Luancheng yiyan 欒城遺言

Luancheng yiyan 欒城遺言 "Testamentary words of Master Luancheng", also called Luancheng Xiansheng yiyan 欒城先生遺言, is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the early Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Su Zhou 蘇籀, courtesy name Zhongzi 仲滋, from Meizhou 眉州 (in today's Sichuan province). After the foundation of the Southern Song, he moved to Wuzhou 婺州 (today's Jinhua 金華, Zhejiang). He was a grandson of Su Zhe 蘇轍 (1039-1112) and occupied the office of ministerial Vice Director (jiancheng 監丞). The book is a record of Su Zhou's memories of what his grandfather Su Zhe had thought him, with the intention to leave them to his descendants.

The book of 1 juan provides detailed discussions on the classification of literary styles and the merits and faults of historical and contemporary figures. His analysis offers valuable insights into Su Zhe's principles of writing, and his profound interpretations can serve as inspiration for later scholars. Interestingly, the text subtly conveys a tendency to elevate Su Zhe (his grandfather) while slightly downplaying his grand-uncle Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037-1101), though this likely does not reflect Su Zhe's true intentions. Shen also proposed that the conflict between Lü Huiqing 呂惠卿 (1031-1111) and Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086) stemmed from differences concerning the texts Zishuo 字說 and Sanjing xinyi 三經新義. While this was a novel perspective, it did not align well with historical facts.

Additionally, the book records a legend that Su Zhe's mother dreamed of a dragon extending its arms before giving birth to him, drawing a parallel to the story of Confucius's birth, in which two dragons hovered over his house. It also includes an account of Su Zhe dreaming of Wang Anshi in 1106, which seems rather fanciful. Despite these quasi-mythical elements, much of the content is based on Su Zhou's direct inheritance of family teachings and firsthand observations, making it relatively credible. As a result, the book serves as a valuable reference for studying Su Zhe and his family history.

Compared to Su Shi's free-spirited genius, Su Zhe leaned more toward Neo-Confucianism, adhering strictly to established norms. He firmly regarded poetry and literature as minor arts, maintaining that one should not be overly preoccupied with rhetorical embellishments. Instead, he advised his descendants to prioritize learning and writing prose, composing poetry only if they had spare energy. Su Zhe's approach to poetry was deeply rooted in Confucian poetic teachings, emphasizing the social function of poetry and its expression of moral principles. However, while Su Zhe's theory of wenqi 文氣 "spirit of writing" holds certain value in literary criticism, his strict adherence to Confucian poetic doctrine led him to overlook the artistic qualities of poetry itself. Su Zhe also appreciated the understated qualities of certain poets. While acknowledging that Tang poet Wang Wei 王維 (699-761) and Meng Haoran 孟浩然 (689-740) were more renowned, he recognized the subtle beauty in the works of another landscape poet, Chu Guangxi 儲光羲 (706-760).

The text is found in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Shuofu 說郛 (Shangwu Yinshuguan 商務印書館 edition), where the title is Luancheng yiyan; and Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Shuofu (Wanwei Shantang宛委山堂 edition), Xu Jinhua congshu 續金華叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, titled Luancheng Xiansheng yiyan.