Respectful Studio Notes on Antiquity and Modernity: A Collection of Academic Notes

Author: Li Zhi
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1995-12-10
Features: The author of Jingqi Jinguishu is Li Zhi, styled Renqing, who styled himself Jingqi. He was a native of Zhending Langcheng (now Langcheng, Hebei). He passed the imperial examination in poetry and prose in the seventh year of the Zhengda era of the Jin Dynasty (1230) and was appointed as a low-level official in Gaoling. Later, he was appointed as an assistant magistrate of Junzhou. Due to war, he wandered between Xinxian and Guo, and once lived in places like Taiyuan. Despite his hardships, he never stopped writing or reciting, achieving profound understanding through self-study. In the second year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty (1265), he was summoned and appointed as a Hanlin Academician. He died at home in the sixteenth year of the Zhiyuan era (1279) at the age of eighty-eight. In addition to Jingqi Jinguishu, he wrote Jingqi Collection (40 volumes), Wall Inscriptions (12 volumes), General Discourses (40 volumes), Meiyuan Haijing (12 volumes), and Yigu Yandan (30 volumes).
Regarding the author's name, many historical books have recorded it as "Li Zhi," such as the "Biographies of Famous Officials of the Yuan Dynasty," the "Biography of Li Zhi in the History of the Yuan Dynasty," the Yonglang Dadian, the General Catalog of the Siku Quanshu, and the "Catalog of Books in the Baosong Tower." Ke Shaomin in the "New History of the Yuan Dynasty" states that Li Zhi's original name was Zhi, but he later changed it to the name used today. However, neither explanation is sufficient. Shi Guoqi (styled Beiyanyan, a person from the Qianlong and Daoguang eras) pointed out in the "Discourses of Lige Hall" that, "Renqing was born in the Gengzi year of the Dading era, and in the Genghai year of the Zhizheng era, he passed the imperial examination at the age of fifty-one. He was appointed as the chief clerk of Gaoling and later appointed as an assistant magistrate of Junzhou. After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, he crossed the north and engaged in secret calculations, being the only one who could uphold moral integrity and literary achievement throughout his life. Even in his old age, he remained steadfast. In his letters to the Hanlin Academician, his true intentions are clearly revealed—he was a strong advocate of the imperial examination in the Jin Dynasty and a pioneer in the reform of the calendar in the Yuan Dynasty. He lived alongside Wang Hunan and Li Zhuojing as a of his generation, and after his death, he was enshrined alongside Yang Wenyuan and Zhao Xianqin in the Temple of the Four Virtuous Scholars. Alas! His scholarship and conduct were so exemplary, yet why did later generations fail to recognize him and mistakenly changed his name, calling him Zhi as Zhi, thus confusing him with the female Taoist priest Li Jilan, who was ethically and morally corrupt. How tragic! Today, his words are preserved, and his name is correct. If they can be published and disseminated to the present day, it would be a great benefit to future scholars."