Dongyuan congshu 東園叢說

Dongyuan congshu 東園叢說 "Dense explanations from East Garden" is a "brush-notes"-style (biji 筆記) book written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Li Ruchi 李如箎, courtesy name Yiyou 季牖, who hailed from Kuocang 括蒼 or Chongde 崇德 (in today's Zhejiang province). He was once appointed by grace vice magistrate of Tongxiang 桐鄉. Apart from the Dongyuan congshu, he also wrote a book called Yueshu 樂書.

His book of 3 juan length includes discussions on the Classics, history, philosophy, literary anthologies, astronomy, geography, and calendrical studies. The preface dates from 1132, and a colophon by Zhou Tingyun 周庭筠 is dated 1134. However, the text itself references events from much later decades, likely the second half of the 12th century. Moreover, some phrases do not match the linguistic style of the early Southern Song period, and – most importantly – astronomical statements such as that the Celestial-Sphere model (huntian 渾天) was actually an extension of the Canopy-Heaven model (gaitian 蓋天) were not seen before the late 16th century, when Jesuit missionaries brought Western theories to China. It can thus be concluded that the book was pieced together and falsely attributed to Li Ruchi.

Although the authenticity of the book remains unclear, its content is nonetheless valuable. The entire work is divided into nine sections analysing various Classics, astronomy and calendrical studies (Tianwen lishu shuo 天文歷數說) and miscellaneous matters (Zashuo 雜說). The book contains several insightful analyses, such as the use of three drives (sanqu 三驅) in the Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals", citing the position of the Minister of War (dasima 大司馬) in the Zhouli 周禮 as evidence; a critique of the Brothers Cheng's 二程 interpretation of the sixth and fifth lines of the Yijing 易經 hexagram Kun 坤, refuting their erroneous view that it involved the myth of Nü Wa 女媧; correcting Yang Xiong's 揚雄 (53 BCE-18 CE) mistakes in the interpretation of the Yijing's Shuogua 說卦 comments by addressing the issue of producing stalks for divination (shengji 生蓍), etc. These analyses are thorough, precise, and careful, contributing significantly to the understanding of classical texts and philosophical principles.

While the book contains many valuable insights, there are also some mistakes that invite further discussion, for example, the statement that there were no poems during the era of Confucius, which overlooks the fact that there were already famous songs and poems, such as the song Zhulin 株林 (Shijing 詩經, part Chenfeng 陳風), composed before the Eastern Zhou period 東周 (770-221 BCE). Despite these few minor flaws, they do not detract from the overall value of the book. It remains an important work, as it engages with classical texts and offers valuable interpretations, making it an excellent resource for studying the Classics and historical records. The book’s careful textual examination and its focus on rigorous analysis make it a useful reference for scholars interested in studying the classics and history.

The text is included in the series Zhihai 指海, Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.