Title

Two Modes of Historically Interpretive Writing in Northern Song Biji: A Discussion Centered on Ouyang Xiu’s Guitian lu and Su Che’s Longchuan biezhi

Author

Lee Chen-hui

Genre

Article

Pages

343-385

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202103_51(2).0004

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

biji 筆記, Guitian lu 歸田錄, Longchuan biezhi 龍川別志, Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修, Su Che 蘇轍

Abstract

Ouyang Xiu’s 歐陽修 Guitian lu 歸田錄 and Su Che’s 蘇轍 Longchuan biezhi 龍川別志 were written after their retirement from the official bureaucracy. Both biji 筆記 sought to supplement history, however they employed different understandings and methods of composition to achieve this goal. The entries in the Guitian lu mainly recorded matters related to the bureaucratic system as well as anecdotes and trivia concerning ministers and famous scholars. Although the text is full of humorous stories and miscellanies, Ouyang Xiu also used the work as a vehicle for deploying more serious historical techniques such as the creation of archetypal characters and the use of hujian 互見 to link together different works to produce an interpretive framework that revealed his personal opinion or criticism. In contrast, the Longchuan biezhi mainly focused on important political events before the middle of the Northern Song. In the text, Su demonstrated his knowledge and judgment of contemporary historical events. He moreover filled in lacunae and explicated ambiguous passages found in official histories as well as the inscriptions, biji and other historical materials produced by his predecessors. The deliberate method of organizing materials and the excellent argumentative techniques that Su exhibited in the Longchuan biezhi not only established a new model for historical interpretation in the Northern Song, they also constituted an important development in Song prose.