The literal relationship between Zhu Xi and Yuan Shu

Song Baoyou's engraving of Yuan Shu's "The End of the Chronicle of Tongjian" (in the Library of Peking University)

In the land of Fujian in the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty, two dazzling cultural superstars rose almost at the same time. One was known for his science and illuminated the sky of the Southern Song Dynasty's ideological circles; the other was known for his historiography, which attracted widespread attention from the academic circles at that time. These two superstars were Zhu Xi, a theorist who had long lived in Wuyishan and Jianyang, and Yuan Shu, a historian who had risen to Jian'an (present-day Jian'ou).

Zhu Xi and Yuan Shu, due to the relationship between geography, human relations and literary relations, the two were close to each other and had a close relationship. Politically, they all vigorously advocated resisting the Jin Dynasty, opposing the Southern Song Dynasty regime's recklessness and stealing security, and caring about the sufferings of the people. In terms of age, Zhu Xi (1130-1200) was one year older than Yuan Shu (1131-1205). The experiences of their peers, in the same place, and in their contemporaries have allowed them to communicate through words for decades. One of the main experiences runs through the three academies of Yungu, Wuyi and Kaoting, where Zhu Xi taught.

Cloud Valley

Yuan Shu (1131-1205), Courtesy name Jizhong. In the first year of Longxing (1163), he served as a judge of Wenzhou, a professor of Xinghua Army, a professor of Yanzhou, and an editor of the National History Academy. The official to the Gongbu Shilang and the Guozi Supervisor, the Right Wen Temple repair. It is famous for compiling China's earliest chronicle of the end of the book - "The End of the Chronicle of the General Chronicle".

The relationship between Zhu Xi and Yuan Shu began around the second year of Chunxi (1175). At that time, Yuan compiled the "Tongjian Chronicle at the End of the Book" into a book, and asked Zhu Xi to make a trek. Zhu Xi wrote a poem in the Obscure Caotang of Yungu Mountain in Jianyang, praising this book for correcting the bias of the original book of the Tongjian, which is "the beginning and end of an event, or scattered for tens of hundreds of years, and does not belong to each other" ("Zhu Wen Gongwen Collection" vol. 81 "The End of the Chronicle of the Tongjian Chronicle"), which is very convenient for scholars to read. This text correctly evaluates the main historical merits of Yuan's Tongjian, and for hundreds of years since, scholars have basically followed Zhu Xi's theory.

Here, it should be pointed out in particular that when Yuan compiled the "End of the Chronicle of Tongjian", the "Outline of Zizhi Tongjian" compiled by Zhu Xi had also compiled the first draft. The book is also based on Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" as the main model, "do not be a righteous example, increase and loss implicitly". Zhu Xi put his advocacy of the concept of morality and orthodoxy through it, which meant that he used the Spring and Autumn Brushwork, distinguishing names and distinctions, and correcting the program, so as to achieve the purpose of changing historical works into theoretical textbooks to maintain and consolidate the service of the great unification of the dynasty. The book is based on the outline of large characters, the narrative of small characters, and an outline for each matter, thus creating a chronicle outline and becoming the earliest outline history book in China. The style of the book is completely different from the end of the Chronicle of the Yuan Compilation centered on historical events, and the author's intentions and purposes are not consistent. However, Zhu Xi still gave a high evaluation to Yuan Shu's works, without the inferior habit of the literati in feudal society, reflecting the mind of a Confucian.

Wuyi sings and

Interestingly, the interaction between Zhu and Yuan is mainly seen in the classics, including correspondence and poetry singing. Whether it was intentional or accidental, the correspondence and the content of the poems seem to have a different division of labor. The content of the poems is mainly focused on the tour of Wuyi and the evaluation of the End of the Chronicle of Tongjian, while the exchange of letters focuses on the discussion and exchange of the I Ching.

In the fourth year of Chunxi (1177), Yuan Shu visited Zhu Xi from Jian'an. Zhu Xi invited a group of his disciples to accompany Yuan Shu on a tour of Wuyi and raft the Nine Songs. At the Wuyi Jingshe, he explained the theoretical idea of "righteousness and sincerity" with the disciples, and the two of them sang poems and sang harmony with each other. Zhu Xi has poems such as "Feng Accompany ji zhongzong zheng jingren taishi period meeting Wuyi and Wen Shumao", "Reading the "Tongjian Chronicle At the End" with Wuyi singing and yuan rhyme sending Ji Zhong" ("Zhu Wen Gong anthology" volume IV), to record this trip. Among them, the poem "Reading Machine Zhongjing Renbei Hou Poetry Cause and the Repetition of the Former Rhyme of the "Poetry Transmission" "Outline" expresses admiration for Yuan Shu's spirit and perseverance in being diligent and hardworking, and in view of the inadequacy of his own feelings of "empty talk about the sky", he is determined to "get angry" and read hard from now on, and from the cultural classics of traditional Confucianism, he can summarize the theories that can guide social life.

In April of the tenth year of Chunxi (1183), the Zhu Xi Wuyi Jingshe was built, and scholars from all over the world gathered here. Yuan Shu, who was a eunuch in a foreign country, heard the news and sent a total of ten poems in the group of "Wuyi Jingshe Miscellaneous Songs" (the poem contains Dong Tiangong's "Wuyi Mountain Chronicle" volume 10) to celebrate. At the same time, Zhu Xi was given full recognition of the achievements of Zhu Xi in creating a academy, on the "Shao Qianzhe" and under the "Zi Hou Sheng", and on the development of Confucianism. Among them, the poem "Hidden Prayer" expresses the author's willingness to follow Zhu Xi's ambition to create a great cause in the mountains. Shi Yun: "Ben is a mountain man, returning to the mountain friend." It is the same as the lotus that is old, and the knot is forever knotted and cultivated. Floating clouds suddenly appeared, and the skin was full of inches. This ambition is not measurable, see it after a thousand years. ”

Zhu Xi spoke highly of Yuan Shu's book in the poem "Reading the End of the Chronicle of Tongjian with Wuyi Singing and Yuan Rhymes to Send Ji Zhong" written in the fourth year of Chunxi (1177). Weng Fanggang's "Poetry of Shizhou" volume IV: "Yuan Jizhong's "General Chronicle at the End of the Chronicle", read by Hui Guowen, there are poems and clouds' to repay His Majesty's saints, and to correct the northern que. The genus word has a deeper meaning than the matter, and it is short of foolishness to frighten the immortals. Reading this, it shows that Ji Zhong's book is far from interesting. At the time of writing this poem, Zhu Xi happened to be in Wuyi Jingshe and his disciples repeatedly explaining the theory of "righteousness and sincerity" in the University, so at the end of the poem, Yuan Shu had the expectation of "next year to the White Tiger Hall, and even more to recite the University Zhongyong Chapter". The so-called "White Tiger Hall" is another name for the palace since the Han Dynasty. At that time, because Gong Maoliang, the governor of the government, played this history book of the Yuan clan in the dynasty, Yuan Shu was appointed by the imperial court as the emperor of the Imperial Household. Zhu Xi hoped that Yuan Shu would be able to explain to Song Xiaozong the "righteousness of the heart" of "zhengjun heart" when he was in the court of the upper court, rather than just staying on the teaching of historiography. It should be said that the importance attached to the four books of Confucianism is much higher than the importance attached to the history books, which is the difference between Zhu Xi, as a theorist, and Yuan Shu, a historian.

Interestingly, Zhu Xi's hopes for Yuan Shu were ultimately fulfilled by himself. There is a related story in the "Biography of Zhu Xi of Song Shi", which is that in the fifteenth year of Chunxi (1188), Zhu Xi was summoned to the capital, and Zhou Bi, who was then serving as the right minister, kindly reminded him that the current emperor does not like any "righteous and sincere" preaching, and you must not say this when you see the emperor! Zhu Xi replied, "I have learned only these four words in my life, how can I say it silently, is this not a deception?" In fact, the doctrine of "righteousness and sincerity" was not only learned by Zhu Xiping in his lifetime, but also the political theory he practiced in his lifetime.

The examination is easy

The content of the correspondence between Zhu and Yuan was mainly in the exchange and debate of easy learning. Yuan Shu is the author of five Yixue monographs, including "Yi Chuan XieYi". Although he and Zhu Xi were like-minded good friends in politics, they were very different in their views on Yi studies. Zhu Xi wrote "Yixue Enlightenment", insisting on Shao Yong's innate gossip generation theory, while Yuan Shu believed that Shao Yongzhi's theory was not credible, and questioned some of Zhu Xi's "Yixue Enlightenment", such as congenital and acquired, Taiji and Bagua, Renli belonged to Yang Yizhi and Yin, and the two began to argue about this, and exchanged frequent letters. Zhu Xi's "Zhu Wen Gong anthology" contains the eleventh book "Reply to Yuan Jizhong". According to Chen Lai's "Chronicle of Zhu Zi's Letters", these letters were all written around the fourth year of Qingyuan (1198), and the location was in the Jianyang Kaoting Bamboo Forest Jingshe, and the content was debated by yi but not others. Reading these letters, it can be seen that the duo's arguments are quite sharp. For example, Zhu Xi criticized Yuan Shu for "having an open mind in order to seek his understanding, and not being able to make a difference to lightly ask for his flaws." At a time when emotions are difficult to control, there are even indignant words such as "If you don't shut up from now on, keep your own words, and be justified by the appearance of The Xiwen" there is even anger. But in general, the academic views are different, and as the debate deepens, it has little impact on the friendship between the two.

In addition to the Treatise on Yi Letters, Zhu Xi consulted Yuan Shu's revised edition of the Book of Zhou Yi And Tongqi, and wrote the article "After the Title Of Yuan Jizhong's School of "Reference to tongqi" ("Zhu Wen Gongwen Collection" vol. 84) to Jizhi, which was in the third year of Qingyuan (1197), slightly earlier than the writing of the Letters of Yi.

Judging from the exchange experiences of Zhu Xi and Yuan Shu, they were poets who sang harmony with each other, literary friends who worked with each other, scholars who promoted each other, and debated each other's difficulties. The relationship between the two men's writings lasted from middle age to old age, nearly thirty years ago.

Author: Fang Yanshou

Source: Fujian Daily