Dongyuanlu 東原錄

Dongyuanlu 東原錄 "Records of the East Plain" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) of 1 juan length and written during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126) by Gong Dingchen 龔鼎臣 (1010-1087), courtesy name Fuzhi 輔之, from Yunzhou 鄆州 (today's Dongping 東平, Shandong).

He obtained the jinshi degree in 1034 and was imperial diarist (qiju sheren 起居舍人), Grand Master of Remonstrance (jianyi dafu 諫議大夫), ministerial vice director in the Ministry of Revenue (hubu yuanwailang 戶部員外郎) 兼侍御史知雜事, pacification commissioner (anfushi 安撫使) of the Eastern Route of Jingdong 京東東路, prefect of Qingzhou 青州, Grand Minister in the Palace (dazhong dafu 大中大夫), administrator of the Palace of Utmost Purity (Taiqing Gong 太清宮) of Bozhou 毫州 and finally Grand Master for Proper Consultation (zhengyi dafu 正議大夫).

This book is a textual analysis and exegesis while also touching on miscellaneous topics. Many of its textual examinations offer insightful interpretations. For example, it explains that the expression ding jin xuan 鼎金鉉 in the Yijing 易經 "Book of Changes" corresponds to ding jiong 鼎扃 in the ritual Classic Yili 儀禮; it interprets the phrase sheng zhong yu tian 升中于天 (ch. Liqi 禮器) in the Liji 禮記 as equivalent to the phrase min shou tiandi zhi zhong, yi sheng zhi zhong 民受天地之中以生 in the chronicle Zuozhuan 左傳 (Chenggong 成公 13); and it corrects the interpretation of a line from the Yangzi fayan 揚子法言 about jade polishing, proving through Tang-era 唐 (618-907) encyclopedias demonstrating that Li Gui's 李軌 (583-619) annotation to the Fayan was based on a mistaken text.

Additionally, the book provides other critical insights: it clarifies that a commentary phrase on the Houhanshu 後漢書 quoting the Qianfulun 潛夫論, namely hua guo zhi ri 化國之日, was a textual alteration (hua instead of zhi 治) made by Crown Prince Zhanghuai 章懷太子 (655-684) to avoid using Emperor Gaozong's 唐高宗 (r. 649-683) tabooed personal name (Li Zhi 李治). It explains that Ma Rong's 馬融 (79-166 CE) phrase yiyue san jia 軼越三家 refers to the "Three Kings" rather than three "families". It cites the account of Zisang Bozi 子桑伯子 in the Shuoyuan 說苑 to demonstrate omissions in Wang Su's 王肅 (195-256) annotations. It references the Treatise on Geography (28 Dili zhi 地理志) in the Hanshu 漢書, which mentions boiling jujubes (zhu zao 煮棗), to reveal an oversight in Yan Shigu's 顏師古 (581-645) commentary. It draws on Wang Bi's 王弼 (226-249) identification in his Lunyu zhushu 論語注疏 of Zigong 子弓 (c. 250 BCE) with the recluse Zhu Zhang 朱張. The Dongyuanlu thus exposes an error in Yang Liang's 楊倞 (c. 800) annotation of the Xunzi 荀子. It highlights an incorrect annotation of the word bian 卞 as "inverted" by both Gao You 高誘 (d. 212 CE) and the Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋. Lastly, it discusses Yin Zhongkan's 殷仲堪 (d. 399) essay Tianshenglun 天聖論 and its connection to Emperor Renzong's 宋仁宗 (r. 1022-1063) era name (Tiansheng 天聖, 1023-1032), debunking the interpretation that interprets the phrase er ren sheng 二人聖 as speaking of two separate individuals.

The book also cites the Jizhongji 汲冢記 to argue that the tomb of Tang the Perfect 成湯 was in Hedong, thereby refuting Liu Xiang's 劉向 (79-8 or 77-6 BCE) claim. It records various miscellaneous historical anecdotes, such as Emperor Taizong 宋太宗 (r. 976-997) composing poetry for presented scholars; Emperor Taizu 宋太祖 (r. 960-975) responding to Zhao Pu's 趙普 (922-992) letter regarding Wang Renshan 王仁贍 (917-982); Taizu's visit to the Lingjin Courtyard 綾錦院, where he admonished Liang Zhouhan 梁周翰 (929-1009); the existence of a complete version of the book Zhengshi shipu 鄭氏詩譜, contrasting it with the incomplete copy obtained from Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007-1072); and Wen Yanbo's 文彥博 (1006-1097) ancestral hall, which was not built in the typical seven-bay style but instead followed the old Tang-era model of Du Qigong's 杜岐公 residence. These accounts provide valuable references for further study.

However, the book is not without its debatable points. For instance, it claims that the Shangshu 尚書 "Book of Documents" was not a initially a hundred chapters long, asserting that Confucius preserved the chapter Ganshi 甘誓 to emphasize the principle of father-son succession and retained the chapter Pan Geng 盤庚 as a cautionary tale about relocating a capital—arguments that are difficult to substantiate. Gong's Dongyuanlu also appears to be the earliest source to propose that the chapter Hongfan 洪範 suffered from textual misarrangement, which is a highly questionable assertion. Overall, however, this book remains a commendable work of textual criticism, offering valuable material for scholarly reference.

The book is found in the series Yihai zhuchen 藝海珠塵, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Hanhai 函海, Shiwanjuanlou congshu 十萬卷樓叢書, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 and Songren xiaoshuo 宋人小說.