|
|
 |
The literature anthology Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 "Blossoms and flowers of the literature garden" is one of the four great encyclopedias of the Song period 宋 (960-1279), Song si da shu 宋四大書. It was compiled on imperial order by a compilation team of more than 20 persons under the supervision of Li Fang 李昉, Xu Xuan 徐鉉, Song Bai 宋白， Hu Meng 扈蒙 and Su Yijian 蘇易簡. The compilation began in 982 and the anthology was finished in 986. Emperor Zhenzong 宋真宗 (r. 997-1022) had it revised several times, and Xiaozong 宋孝宗 (r. 1162-1189) had made a text-critical revision which was undertaken by Zhou Bida 周必大, Hu Ke 胡柯 and Peng Shuxia 彭叔夏. This work was finished in 1204, and a print was made of which unfortunately only fragments are preserved. The whole book comprises 1,000 juan "scrolls" and contains the writings of persons from the Liang period 梁 (502-557) to the 10th century. It was meant to be a continuation of the anthology Wenxuan 文選, compiled by Prince Zhaoming 昭明太子, and records almost 20,000 writings of more than 2,000 persons. In the categorization it follows the pattern established in the Wenxuan. A part of the 39 categories has sub-divisions, especially the large category of fu 賦 rhapsodies, which is divided into 42 sub-categories. About one tenth of the book contains writings from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period 南北朝 (300~600), and 90 per cent of the writings stem from the Tang period 唐 (618-907). The selection of poetry has caused criticism, for instance, by Li Ximing 李慈銘 in his essay Yuemantang riji 越縵堂日記, where it is said that the poems negligently are listed one after the other, while the prose literature has been selected very carefully. Many writings had been transmitted in the shape of manuscripts and were, in the Wenyuan yinghua, printed for the first time. A lot of these writings are only preserved in the Wenyuan yinghua at all. The text-critical commentary is especially valuable because it provided text alternatives from other sources. The Wenyuan yinghua served during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) as the main source for the compilation of the Quantangshi 全唐詩, Quantangwen 全唐文 and the collectaneum Siku quanshu 四庫全書. The Wenyuan yinghua does not only contain poetry and prose literature works but also a lot of historical documents, like imperial edicts, memorials, and tomb inscriptions. In 1566 a print was made, based on a very widespread manuscript version. In 1966 the Zhonghua shuju press 中華書局 printed a version based on 140 juan of a Song period print and 860 juan of a Ming period 明 (1368-1644) print, and added Peng Shuxia's text-critical commentary as well as Lao Ge's 勞格 supplement to the commentary.
Sources:
Cheng Yizhong 程毅中 (1992). "Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史, vol. 3, pp. 1221-1222. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
Qian Zhongzhen 錢仲朕 (1986) "Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo wenxue 中國文學, vol. 2, p. 974. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
Zhao Hankun 趙含坤 (2005). Zhongguo leishu 中國類書, p. 79. Shijiazhuang: Hebei renmin chubanshe.
|
Contents:
|
賦 fu rhapsodies
詩 shi lyric poetry
歌行 gexing songs
雜文 zawen miscellaneous writings
中書制誥 zhongshu zhigao announcements by the Secretariat
翰林制詔 Hanlin zhizhao edicts by the Imperial Academy
策問 cewen examination questions
策 ce scripts
判 pan judgements
表 biao memorials
牋 jian memoranda
狀 zhuang descriptions
檄 xi proclamations
露布 lubu imperial edicts
彈文 tanwen "touching matters" accusations
移文 yiwen manifestos
啟 qi opening communications
書 shu letters
疏 shu notes
序 xu prefaces
論 lun treatises
議 yi debates
連珠 lianzhu moods like "linked pearls"
喻對 yudui parables
頌 song eulogies
贊 zan encomia
銘 ming inscriptions
箴 zhen admonitions
傳 zhuan biographies
記 ji notes
諡哀冊文 shi'ai cewen lament writings
諡議 shiyi laments
誄 lei dirges
碑 bei epitaphs
誌 zhi memoirs
墓表 mubiao grave memorials
行狀 xingzhuang conduct descriptions; and
祭文 jiwen offerings
|
|
|
|
Exemplarious translation:
The following examplarious song Changhenge 長恨歌 "Lament everlasting" from the 36th "scroll" (juan) of the Wenyuan yinghua was written by Bai Juyi 白居易 (d. 846), and describes the famous love between emperor Tang Xuanzong 唐玄宗 (r. 712-755) and his consort Yang Guifei 楊貴妃. According to historiography and popular tales it was her guilt that the emperor did not look for daily politics and rewarded An Lushan 安祿山, Yang's favourite, with greatest honours. An Lushan later rebelled against the Tang dynasty. During the flight of the imperial court to Sichuan, the Yang Guifei and her brother were killed by the emperor's guard. An early Qing time theatre play named Changshengdian 長生殿 "The Hall of Everlasting Life" illustrates this famous story with an ideal love between a lost ruler and his executed beauty.
36.＜長恨歌＞
漢皇重色思傾國，御宇多年求不得。
楊家有女初長成，養在深閨人未識。
天生麗質難自棄，一朝選在君王側。
迴眸一笑百媚生，六宮粉黛無顏色。
漁陽鞞鼓動地來，驚破霓裳羽衣曲。
九重城闕煙塵生，千乘萬騎西南行。
翠華搖搖行復止，西出都門百餘里。
六軍不發無奈何，宛轉娥眉馬前死！
花鈿委地無人收，翠翹金雀玉搔頭。
君王掩面救不得，迴看血淚相和流。
天旋日轉迴龍馭，到此躊躇不能去。
馬嵬坡下泥土中，不見玉顏空死處。
君臣相顧盡霑衣，東望都門信馬歸。
歸來池苑皆依舊，太液芙蓉未央柳。
芙蓉如面柳如眉，對此如何不淚垂？
金闕西廂叩玉扃，轉教小玉報雙成。
聞道漢家天子使，九華帳裏夢魂驚。
攬衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔銀屏邐迤開。
雲鬢半偏新睡覺，花冠不整下堂來。
含情凝睇謝君王，一別音容兩渺茫。
昭陽殿裏恩愛絕，蓬萊宮中日月長。
|
Lament Everlasting
A Chinese king esteemed sex, thinking of a nation-destroyer.
Throughout the empire, searching but not getting, time and again.
The Yangs had a daughter, just fully grown, reared in boudoir depths, unknown to men.
Her heavenly,endowed beauty could not be cast aside. One day she was chosen for His Lordship's den.
Turning her eyes, smiling but once, a hundred coqueteries were born;
the painted-powdered of the six palaces were pale by comparison [...]
War drums at Wuyang, shaking the earth, startled-broke the song "Rainbow skirt and feather jacket".
To the nine-storied imperial towers mist and dust arose; a thousand carriages, ten thousand riders going southwest.
The kingfisher blue flowered banners moved and halted.
More than a hundred miles west from the city gates the six armies wouldn't march.
No help for it. Complaisant and yielding, moth eyebrows died before their steeds.
Flowered hairpins earth entrusted, picked up by none - halcyon head feather, golden sparrow, jewelled hairpin.
Lord Emperor covered his face, unable to help; when he turned to look, blood and tears flowed as one [...]
Heavens revolved, earth spun; the Dragon carriage returned but dilly-dallied at the grave which it couldn't spurn.
Below Mawei Slope inside the mud. He saw, not her jade face, but an empty place of death.
Rulers and ministers looked at each other and robes were tear-soaked.
Looking eastwards towards capital gates, they entrusted their horses to return.
On their return ponds and gardens the same as before - the Taiye Palace hibiscus, the Weiyang Palace willow.
Her face like the hibiscus, eyebrows like the willow; how could his tears fail to flow? [...]
At the west chamber by Golden Palace Gate he (a Taoist adept sent to the Neither World) tapped on a door of jade,
transmitted his request to Little Jade, who reported it to Twofold-Made.
Hearing it was an envoy of the Han Son of Heaven, from within curtains ninefold resplendent her dreaming soul, startled, woke.
Grasping her clothes, she pushed pillows aside and was up to and fro.
Pearl blinds, silver screens one after another opened to reveal a newly waked maiden, cloudy locks half awry.
Flowed headdress not in order, she came down the stairs so [...]
Holding in feelings, she stared beauty-eyed and thanked His Lordship-Emperor;
a single parting, voice and form, an immeasurable void did bring.
In Zhaoyang Palace, severed his favour and love; in Penglai Palace, suns and moons so time taking [...]
|
Translated by .
|
|
|
Chinese literature according to the four-category system
|
|
