Wang Jian Poetry Collection Annotations

Author: Wang Jian (Tang), annotated by Wang Zongtang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-12-01
Features: The Annotated Collection of Wang Jian's Poetry was compiled and annotated in spring 1991 at the invitation of Sun Xinting, the then president and chief editor of Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House, as part of the Zhongzhou Famous Scholars Series. According to the editorial note of Zhongzhou Famous Scholars Collection: "The scope of this series primarily includes the works of influential ancient writers from Henan Province, while also encompassing the masterpieces of writers who had long resided in Henan." Wang Jian was a renowned writer of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Talent (Biographies of Tang Talents) by Xin Wenfang of the Yuan Dynasty states: "Wang Jian, styled Zhongchu, was from Yingchuan (now Xuchang, Henan)." Xin did not specify his sources, but it is unlikely to be baseless, so later scholars generally accepted this claim. However, in Wang Jian's poetry and the collaborative poems of his peers, there is no mention of his birthplace as Yingchuan—instead, his poems describe his childhood in Guanfu and a villa on the southern bank of the Wei River. Contemporary scholars believe Wang Jian was from Guanzhong. The Tang Talent calling Wang Jian "a native of Yingchuan" likely refers to his ancestral origin. During the Tang Dynasty, people valued lineage and regional prestige, and the Wang surname's prestigious lineage was in places like Langya and Taiyuan, not Yingchuan. Therefore, Wang Jian, who came from "lowly" or "poor" origins, had no reason to boast about his family background, which explains why his poetry never mentions Yingchuan. Since Wang Jian's ancestral origin was Yingchuan, his poems were appropriately included in Zhongzhou Famous Scholars Collection without controversy. Fulfilling the publisher's request, I traveled to Beijing at my own expense during the summer vacation of 1991 to conduct textual collation of Wang Jian's poetry using rare books from the Beijing Library and the Beijing Palace Museum Library. After returning to Henan, I collected materials and began annotating. This work spanned seven years, concluding in 1997 after my retirement. While annotating Wang Jian's poetry, I conducted a comprehensive study of his life and literary career, writing the article The Life Trajectory and Poetic Art of Wang Jian, which was published in Zhongzhou Academic Journal, Issue 6, 1998. This article is used as the preface to this book and placed at the beginning of the volume. Additionally, I compiled A Chronological Table of Wang Jian's Life, along with the Record of Tang Collections by my former teacher, Professor Wan Man, specifically the Record of Wang Jian's Poetry Collection, which are included as appendices at the end of this book.