In the past, when it comes to the history of the Southern Dynasty, researchers are most concerned about the rise and fall of the Mengmen clan. But in addition, the contribution of the Southern Dynasty in academic culture is also worthy of attention. When this era is over, perhaps the most precious part of its legacy lies in this.
New study style of the Southern Dynasty
Unlike the Wei and Jin scholars, who were keen on Xuan Tan, the Southern Dynasty scholars were most interested in intellectual issues. I once summed up the academic climate at that time as "knowledge first". During the Liu Song Dynasty, Wang Shengqian warned his disciples in the Book of Precepts that qing talk should be based on reading, and that the literature and the various opinions of predecessors must be clearly understood. If you don't understand all this, you are not qualified to talk about mysteries. Fu Manrong, who understood metaphysics, said: "He Yan doubted the nine things in "Yi", and from my point of view, He Yan did not learn it. Therefore, Uncle Ping is short. He looked down on He Yan, the founder of metaphysics, and thought that He Yan was not good at learning. Fu Manrong's pride showed a sense of intellectual superiority.
This kind of atmosphere can also be felt in the field of literature and history. Chung Rong said that literary creation at that time was "more expensive than doing things." The so-called "thing" is an allusion. Scholars often piled up a large number of allusions in poetry to show the wealth of their knowledge. The Book of Han received particular attention in the Southern Dynasty, but from the perspective of specific cases, most people at that time were mostly interested in intellectual issues such as written exhortations and the interpretation of place names, and there was not much in-depth thinking about the history of the Han Dynasty. The "Book of Liang and the Biography of Lu Kui" says: Lu Qian "put an end to exchanges, and read books day and night, and so on for several years." If you read it once, you will recite it in your mouth. Trying to borrow the "Book of Han", losing the four volumes of the "Five Elements Zhi", it was secretly written and returned, and it was slightly lost. "At that time, people most admired this ability to be knowledgeable and strong.
It is said that the white inscription and the slippery state entered the Liang Dynasty, and the courtiers "did not know what they came out of", and Pei Ziye quoted the Book of Han to explain their origin
The new ethos of "knowledge first" is closely related to the gathering of books. In the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the imperial court did not have many books, only more than 3,000 volumes. At that time, the army was in chaos, the economy was in difficulty, and the country was unable to take into account academic culture. By the time of Emperor Xiaowu's reign (376-396), the economy had recovered and it was politically stable. Although the History of the South is recorded in the General Commentary, the main content of the record is the history of the North. My speculation is that the Tongjian records mostly politics, and since the south lacks major events in this regard, Sima Guang has to focus on the north. Under the situation of political stability in the south, Emperor Xiaowu began a large-scale book collection campaign. By the first year of the Liu Song Dynasty, the state collection had reached more than 15,000 volumes, and Liang Chu had reached more than 23,000 volumes. Compared with the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the collection of books increased a lot. In addition, since the Song Dynasty, the custom of private book collection has also become increasingly high, and the Liang Dynasty has reached its peak, and the Sui Book of Classics says: "Liang Wu Dun Yue Shi Shu, descending to its upper, within the four realms, the family has a literary history." "The private collections owned by some famous figures in the capital, such as Shen Yue and others, are also above 10,000 volumes.
The large increase in books in the Southern Dynasty was directly related to the development of papermaking technology. Although papermaking has long appeared, the real popularization of paper and the replacement of bamboo Jane was at the time of the Jin and Song dynasties. This provides great convenience for the dissemination and collection of books. The increase in books provides a material guarantee for the pursuit of a new atmosphere of "knowledge first".
Book collation and academic summary
After the increase of books, the first task is to compile catalogs and school books.
In addition to these general collations, scholars at that time also carried out the following work around many old books: the first was the collection of annotations, such as Zhu Yi's annotations on Zhou Yi, Li Yong's "Collected Interpretation of Shangshu" and so on. The second is banknote books, such as Yu Weizhi's "Ritual Notes", Zhang Mian's "Jin Shu Banknotes" and so on. The third is to gather many books into one book, such as Lu Cheng's "Geography Book" and so on.
The annotated book is a book annotated by many books, which is only possible after the relevant books have been gathered. Similarly, the particular popularity of the book banknote category in the Southern Dynasty was also related to the increase in books at that time. The "banknote" is not copied in its entirety, but only an excerpt. "Chen Shu Lu Yu Biography": "The Crown Prince shi was studious, wanted to read a large number of books, and wrote a large number of books in a subset. "There are so many books" that I can't read them, so I have to selectively excerpt them. Regarding the gathering of books, we can discuss it with the "Geography Book" as an example. The Sui Zhi reads: "The Book of Geography has one hundred and forty-nine volumes, and one volume of records. Lu Chenghe's Classic of Mountains and Seas has come to one hundred and sixty homes, thinking that this book is a book. Yao Zhenzong's "Sui Book of Classics" said: "Chenghe one hundred and sixty books, and the compilation of volumes stops at one hundred and forty, and there are many people who know that there are not many miscellaneous small parts of them." From this, we can see that although there are many such books, they are not long and scattered everywhere, so it is necessary to gather them into one book. Lu Cheng is a well-known bibliophile and is most qualified to do this work.
Mr. Jin Kemu once found that one of the most important features of the academic culture of the Qi Liang period was the emergence of a large number of "summative" works. In his discussion of the Yutai Xin yong and the Anthology, he said: "It is worth noting that the short Liang Dynasty and its decades before and after did not only produce these two collections initiated by the prince, but also other summative works. Why are there so many summative works during this period? Mr. Jin Kemu was very confused: "Counting the Liang Dynasty alone, there are only fifty years from 502 to 557 AD, why are so many people concentrated to do the summary work?" ”
In my opinion, the emergence of a large number of summative works is not necessarily for any profound reason, but only because of the increase in books at that time. In addition, the summary work is not limited to the Liang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Jia Yuan's grandfather Jia Bizhi "Collected Hundred Clan Genealogies". This is both a compilation of scattered family trees and can also be understood as a summary of many family trees. Similarly, Lu Cheng's Geography Book is of this nature. During the Liu Song Dynasty, Pei Songzhi annotated the Romance of the Three Kingdoms with many different types of Han and Jin histories, which was also a summary of the previous three kingdoms history works. As far as the style of books is concerned, books were mostly orderly at that time. In the prologue, the author often reviews the relevant fields, and the color of the summary is the most prominent.
A young scholar cites the author's research in a report on the intellectual history of the Southern Dynasty
In addition to the above work around old books, the Southern Dynasty also had many new works based on old books. Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han Dynasty "deleted the Book of the Later Han Dynasty as a work of one family. Emperor Wu of Liang "wrote his subjects from the beginning of the Tai Dynasty to the end of the Qi Chamber, and compiled the General History in six hundred and twenty volumes. His books from Qin and above are all based on the "Records of History", and do not take him as a wide range of hearsay; by the time the two Han Dynasties have returned, they are all recorded in the chronicles of the time. Hui Jiao's "Biography of a High Monk" is also a synthesis of many previous monastic traditions. He said in the preface: "All the ten branches are scattered in the records of the multitudes. At this time, I have deleted one place, so I have not done anything. The bale is included in one book and can be combined with all the important things. "The books he has based on should be more than eighty kinds" (Tang Yijie: Introduction to the Biography of the High Monk). In addition, "The New Language of the World" was not created out of thin air. Lu Xun said that it was only "compiled from the old texts of the Later Han Dynasty to the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty" (Outline of the History of chinese Novels). In a sense, these new works can also belong to the above-mentioned "gathering many books into one book", but it is not simply copied from the original text, but according to a certain style, many old works have been deleted, synthesized, and transformed. Without the large increase in books, it would have been impossible for these summative works to emerge.
The summary of the academic culture of the Southern Dynasty may have a process from unconscious to conscious. If the summary around the collation of old books still has an unconscious nature, then the summary that is detached from the old book, such as "Wenxin Carved Dragon" and "Poetry", is a conscious summary. Although the Book of Song does not have the "Biography of Wen Yuan", the "Shi Chen Yue" at the end of Shen Yue's "Biography of Xie Lingyun" broke the convention, discussed ancient and modern times, and wrote the simplest literary history. In the "Zhi Preface", he also reviewed the history of the writing of "Zhi" in the history books, which reflected Shen You's conscious sense of summing up.
Historically, the Han Dynasty collation of books has led to academic summaries. The preface to the Seven Records of Ruan Xiaoxu of the Liang Dynasty recalls the situation of the Western Han Dynasty books: "In the life of filial piety, there is quite a sense of death. It was chen nong who made the guru chen nong to ask for a suicide note in the world, and ordered Liu Xiang, the master of Guanglu, and Zijun, Xin, etc., to write the school books. Each one has been recorded and played. Will be lost, the emperor envoys his former business, is the migration of the greenhouse zhongshu on the Heavenly Pavilion. Xin Sui summarized the group chapters and played his "Seven Sketches". "The Seven Sketches and the resulting Hanshu Yiwenzhi are a comprehensive and systematic summary of previous scholarship. This summary is also due to the collection and collation of books. The Southern Dynasty is different from the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty is a small number of people in the court to sort out books, while the Southern Dynasty because of the popularity of paper, both officials and private have a large collection of books, so the collation of books and then engaged in summary work is no longer limited to a small number of people in the court, but a large number of participants, a long duration, has become a striking cultural phenomenon.
In short, whether it was the Han Dynasty or the Southern Dynasty, it was not because of the summary of scholarship that there were books to organize, but because of the collation of books, it brought academic summaries.
"The people of Imaji gather in Gyeongeup"
Another important cultural phenomenon of the Southern Dynasty was the large number of scholars gathered in the Beijing Division. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liangwu, Shen Yueshangshu said: "Since the Han Dynasty, there is no distinction between the shi and the shu, from the non-eunuch, not to the capital master, to dismiss the gongqing pastoral guard, and return to the countryside, the little people to worship, in order to become a custom." And the school chess cloth, the transmission of the scriptures, the study of excellence and shi, from the countryside, the origin of the small official Ganzuo, fang to the literary merit Cao, accumulated with the years, is to be examined. Talents are different, initially opened by the gongfu, moved to pastoral guard, and entered the Taiwan Division. Han Zhiren, Yu Si is prosperous. The people of the present, and gather in Jingyi, they have to guard the land, not straight and stupid. Moreover, there are many scholars today, slightly tens of thousands, and there are many officials who often suffer from them, and there is no place to deal with them. Shen Yue noticed the phenomenon of the concentration of scholars toward Jiankang. He spanned the three dynasties of the Song Dynasty and qi liang throughout his life, and the text also contrasted the "Han Dynasty" with the "present", which shows that the "present" he said did not just refer to the Tianjian years of his Shangshu. From the historical point of view, from the time of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there has been a trend of concentration of scholars to Jiankang. The difference is that some of the great Confucians during the Jin and Song dynasties were recruited by the imperial court, and the influx of a large number of scholars into Jiankang after this was their initiative.
The "Map of Jiankang City in the Eastern Jin Dynasty" in the Apocalypse "Ancient and Modern Tukao of Jinling"
A large number of scholars gathered in Jiankang, and the place with the most books was also in Jiankang. Jiankang was the cultural center of the Southern Dynasty. Although the capitals of previous dynasties were cultural centers, jiankang in the southern dynasty seems to be more special. Whether it was the Northern Dynasty or the earlier Han Dynasty in the same period, outside the capital, there were also quite active academic activities in the local area, while the academic activities in the Southern Dynasty were quite quiet. This may be related to the new study style of the Southern Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty and the Northern Dynasty, the local spread was mainly scripture. Scripture is about the inheritance of teachers. If there is a famous scribe in a certain place, he will gather around him to gather many scholars who come to study. Sutras are also found in southern local societies, but are mainly confined to the Sanwu region, and are rarely recorded in other regions. Southern scholars' interests were widespread, and they were not limited to scripture. They are pursuing a strong sense of knowledge, and without jiankang's scholar group and a large number of books, this goal is difficult to achieve. We see that although there are also many famous scholars in Jiankang who follow King Zong out of the town, this is all temporary, King Zong returned to Jiankang, they also returned together, and the new study style of the Southern Dynasty disappeared in the local area.
Many researchers have noticed that the clans from the north occupy the countryside in the south. However, from the historical point of view, the situation of owning a large amount of land in the local area like the Xie Lingyun family may not be universal. Yan Zhitui said: "The Jiangnan dynasty soldiers, because of the Jin Zhongxing, the southern crossing of the river, died as a prisoner brigade, and so far the eighth and ninth dynasties, they have not been able to force the field, and they have eaten their ears. If there are those who believe in servants, they have not tried to look at a piece of soil and cultivate a seedling; they do not know how many months are now, and how many months should be harvested. Yan Zhitui has lived in the south since childhood, and his description of "Jiangnan Dynasty Soldiers" will not be unfounded. According to him, most of these "pilgrims" who crossed the river did not have land, but only relied on Feng Lu for their livelihood. "The Biography of Yan Yan of the Book of Song": "Lang evil Linyi people also." Great-grandfather Han, Right Guanglu Doctor. Zu Yue, Ling Ling Tai Shou. Father Xian, Sima of the Protector. Yan Zhi is lonely and poor, living in Guo, and the room lane is very ugly. Similar to Yan Yanzhi, many scholars have the experience of "less lonely and poor". This was mainly because most of the high scholars who crossed the river to the south lived in Jiankang and had no income other than Feng Lu. Since this is the case, if the father dies in middle age, the children will easily fall into the situation of "less orphans and poverty".
Archaeologists have found many tombs of famous overseas Chinese families in the Nanjing area. In contrast, from the literature, most of the southern natives are buried in their hometowns after death. Considering these two aspects, it may be possible to draw a preliminary conclusion that the northerly overseas Chinese who have lived in Jiankang for generations have no local roots, so they can only be buried near Jiankang after death.
Xie Kun's epitaph at the beginning of the Eastern Jin Dynasty mentions "fake burial of Shi Zigang in Jiankang County" and "Old tomb in Xingyang"
The overseas Chinese surname Gaomen has lived in Jiankang for many generations, so the aforementioned Shen Yue quoted shen Yue as saying, "The people of the present day, and gather in Jingyi", should be mainly the guide fang indigenous scholars. Because of the geographical location, most of the indigenous scholars in Jiankang are from the Sanwu area not far from Jiankang, while the so-called "Westerners" who are far away in Jingzhou are less likely to go to Jiankang. This has an impact on their political, academic and other developments. After the Yongjia Rebellion, many Nanyang people fled to Jiangling, Jingzhou. Chen Yinke said: "The upper class of the Nanyang and Xinye clans, whose political and social status is slightly inferior to that of Luoyang Shengliu such as Wang Dao, cannot or do not have to move to Jianye, the capital of Jiangzuo Xinbang, and move to the area near Jiangling Nan County, the capital of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the later period of the Jiangzuo regime, it gradually became famous. Nanyang Shi was quite prominent in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and after moving to Jiangling, he lost his former position. Why did they "gradually become famous" in the late Southern Dynasty? Chen Yinke did not explain. I noticed that at the time of Qi Liang, the Nanyang family surnamed Yuxin, as well as the Zong and Liu clans who settled in Jiangling, all went to Jiankang to develop. This can be crucial. After all, Jiankang is both a political center and a place that stirs up new academic styles.
Since the Han Dynasty, the local scholarly style has often had its characteristics, such as "Ruying Qiaojie" and "Qingxu Ruya". Governors of the state often have to ask how the local morale is and who are the famous scholars. But in the Southern Dynasty, such a situation was relatively rare. This may also be related to the gathering of scholars in Jiankang. For example, although Shen Yue was born in Wuxing, his ancestors had been living in Jiankang for generations. His academic growth and later prominent position had nothing to do with Wu Xing.
All in all, a new academic atmosphere emerged in the Southern Dynasty, and this new atmosphere occurred and continued in Jiankang. Jiankang is also a place where books come together. Jiankang's status as a political and cultural center attracted a large number of southern natives to gather here.
From the perspective of time process, the collection of books and the summary of scholarship have begun from the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and important academic figures such as Pei Songzhi in the early years of the Liu Song Dynasty have also grown up in the academic and cultural environment after the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Therefore, from the standpoint of academic history, the Southern Dynasty began in the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Eastern Jin Dynasty celadon sheep-shaped candlestick, excavated from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province
The social environment for academic and cultural activities
The long-term continuation of the prosperity of academic culture in the south is inseparable from the social environment at that time. It is generally believed that the Wei and Jin Dynasties were an era of constant wars. This understanding is not very suitable for the South. In fact, the South was peaceful for many times. Shen Yue described Yangzhou in the Book of Song as follows: "From the Jin clan to the taiyuan world, in the hundred years, there is no wind and dust police, within the region, Yan Ruye." And Sun Enkou chaos, annihilation of the extreme, from this to the season of the Ming Dynasty, the sixth age of the year, the breeding of households, will be lost. Ji Hirono Toyo, minqin benye, one year old or minoru, then several counties forget hunger. Xiao Zixian's "Book of Southern Qi" said: "In the world of Yongming, for ten years, the people have no police of chickens and dogs barking, the prosperity of Duyi, the richness of scholars and women, the singing and dancing festivals, the costumes and makeup, the peach blossoms and green waters, the autumn moon and spring breeze, covered with hundreds." Regarding the Liang Dynasty, Yu Xin recalled in "The Southern Fu of the Wai River": "At the time of the court and the wilderness, the chitai bells and drums. Inside is a crown cover, and the door is Zou Lu. Lian Mao Yuan is in Hailing, and crosses Hengtang in Jiangpu. The east gate is whipped into a bridge, and the south pole is cast in copper. The trees are planted in the garden, and the bamboo is sealed in thousands of households. Xi Chang floating jade, Nan Chen no feather. Wu Yue Yue Yin, Jing Yan Chu Dance. The grass and trees are through the spring sun, and the fish and dragons are windy and rainy. For fifty years, Jiang Biao had nothing to do. "Although the Eastern Jin Dynasty had a Jingyang dispute between the Mongol clans, and the kings of the later Song and Qi dynasties met each other, these military conflicts, which were limited to specific regions and lasted for a short time, did not disturb the whole society. Jiankang, in particular, rarely suffered serious damage before the rebellion of Hou Jing at the end of Liang. As mentioned earlier, the new study style is happening in Jiankang. Jiankang was stable, and the academic culture of the Southern Dynasty had a basic guarantee.
The stability of southern society is also related to the external environment. Regarding the history of the north in this period, researchers have focused on the Hu-Han relationship. From the perspective of the long process, it is completely correct to attach importance to the relationship between Hu and Han. However, if we return to the historical scene and observe the political situation at that time, we can find that the Hu-Han relationship was not so important. After the Yongjia Rebellion, "Zhongzhou Shinu avoided the chaos of Jiang Zuo Sixteen Seven." The political and military forces of the Han people who remained in the north were mainly the Wubi lords scattered everywhere. Dock masters are usually not subordinate to each other and fight each other. Although the Wubi Organization can resist some sporadic nuisances when the soldiers are in chaos, they do not have the strength to resist the attack of strong enemies. Not only did they pose no threat to the Hu regime, but they were a borrowed force. On the whole, the political and military conflicts in the north during the Sixteen Kingdoms period mainly occurred between the Hu and Hu tribes, with Former Zhao being destroyed by Later Zhao and Former Yan being destroyed by Former Qin. After the Battle of Shuishui, Later Yan, who was also Murong Shi, destroyed Western Yan, and it was Xianbei Tuoba who dealt a fatal blow to Later Yan. Except for Liu Yu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who destroyed Southern Yan and Later Qin successively, until Northern Wei destroyed Northern Liang in 439 to unify the north, for more than a hundred years, the Hu regime was mostly eliminated by another Hu regime. The conflict between the Hu and the Hu was the main line of northern history during this period. The situation was well known at the time. Before his death, Wang Meng said to Jian Jian: "Although the Jin Dynasty is secluded and Wu Yue, it is Zheng Shuo who inherits it. Kindness and good neighborliness, the treasure of the country also. After the subject is gone, he is willing not to take jin as a picture. Humble and humble, my vendetta, will eventually be afflicted, and it is advisable to gradually get rid of it so that it can be community-oriented. Wang Meng was worried about the other Hu tribes within Former Qin, and this was a hidden danger that must be treated with care. As far as one battle is concerned, the defeat of Qin before the Battle of Shuishui was accidental, but after the war, the north was divided again, and the Hu regime was rebuilt. Wang Meng was indeed far-sighted. It follows from this that the North does not pose a major threat to the South until the problems between the Hu regimes are resolved. This is an important reason for the long-term continuation of the peaceful environment in the South.
The long-term peaceful environment not only provided a guarantee for the prosperity of academic culture in the South, but also affected the social atmosphere. "Book of Song and Biography of Zong Wu": "When there is nothing to do in the world, scholars and people take the literary righteousness as their profession." ...... And Wu Du is good at martial arts, so it is not called a township song. "Zong's example reflects the social climate of the time. The long-term peaceful environment made the atmosphere of emphasizing literature over military force persist in the Southern Dynasty, which eventually led to the Hou Jing Rebellion. Xu Ling said: "In the past, I was peaceful in my life, the world was in peace, people did not know Gange, and they did not hear about the drums, so they got the murderer Hou Jing, helped me cross the river, and the heavens were in danger, and it was really forgotten to fight." (Wenyuan Yinghua, Xu Ling, "Emperor Wu's Portrait and the Lord of Northern Qi Guangling City") Li Yanshou's "History of the South" said: "It was the forty-seventh year of Liang Xing, there was nothing in the territory, the Gongqing was reigning, and Lu Lishi's doctor Mo saw the armor. Thieves to pawns, public and private shocks. At that time, the southern government and opposition were completely unprepared for the occurrence of war, and coupled with the fragile military strength, Hou Jing, who was not strong at all, finally succeeded. Hou Jing's rebellion devastated Jiankang. Yan Zhitui, who personally experienced Hou Jing's rebellion, said in the self-annotation of "Guan I Shengfu": "The Crown Belt of the Central Plains accompanies the Jin Dynasty to cross the river, so there is a "Hundred Genealogies" in Jiangdong, and it is destroyed in the capital. Wei Shuo in the north described: "After Shijing crossed the river to the city, the people of Jiangnan and the princess concubines of The Prince of Yan and the sons of Shi Gui were plundered by the Jing soldiers, or sold themselves, and those who drifted into the country covered hundreds of thousands of mouths and starved to death. (The Biography of Wei Shu Xiao Yan) The loss of books is even more serious. After Wang Monk identified Hou Jing, he "collected the books of Wende and the public and private scriptures, and attributed them to Jiangling, with more than 70,000 volumes." In the third year of Chengsheng (554), Liang was destroyed by Western Wei, and Emperor Yuan of Liang ordered the burning of all books at the last moment. Yan Zhitui's "Guan I Am Born endowment" said: "The people are millions and prisoners, the books are thousands and two and the smoke is burning, and under the heavens, Sven is lost." Yan's self-note: "The north is less than one-third of Jiangdong's grave, and the Liang clan is stripped of chaos and scattered and annihilated." Only filial piety yuan dove combination, through the weight of more than 100,000, historical records, has not been. The soldiers were defeated and burned, and there was no restoration in the sea. ”
Nanjing Qixia Mountain Thousand Buddha Rock, where the grotto was chiseled during the Qi Liang period
In short, the long-term peaceful environment not only created the prosperity of the academic culture of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty, but also contributed to the formation of a social atmosphere of emphasizing literature over martial arts. As a result of the impact, the southern regime was militarily vulnerable, and the military defeat caused the flourishing of academic culture to be interrupted.
The development of academic culture has its own logic. After the fall of Liang and Chen successively, from the Northern Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, many scholars from the southern cultural system such as Yu Xin, Yan Zhitui, Xiao Cai, Xu Shanxin, Xu Jingzong, Yu Qi, Yu Shinan, and Ouyang Qing continued to play an important role. The academic culture of the Southern Dynasty did not end with the end of the Southern Dynasty regime.