Wen Xuan
Encyclopedia
The Wen Xuan is one of the earliest existing collections of Chinese poetry
, though the verse it contains is all from the Qin Dynasty
, Han Dynasty
, and later. It was compiled around AD 520
during the Southern Dynasty by Xiao Tong
, the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang
, and a group of scholars he had assembled. After Xiao Tong's death he was given the posthumous name Zhao Ming 昭明 (Classical Chinese
: "outstanding", "remarkable"), and so the collection came to be known as the "Zhao Ming Wen Xuan". It is composed of 60 sections, each containing a different form or type of poetry.
Study of the Wen Xuan rivalled that of the Five Classics during the Tang Dynasty
and enjoyed incredible popularity. By the Northern Song Dynasty, however, attitudes had shifted, and the phrase "The Wen Xuan's rot makes good scholars not" became common. Throughout the Yuan Dynasty
, Ming Dynasty
, and Qing Dynasty
, study of the Wen Xuan progressed very little from where it was in the Tang Dynasty.
The first English translation was published by Professor David Knechtges
of the University of Washington
in 1996, and contains the first 18 of the 60 sections. Professor Knechtges is (as of May 2010) nearing retirement but continues to work on the translation.
and Tang Dynasty helped promote the Wen Xuan until it became the focus of an entire branch of literature study: Cao Xian produced a work entitled Wen Xuan Yinyi (English
: "Readings and Meaning in the Wen Xuan"), and the others - who were his students - each produced their own annotations to the collection. Of these, Li Shan's, which was published during Emperor Gaozong of Tang
's Xianqing reign period (AD 656
- 661
), was considered the most authoritative.
During Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
's Kaiyuan reign period (AD 713
- 741
), court officials Lü Yanji, Liu Liang, Zhang Xian, Lü Xiang, and Li Zhouhan produced the Annotations of the Five Officials. Their work was simpler and less complex than Li Shan's earlier work but was not officially adopted by academics of the day.
Published during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song
, in the second lunar month of 1094, the Youzhou Prefecture Study Book contained the first compilation of the annotations of both the Five Officials and Li Shan. The later Annotations of the Six Scholars edition (i.e. the Five Officials and Li Shan), such as Guang Dupei's woodblock
printing and the Mingzhou printing was the most well-known edition of the Youzhou book. Another edition, called the Annotations of the Six Officials, which had Ganzhou and Jianzhou versions, was based on the Six Scholars edition but altered the ordering of certain sections.
During Emperor Xiaozong of Song
's Chunxi reign period (AD 1174 - 1189), poet You Mao printed a version of Li Shan's annotations that had a lasting impact on later readers.
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty
(1796 - 1820), official Hu Kejia produced a collated and textually critical edition entitled Kao Yi (English
: "A Study of the Differences"). This edition became the basis for most modern printings of the Wen Xuan, such as the Zhonghua Book Company's 1977 edition and the Shanghai Ancient Text Publishing 1986 edition.
Pre-Republic
. Admired for its beauty, many terms from the Wen Xuan made their way into Japanese
as loanwords and are still used.
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
, though the verse it contains is all from the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
, Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
, and later. It was compiled around AD 520
520
Year 520 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Vitalianus...
during the Southern Dynasty by Xiao Tong
Xiao Tong
Xiao Tong , courtesy name Deshi , formally Crown Prince Zhaoming , later further posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty...
, the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang
Emperor Wu of Liang
Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
, and a group of scholars he had assembled. After Xiao Tong's death he was given the posthumous name Zhao Ming 昭明 (Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
: "outstanding", "remarkable"), and so the collection came to be known as the "Zhao Ming Wen Xuan". It is composed of 60 sections, each containing a different form or type of poetry.
Study of the Wen Xuan rivalled that of the Five Classics during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
and enjoyed incredible popularity. By the Northern Song Dynasty, however, attitudes had shifted, and the phrase "The Wen Xuan's rot makes good scholars not" became common. Throughout the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, and Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, study of the Wen Xuan progressed very little from where it was in the Tang Dynasty.
The first English translation was published by Professor David Knechtges
David R. Knechtges
David R. Knechtges is an American sinologist and professor in the University of Washington's Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, and an expert on Chinese literature of the Han Dynasty and Six Dynasties period....
of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1996, and contains the first 18 of the 60 sections. Professor Knechtges is (as of May 2010) nearing retirement but continues to work on the translation.
Annotations
The first annotations to the Wen Xuan appeared sixty to seventy years after its publication and were produced by Xiao Tong's nephew Xiao Gai. Cao Xian, Xu Yan, Li Shan, Gongsun Luo, and other scholars of the late Sui DynastySui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
and Tang Dynasty helped promote the Wen Xuan until it became the focus of an entire branch of literature study: Cao Xian produced a work entitled Wen Xuan Yinyi (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "Readings and Meaning in the Wen Xuan"), and the others - who were his students - each produced their own annotations to the collection. Of these, Li Shan's, which was published during Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
's Xianqing reign period (AD 656
656
Year 656 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 656 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Battle of Bassorah between Ali and Aisha,...
- 661
661
Year 661 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 661 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Perctarit and Godepert become co-rulers of...
), was considered the most authoritative.
During Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
's Kaiyuan reign period (AD 713
713
Year 713 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 713 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Byzantine Emperor Philippicus is...
- 741
741
Year 741 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 741 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Carloman, Pippin the Short and Grifo succeed...
), court officials Lü Yanji, Liu Liang, Zhang Xian, Lü Xiang, and Li Zhouhan produced the Annotations of the Five Officials. Their work was simpler and less complex than Li Shan's earlier work but was not officially adopted by academics of the day.
Published during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song
Emperor Zhezong of Song
Emperor Zhezong was the seventh emperor of the Song Dynasty of China. His personal name was Zhao4 Xu1. He reigned from 1085 to 1100....
, in the second lunar month of 1094, the Youzhou Prefecture Study Book contained the first compilation of the annotations of both the Five Officials and Li Shan. The later Annotations of the Six Scholars edition (i.e. the Five Officials and Li Shan), such as Guang Dupei's woodblock
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
printing and the Mingzhou printing was the most well-known edition of the Youzhou book. Another edition, called the Annotations of the Six Officials, which had Ganzhou and Jianzhou versions, was based on the Six Scholars edition but altered the ordering of certain sections.
During Emperor Xiaozong of Song
Emperor Xiaozong of Song
Emperor Xiaozong was the eleventh emperor of the Song Dynasty of China, and the second emperor of the Southern Song. His personal name was Zhao Shen. He reigned from 1162 to 1189. His temple name means "Filial Ancestor"....
's Chunxi reign period (AD 1174 - 1189), poet You Mao printed a version of Li Shan's annotations that had a lasting impact on later readers.
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1796 - 1820), official Hu Kejia produced a collated and textually critical edition entitled Kao Yi (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "A Study of the Differences"). This edition became the basis for most modern printings of the Wen Xuan, such as the Zhonghua Book Company's 1977 edition and the Shanghai Ancient Text Publishing 1986 edition.
Pre-RepublicRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
Wen Xuan Editions
- Sui DynastySui DynastyThe Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
- Xiao Gai, Wen Xuan Yi
- Tang DynastyTang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
- Cao Xian, Wen Xuan Yin Yi
- Song DynastySong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
- Youzhou Prefecture Study Book, 60 sections
- Guang Dupei (Six Scholars), 60 sections
- Mingzhou (Six Scholars), 60 sections
- Ganzhou (Six Officials), 60 sections
- Jianzhou (Six Officials), 60 sections
- Wu Junyuan (Six Officials), 60 sections
- Cha Lingchen (Six Officials), 60 sections
- You Mao (Li Shan), 60 sections
- Liu Ban, Wen Xuan Lei Lin
- Gao Sisun, Wen Xuan Ju Tu
- Yuan DynastyYuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
- Fang HuiFang HuiFang Hui was a scholar of the late Song and early Yuan dynasties from Huizhou's 徽州 She4 歙 county , who lived from 1227 to 1307....
, Wen Xuan Yan Bao Xie Shi Ping
- Fang Hui
- Ming DynastyMing DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
- Wang Xianggan, Wen Xuan Shan Zhu
- Chen Yujiao, Wen Xuan Zhang Ju
- Liu Lü, Wen Xuan Bu Zhu
- Ling Dizhi, Wen Xuan Jin Zi
- Hu Huanwen, Wen Xuan Cui Yu
- Qing DynastyQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
- Hang Shijun, Wen Xuan Ke Xu
- Shi Yunyu, Wen Xuan Bian Zhu
- Xu Bin, Wen Xuan Ji Ye
- Hong Ruogan, Wen Xuan Yue Cai
- Wu Zhan, Xuan Shi Ding Lun
- Dong Zhengyang, Wen Xuan Ji Lü
- Liang Zhangju, Wen Xuan Pang Zheng, 46 sections
- Wang Shihan, Wen Xuan Li Xue Quan Yu, 8 sections
- Sun Zhizu, Wen Xuan Li Xue Quan Yu Bu, 1 section
- Zhang Yun'ao, Xuan Xue Jiao Yan, 20 sections
- Zhu Jian, Wen Xuan Ji Shi, 14 sections
- Hu Shaoying, Wen Xuan Jian Zheng, 30 sections
- Xu Xunxing, Wen Xuan Bi Ji, 8 sections
- He Zhuo, Yi Men Du Shu Ji, 5 sections
- Chen Jingyun, Wen Xuan Ju Zheng, 6 sections
- Yu Guanghua, Wen Xuan Ji Ping, 15 sections
- Hu Kejia, Kao Yi
Influence in Japan
The Wen Xuan was transmitted to Japan sometime after its initial publication and had become required reading for the Japanese aristocracy by the Heian periodHeian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
. Admired for its beauty, many terms from the Wen Xuan made their way into Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as loanwords and are still used.