Siku tiyao entry for Taiping Guangji

Yiwen Shen，Hong Yan，Lu Lu

（威斯康辛大学麦迪逊分校东亚系，美国威斯康辛麦迪逊，53705）

TaipingGuangji太平广记 （The Extensive Records of the Taiping Era）Five hundred juan.Edition stored in the Imperial Treasury.

Li Fang李昉 （925－996A.D.）of the Song dynasty supervised the compilation at imperial command；with fellow compilers Hu Meng 扈蒙 （915－986A.D.），Li Mu李穆 （928－984A.D.），Tang Yue汤悦 （fl.960A.D.），Xu Xuan 徐铉 （916－991A.D.），Song Bai宋白 （936－1012A.D.），Wang Kezhen王克贞 （fl.960A.D.），Zhang Ji张洎 （934－997A.D.），Dong Chun董淳 （fl.960A.D.），Zhao Linji赵邻几 （922－979A.D.），Chen E 陈鄂 （fl.960A.D.），Lü Wenzhong 吕文仲 （c.？－1007A.D.）and Wu Shu 吴 淑 （fl.960A.D.），twelve men ［altogether］.In accordance with the imperial orders of the third month of the second year of the Taiping Xingguo 太 平兴国 reign period （977A.D.），they sent in a memorial presenting［the work］to court in the eighth month of the third year ［of the Taiping Xingguo reign period］（978A.D.）.This is according to the text inSong huiyao宋会要 （Gathering of Song Essentials）；YuHai玉海 （Jade Sea）claims that［TaipingGuangji］was compiled on the Wuyin戊寅 day of the third month of the second year，finished on the Gengzi庚子［1］day of the twelfth month of the eighth year［of the Taiping Xingguo reign period］（984A.D.）.［We］do not know which statement is correct.In the first month of the sixth year ［of the Taiping Xingguo reign period］（981A.D.）［the Emperor］issued an imperial order to have blocks carved and［the work］printed.

The whole［book］was divided into fifty－five divisions［2］，those books from which selections were made were 345.［3］The anecdotes，trivia，and remaining writings from unorthodox books from earliest times are all found here，and books which have small volumes are usually collected in full－text.It was a deep source for writers of fiction.TheYuHai玉海［4］（Jade Sea）claimed that an edition of theTaipingGuangjihad been carved and was about to be promulgated for the whole world.Later，because the imperial censors'saying that theTaipingGuangjiwas not that which would be critical to the later scholars，the original［carved］blocks were collected in the Taiqing Lou太清楼［5］（Tower of Great Purity）. Therefore，most people in the Northern Song did not see it［the book］［6］.Zheng Qiao郑樵［7］（1104－1162A.D.）was known for his erudition，yet，in “JiaochouLue”校雠略（Proofreading Strategies）in theTongZhi通 志［8］（A Complete Record），he claimed that theTaipingGuangjiwas fromTaipingYulan［9］，and made a distinct record of odd events and stories.Mistakenly combining the two books and treating them as one is due to the reason that Qiao did not see it ［Taiping Guangji］either［10］.

Though this book often talks about the supernatural［11］，it collects various materials from multiple sources，and of the names of objects名物 and allusions continuously appear［in the book］.The literati always select for use；the textual scholars also take material from it a lot.Moreover，［the fact that］for the books before Tang that have not been transmitted by the world，one－tenth of their broken bamboo strips and fragmentary books are still preserved［in this book］，makes it especially worthy to be valued［12］.

This edition was published during the Jiajing嘉靖 era （1522－1566A.D.）by Imperial Scribe of the Right Capital，Tan Kai谈恺 （1503－1568A.D.）.There are occasionally fragmentary and lost ages and fascicles［13］.Hu Yinglin胡应麟 （1551－1602A.D.）in“Eryou zhuiyi”二酉缀遗［14］（Two You Composition）said“Tan，in this book，did his very best to collate and proofread，only lacking two juan in the“Chibi”嗤鄙 （The Despicable）category，two juan in “Wulai”无赖 （Rascals）category，one juan in“Qingbo”轻薄 （The Frivolous）category，and for“Kubao”酷暴 （The Cruel and Violent）category missing five items on“Huzhe”胡淛and such，for“Furen”妇人（Women）seven entries on“Lidan”李诞and such［15］.Tan said that after overly searching widely for all those various collections of books who knew it，he suspected they were already lost during the Song宋［16］.［Hu］also said that“In the“Qingbo”category，Liu Xiang刘祥，Xu Jingzong许敬宗and others can all be seen in the various histories of the Six Dynasties，theTangshu唐书 （Tang history），andZashuo杂说 （Miscellaneous tales），and Tan had already done researched and suplemented them.Most of those remaining items which had names［attached to them］can be formed in other books.Only those who came from in fiction but now their books have been lost were hard to entirely investigate”，etc.Hence，the books which at that time were no longer intact，now for the time being kept in the old version［17］.

Original Chinese Text of the Siku tiyao entry

《太平广记》五百卷 内府藏本

宋李昉奉敕监修，同修者扈蒙、李穆、汤悦、徐铉、宋白、王克贞、张洎、董淳、赵邻几、陈鄂、吕文仲、吴淑十二人也。以太平兴国二年三月奉诏，三年八月表进（此据《宋会要》之文。《玉海》则作二年三月戊寅所集，八年十二月庚子书成。未详孰是），六年正月敕雕版印行。

凡分五十五部，所采书三百四十五种。古来轶闻琐事，僻笈遗文咸在焉。卷帙轻者往往全部收入，盖小说家之渊海也。《玉海》称《广记》镂本颁天下，后以言者谓非后学所急，收版贮之太清楼，故北宋人多未之睹。郑樵号为博洽，而《通志·校雠略》中乃谓《太平广记》为《太平御览》中别出《广记》一书，专记异事，误合两书而一之，是樵亦未尝见矣。

其书虽多谈神怪，而采摭繁富。名物典故，错出其间，词章家恒所采用，考证家亦多所取资。又唐以前书，世所不传者，断简残编，尚间存其什一，尤足贵也。

此本为明嘉靖中右都御史谈恺所刊，卷页间有阙佚。胡应麟《二酉缀遗》曰：“谈于此书颇肆力校雠，第中阙‘嗤鄙’类二卷，‘无赖’类二卷，‘轻薄’类一卷，而‘酷暴’类阙胡淛等五事，‘妇人’类阙李诞等七事。谈谓遍阅诸藏书家悉然，疑宋世已亡。”又曰：“‘轻薄’类刘祥、许敬宗等皆见六朝诸史及《唐书》、杂说，谈已考补。余目中有名姓者，尚多互见诸书。惟出小说中而其书今亡者，难悉究矣”云云。则书在当时已非完帙，今亦姑仍旧本录之焉。

注释：

［1］The 8th year of the Taiping Xingguo period under the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song（983A.D.）is the Guiwei year 癸 未 （the twentieth in the cycle of sixty，according to the Chinese Stems－and－Branches sexagenary system）.The twelfth month of that year in the Chinese lunar calendar is January 6，984to December 4，984in the western solar calendar.There is no Gengzi庚子 day in that year.Therefore，Wang Yinglin’s王应麟 （1223－1296A.D.）claim “The book was completed on the Gengzi day of the twelfth month of the eighth year”八年十二月庚子书成 in his self－commentary inYuHaiis not credible.The modern Chinese scholar Chen Shangjun陈尚君 and Zhang Jinyao张金耀in theirSikutiyaojingdu四库提要精读 also argue thatTaipingGuangjiwas finished in the eighth month in the third year of the Taiping Xingguo period（978A.D.）.They lists three reasons：1）the date of completion of the book was “the eighth month in the third year”（978A.D.）in bothHuiyao会要 （i.e.Songhuiyao宋会要，orAnInstitutionalHistoryoftheSongDynasty）andTaipingGuangjibiao太平广记表 （Tables ofTheExtensiveRecordsoftheTaipingEra）records；2）bothHuiyaoandTaipingGuangji biaosays that the book was published in engraving printing form in the sixth year（981A.D.）according to the imperial order—in ancient China，the general practice was to publish the book after its completion，especially for the officially compiled ones.Therefore，they argue thatTaipingGuangjishould have been finished before the sixth year（981A.D.）instead of later in the eighth year（984A.D.）；3）According to the original preface ofTaipingYulan太 平 御 览（The Imperial Overview from the Taiping Reign）andShilu实录 （i.e.TaizongShilu太宗实录，orTheVeritableRecordsofEmperorTaizong）cited inYuHaivolume 54，TaipingYulanwas completed in the twelfth month of the eighth year（984A.D.）.It was possible that Wang Yinglin mistook the completion date ofYulanforGuangjiin Yu Hai，and theSikucompilers did not notice this mistake.p.299.

［2］Fifty－five divisions：The modern scholar Chen Shangjun 陈 尚君and Zhang jinyao张 金耀argue the idea that there are fifty－five divisions is probably copied from Tan Kai’s（1503—1569A.D.）谈恺comment，while Tan Kai’s comment may followYuHai54：“the fifty－five volumes cover the category of heaven through the category of blossoms.”In fact，it should refer toTaiping Yulan，notTaipingGuangji.p.299.

［3］Those books from which selections were made were 345：according to Tan Ke Ben谈刻本 （Tan Kai’s block－printed edition），however，“YinyongShumu”引用书目 （the cited books）collects 343kinds.Chen Shangjun陈尚君and Zhang jinyao张金耀 comment that it is hard to count exactly the numbers of books cited byTaipingGuangji，but roughly there are about more than 400kinds.p.300.

［4］Yuhai：compendia，类书lei shu，edited by Wang Yinglin in the Southern Song.

［5］Taiqing Lou：Chen Shangjun 陈 尚 君 and Zhang jinyao 张 金 耀 comment that sinceGuangjiwas put to print in the Southern Song，the original carved mode might be the one which had been collected in Taiqing Lou.But this version does not exist any more.p.300.

［6］Chen Shangjun’s 陈尚君argument is that it is unsure whether the version mentioned above was put to print in the Northern Song，but several books from the Song recorded that the North Song people had mentioned some sketches or excerpts of certain stories.From these records，Guangjihad already spread around in the Northern Song.（Chen，300）

［7］Zheng Qiao（1104－1162A.D.）studied in Jiaji夹漈 Mountain in Fujian福建Province for a long time，and therefore he was called Jiaji Zheng Qiao 夹漈郑樵.Chen Shangjun陈尚君 and Zhang jinyao张金耀 point out that it shouldn't have been hard for Zheng Qiao to seeGuangji.Moreover，Guangjihad been widely spread among literati and scholars in the Southern Song.Thus，even if Zheng Qiao did not seeGuangjiin person，he should at least know something about it.It is impossible for him to make such obvious mistake as theSikuofficials claimed.p.301.

［8］“JiaochouLue”校雠略 （Proofreading Strategies）inTongZhi通志 （A Complete History）was edited by Zheng Qiao 郑 樵 in the Southern Song.He claimed thatTaiping Guangjiwas a selected version fromTaipingYulanwhich specifically recorded odd stories.Chen Shangjun 陈尚 君 and Zhang jinyao张金 耀 point out that though these two books were edited at the same time，the content of two books has great differences.Moreover，Guangjiwas completed five years earlier thatYulan，so it is unrealistic to claim thatGuangjiis a selected part fromYulan.That is the reason thesikuofficials inferred from Zheng Qiao's remark that he did not seeGuangjiin person.p.301.

［9］Taipingyulan太平御览 （Imperial overview from theTaipingreign）is the first large encyclopedia of ancient China.It is one of the so－called Song Si Da Shu宋四大书 （four large books）of the Northern Song（960－1126A.D.）.

［10］In“Yiwen Lue”艺文略 （Aesthetic Article Strategies）intongzhi通志 （A complete History），Zheng Qiao gave one annotation toGuangji：“beyondYulan，the editors collected the odd events and stories to compile Guangji.”Chen Shangjun陈尚君and Zhang jinyao张金耀say that the editors ofYulanandGguangji，who are almost the same people，collected large amount of materials and put the part about odd stories into one book in advance，which is as seen asTaipingGuangji.Thus，the citation might have missed the word“beyond”afterYulan，which made it misunderstood by thesikuofficials.p.301.

［11］The fact thatTaipingGuangjiputs its focus on the supernatural presences can be seen from three aspects：1）it cites books on supernatural issues such as theShenyijing神 异经（Classic on Divine Marvels）andGanyingzhuan感应传 （Accounts of Action and Response）a lot；2）stories about supernatural presences are the majority and take more space inTaiping Guangji.For example，the“Shenxian”神仙 （Immortals）category has 55volumes，the“Nü xian”女仙 （Female Immortals）category has 15volumes，and the“Yi seng”异僧 （Strange Monks）category has 12juan；3）all the above mentioned categories on supernatural presences are all at the forefront in theGuangjicollection.p.301.

［12］As Chen Shangjun陈尚君and Zhang jinyao张金耀 point out inSikutiyaojingdu，TaipingGuangjiis highly valuable for collating and reconstructing lost books.For example，the texts ofQueshi阙史 （A History of What Is Missing），Jutanlu剧谈 录 （Records of Free Talks），andSanshuixiaodu三水小牍 （Short Pieces by the Man from Sanshui）are different in their independently circulated versions and in theTaipingGuangjicitations of them，and thus theTaipingGuangjican be used to collate these books.Moreover，sinceTaipingGuangjiincludes a large number ofxiaoshuocollections of the Tang and before the Tang，it is particularly useful in reconstructing the lost books.For instance，Lu Xun 鲁 迅 （1881－1936A.D.）uses materials inTaipingGuangjito a great extent in reconstructing and compiling hisGuxiaoshuo gouchen古小说钩沉 andTangSongchuanqiji唐宋传奇集.p.301.

［13］The most widespread copy ofTaipingGuangjiis Tan's edition in the Ming dynasty.Tan's Kai谈 恺 （1503－1568A.D.），whose style name was Shoujiao 守 教 and style name was Shishan十山.He was the Imperial Scribe of the Right Capital in the Court of Censor.According to Chen Shangjun陈 尚君 and Zhang jinyao's 张金耀Sikutiyaojingdu，after Tan's got the transcriptions ofTaipingGuangjiin which he found many mistakes，he revised the transcription with Qinmi秦泌 （unknown）and other scholars for many years，and finally published his edition.Tan's edition is the earliest preserved version ofTaipingGuangjiand all other versions were all rooted in Tan's edition.Tan's edition had many versions.In the Tan's early printed versions，Volume 261to 264were missed under“Chibi”category and“Wulai”category，of each category missed 2volumes.Volume 269under“Kubao”category on entry“Hezhe”such，and Volume 270 under“Furen”category on entry“Lidan”and such were also missed.However，for the version inSikuquanshu四库全书in Wenyuan Pavilion文渊阁，Volume 261to 264and entries on“Huzhe”and“Lidan”were not missed，and this version was different from Tan version.The original copy ofTaipingGuangjiinSikuquanshuin Wenyuan Pavilion was Huang ShengHuai's 黄晟槐（fl.1730A.D.）Yincao Tang荫草堂 （Shadow Grass Hall）edition.Huang's edition was based on in Tan's edition，and Huang revised the Tan's edition by filling in the missing characters.However，there were not enough sources and evidence to support Huang's revision.p.303.

［14］The sentence was cited from Hu Yinglin's胡应麟 （1551－1602A.D.）Shaoshishanfang bicong少室山房笔丛（Shaoshi Mountain Building Collection），Volume 35，“Eryou zhuiyishang”二酉缀遗上 （Two You composition First）.Hu Yinglin，whose style name was Yuanrui元瑞and style name was Shaoshishanren少室山人，was a famous scholar，poet and literature criticizer in the Ming Dynasty.He had a room called Eryoushan fang二酉山房 （Eryou Mountain Room）to preserve his books and collections.Eryou Mountain二酉山are now located in Hunan province.Eryou Mountain has two mountains，which are Big You Mountain and Small You Mountain.

［15］See note 1.

［16］InTaipingGuangji，Volume 265，Tan says，“I heard that some bibliophile had Song printed version，of which seven volumes were missed.I did textual research on seven out of ten for three volumes，and published them，and only did research on two or three out of ten for the other four volumes.A very knowledgeable scholar enlightened and talked with me ［about theTaipingGuangji］，［and I］almost got the whole book.”余闻藏书家有宋刻，盖阕七卷云。其三卷余考之得十之七，已付之梓，其四卷仅十之二三。博洽君子其明以语我，庶几为全书云.Chen and Zhang inSikutiyaojingdupoint out that the Tan's revision only focused on the entries，not on the original text ofTaipingGuangji.p.303.

［17］According to Chen Shangjun陈尚君and Zhang jinyao's张金耀Sikutiyaojingdu，the current edition ofTaipingGuangjiis Wang Shaoying's汪绍楹 （c.？－1967A.D.）revised version.This version was rooted in Tan's edition and was referred to Chen Zhanxiao's 陈鳣校 edition in the Song，Shen Yezhu's 沈野竹 （unknown）manuscript in the Ming，Xu Zichang's 许自昌（1578－1623A.D.）printed edition in the Ming，and Huang Shenghai's version in the Qing.However，Wang still did not refer to some important editions，such as Sun Qian's孙潜 （c.1618－1678A.D.）edition in the Song and the incomplete chapter ofTaipingGuangjiXiangjie太平广记详节 （The Detailed Part of the Extensive Records of the Taiping Era）preserved in South Korea.pp.303－304.