Chinese culture. If the cultural families of China possess the fundamental classics and representative works of the Chinese nation, then it will certainly help to promote our excellent national culture and forge our great national spirit. This is the original intention behind publishing this series. Therefore, this series is based on classic traditional cultural works and is divided into six volumes:
Volume of the Hundred Schools and Classics: Includes 16 pre-Qin canonical works such as the Book of Songs, Book of Changes, Analects, Mencius, Han Feizi, etc. They are the source of life for the Chinese nation. Zhang Zhidong said, "Pre-Qin works are worth a thousand gold per character." This accurately summarizes the works of the pre-Qin philosophers.
Volume of Selected Works by Famous Poets: Includes personal selected works of 21 renowned literary figures such as Tao Yuanming, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Yuan Haowen. This selection focuses on Tang and Song literary masters, representing the highest achievements of lyrical literature in China.
Volume of Historical Masterpieces: Includes the Zuo Zhuan, the Four Histories, and the Zizhi Tongjian. They are the essence of Chinese historiography. To understand history, one must start here.
Volume of Comprehensive Selections: Includes Tang poetry, Song ci, Yuan qu, Thousand Poems, and Essentials of Classical Chinese. These are all tested and renowned selected works, intended to broadly supplement the shortcomings of the Volume of Selected Works by Famous Poets in representing the essence of Chinese literature and poetry.
Volume of Notes and Miscellaneous Works: Includes 15 widely accepted miscellaneous works from the Three-Character Classic to the Correspondence of Zeng Guofan. In fact, they embody the deeper connotations of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation.
Volume of Dramas and Novels: Includes 18 dramas and novels from the Romance of the West Chamber to the four great classical novels. These represent the peak of literary creation in the Chinese nation. To some extent, they are like the Three-Character Classic, containing the basic spiritual nourishment that has nurtured the Chinese people.
For the sake of the readers, we do not seek immediate success in publishing and adopt a strategy of gradual expansion by publishing in installments. We do not aim for economic benefits from a single book or time but strive to continuously expand our readership. Our hearts are in harmony with the broad readership, so we are confident that we will have a wide market.
Xin Qiji (1140-1207), styled You'an, known as Jiajiaxuan, was from Licheng (now Jinan, Shandong). He was born when Shandong had already been occupied by the Jin forces. At the age of 21, he joined the anti-Jin militia and soon returned to the Southern Song dynasty, serving as an assistant to the governors of Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, and Zhejiang. During his tenure, he took active measures to gather refugees, train troops, reward farming and warfare, suppress corrupt and powerful figures, and focus on stabilizing people's livelihoods. He firmly advocated resistance against the Jin throughout his life. In his memorials such as the Ten Arguments on Beauty and the Nine Discussions, he analyzed the political and military situation of the time, forcefully refuting those who exaggerated the strength of the Jin forces and advocated for compromise and surrender, while urging the strengthening of combat readiness and boosting morale to recover the Central Plains. However, his proposals for resistance were not adopted and he was attacked by the peace faction, leading to long-term dismissal and seclusion in Shangyao and Qianshan in Jiangxi. Later, when Han Tuozhu was in power, he was briefly reinstated but soon died of illness. His poems express his patriotic feelings for restoring national unity, his frustration at being unable to fulfill his ambitions, and his exposure and critique of the humiliating surrender of the Southern Song ruling class. He also wrote many poems praising the rivers and mountains of his homeland. His artistic style is diverse, but heroic and unrestrained is his main style. Passionate, full of enthusiasm, grand and tragic, with strong brushwork, he is often compared to Su Shi as "Su and Xin." Xin Qiji was skilled in prose and poetry but was renowned for his lyrics. His Jiaxuan Ci contains over 620 poems, and in both quantity and quality, they are unmatched in the Song and Yuan dynasties. He was a peerless figure and a dragon among the lyricists. His poems are often called "heroic lyrics." These lyrics primarily reflect the poet's heroic self-identity and his ambition to restore the Central Plains. He often recalled his youth when he broke into the Jin camp at the age of ten and captured the traitor Zhang An'guo. For example, in the upper part of the Zhugu Tian, he writes, "In my youth, the banners surged among ten thousand men, and the cavalry in brocade armor crossed the river at the beginning. The Yan army milled at night with silver-hoofed horses, and the Han arrows flew in the morning like golden pheasants." His lyrics also express the frustration of being unable to fulfill his ambitions and having no way to serve his country. For instance, in the upper part of the Shuilongyin · Ascending Jiankang's Shangxin Pavilion, he writes, "The thousand miles of Chu under the autumn sky, the water flows endlessly with the sky. Gazing into the distance, I offer sorrow and resentment, like jade hairpins and snail curls. At the setting sun tower, in the sound of distant geese, a Jiangnan traveler. I have looked at the Wu hook, beaten the railings, but no one understands my meaning in ascending." Through the typical actions of looking at the Wu hook sword and beating the railings, he vividly portrays the frustration of a hero with no battlefield. These "heroic lyrics" are mostly written with righteous indignation and talent, filled with passionate and tragic emotions, and in a style that is both somber and heroic.
In addition, Xin Qiji also wrote some lyrics about rural scenery and pastoral life, such as in the Qingping Le · Village Residence: "Low thatched roofs, green grass on the stream. In a drunken state, the Wu dialect sounds harmonious, who are the white-haired old couple? The eldest son plows beans by the stream, the middle son weaves chicken cages. The mischievous little one, lying by the stream, peels lotus pods." His lyrics also include works with a gentle and elegant style and profound meanings, such as the Qingyu'an · Yuanxue. The upper part describes the joyous scene of the Lantern Festival, while the lower part shifts to a secluded woman who is different from the ordinary: "Butterflies, snow, willows, and gold threads, smiling and full of fragrance, she fades into the crowd. Searching for her in the crowd a thousand times, suddenly turning back, she is at the dim light of the lanterns." In reality, it reflects the poet's feeling of "lonely solitude."
In summary, Xin Qiji, with his unique heroic ambitions and passion, wrote with righteous indignation and expanded the themes of the lyric form, creating a dominant style that is somber and heroic, while also incorporating gentle and elegant, as well as fresh and simple tones. He synthesized the works of the hundred schools and wrote freely, displaying a rich and diverse style.
This collection is an anthology selected for the general reader, including 18 poems and 82 lyrics by Xin Qiji, as well as 5 essays. To facilitate the reader's use, it includes an appendix with a brief chronology of Xin Qiji's life, major literature on Xin Qiji, and famous quotes from the Jiaxuan Collection.