The Bibliography Study Of The Compilation Of Words And Deeds Of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers

A Compilation of Words and Deeds of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers(duri ng the period from the reign of Emperor Taizu to the reign of Emperor Huizong)is the first masterpiece featuring“The Compilation of Words and Deeds Style ”compiled by Chu Hsi,a great scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty(1127-1279)in 1172 during Xiao zong reign of Southern Song Dynasty.Chu Hsi compiled this book with the purpose of “promoting orthodox thought”in the hope that current emperors and ministers can use this book to learn the present from the past and reflect themselves from others.He selected 104 famous ministers from the Northern Song Dynasty from a unique perspective,and recorded them in this Compilation,showing the 160-year history of the Northern Song Dynasty through their remarkable deeds.All the biographies of these celebrities are written in such ways as the components of brief biography,main body and annotation added totally by Chu Hsi to the original texts drawn verbatim from where they were recorded.The records of their deeds are described methodically by quoting about 200 documents,including notes,collections of literature,inscriptions and miscellaneous biographies in the Northern Song Dynasty,which are unique in genres and examples as well as factbased and rhetoric.As such,this book is reputed as “The Compilation of Words and Deeds Style” for its originality in pooling all of those eminent ministers in Song Dynasty.This Style has been identified,its pattern constructed and its thought formed since this book came out.And series of history books of its kind since the Song Dynasty have been created after Chu Hsi's first making of this immortal classic masterpiece.This masterpiece has formed different versions throughout many dynasties.From the Southern Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties,there were mainly two edition systems of “Details and a Brief Outline”.One is the earliest version of the book currently seen,which is the Southern Song Dynasty “Chunxi Edition”;the other is the most widely known version,the “Li Heng Correction Edition”;they both have their own features and value.In addition,there is also a version that has been ignored by the academic circles,namely the New Compilation of Words and Deeds of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers(during the period from the reign of Emperor Taizu to the reign of Emperor Gaozong),or the “New Compilation Edition”.The study has showed that this new compilation collected by the National Library of China has the same main content as the Chu Hsi's compilation with some information added or subtracted.We can conclude that they are the same book but different versions in terms of form and arrangement of lines in characters and patterns and Chu Hsi's compilation is the early version.This new compilation is new to the current system of the Compilation of Words and Deeds of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers,which is a newly discovered version of Chu hsi's work.The discovery of this new edition not only contributes to the collation and study of the edition system,but also fills the gaps in “Chunxi Text”,which conduces to emendation.This Compilation is a literature of paramount significance to quote and collate the Northern Song books and records,research the people in the Northern Song Dynasty and prove the historical facts.It is initially estimated that 2151 documents have been quoted and marked with their origins.The entire book totals approximately329,000 characters.There are 215 kinds of documents that can be accurately counted,among which 120 above are individual articles,such as “The Compilation of Words and Deeds Style”,the Inscription on a Holy Way stele,Memorial to the Throne,the Brief Biographical Sketch of a Deceased Person,Preface,Inscriptive ridings,the Epitaph and others,and nearly 90 books stem from literary sketches,ana,family biographies,individual works,sylloge,unofficial history and the like.Besides,the statistics also come from the literature that have already been missing,such as Zhi History,Jing Gong Analects,Memorabilia of Fan Taishi,The Compilation of Words and Deeds of Fan Zhongxuan,History of Mount Penglai,The Chronicle,Zheng Yao Between Emperor Renzong and His Ministers and so on.In addition,some books that are scattered today also were cited,like the Jade Pot Qinghua,Chronicle In East Study,Memorabilia of Han Weigong,Yang Wengong's quotations,Lu's Chronicle,Memorabilia of Jinpo.This book has conducted some research about some incomplete books and documents from which this compilation quoted and has sorted out about 380 major articles and 85 examples in order to prove its very value of quotations.This classic spread wide and far and served as a book which reference books,miscellaneous compilation,collected works,notes as well as local records quoted from.Its has become a required book of public schools and private collection and also used as corroborating historical facts and correcting and compiling other books by ancient scholars.It has been reputed as a classic for scholars to learn social and historical knowledge and at the same time to improve officials' ability in dealings and self-cultivation.The Compilation of Words and Deeds of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers has a strong story,easy to read,and shows the importance of spreading Chu Hsi's ideas and thoughts.The Compilation of Words and Deeds of Prominent Song Dynasty Ministers,because of its many advantages,the impact of the development of the times,and the authority of Chu Hsi's ideas and thoughts,it gradually become a classic,widespread,far-reaching and popular.