Jingzhai gutou 敬齋古黈

Jingzhai gutou 敬齋古黈 "Old drafts from the Studio of Reverence" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Yuan period 元 (1276-1368) by Li Ye 李冶 (1192-1279; sometimes wrongly called Li Zhi 李治), courtesy name Renqing 仁卿, style Jingzhai 敬齋, from Luancheng 欒城 in the prefecture of Zhending 真定 (in today's Hebei province). He is known better for his geometry book Ceyuan haijing 測圓海鏡.

The original size of the Jingzhai gutou was 40 juan, but only 8 juan survive, which include discussions on texts from the four traditional literary categories (sibu 四部). Li Zhi provides detailed analysis and verification to support his arguments, with sharp and precise language, offering exhaustive and well-rounded explanations.

In his treatment of the Classics, Li Ye synthesises various Confucian commentaries from the Han 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) and Tang 唐 (618-907) up to the Song period 宋 (960-1279), incorporating the views of scholars like the brothers Cheng (Cheng Hao 程顥, 1032-1085, and Cheng Yi 程頤, 1033-1107) and Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200), adopting a balanced and integrative approach without bias. In his discussions of history and philosophical works, he critiques the errors found in historical records by eminent historians, and also corrects the mistakes in the annotations by commentators. In his literary criticism, his examination of the differences and similarities in interpretations, as well as the changes in literary form, is exceptionally careful and discerning.

Li argues that an overly rigid interpretation of the Classics and historical texts will fail, but flexibility will help to clarify the meaning. For instance, the analysis of an account in the Shiji 史記 regarding the figure Weizi 微子, who is depicted as bound with a rope, holding a sheep in his left hand and a bundle of straw in his right, Li clarifies that the Shiji is correct, while Kong Yingda's 孔穎達 (574-648) Zhengyi 正義 commentary mistakenly refutes this statement. Li also examines the interpretation of an expression in the dialect of the state of Zheng (Zhengyujing 經 "classic" is identified as referring to the capital (jing 京), and Kai 姟 (a place name) is taken to mean gai 垓 "boundary", arguing that Wei Zhao's 韋昭 (201-273) interpretation of jing as the "standard" (chang 常) is incorrect.

The book also provides clarifications on various historical texts. For example, it corrects the Shiji when it describes the conflict between the Ou 甌 and Luo 駱 tribes, arguing that it should instead refer to the conflict between the Min 閩 and Yue 越 peoples. Li corrects the Weizhi 魏志 (the first part of the Shanguozhi 三國志) regarding the "measuring of land," explaining that it refers to the Suanjing 算經, a book of mathematical techniques, and its method of establishing the geometric square. It also criticizes the Wuzhi 吳志 part of the Sanguozhi for referring to Sun Quan's 孫權 (182-252) communication with Heaven, stating that it is inappropriate by addressing the Supreme Deity as "you" (er 爾), which is overly colloquial.

Additionally, it points out that in the Daxue 大學, the term xieju 絜矩 (measuring standards) is used in the transmitted edition, but the version used by Li Ye seems to have said xiedu 絜度 (measuring degree), and his version also reads xie wei shu 絜圍束 "measuring the boundary or range". In Su Shi's 蘇軾 (Su Dongpo 蘇東坡, 1037-1101) Chibi fu 赤壁賦 "Rhapsody on the Red Cliff", the current edition reads "and I with you shall go" (wu yu zi zhi suo gong shi 吾與子之所共適), while Li Ye's version read "we shall eat together" (gong shi 共食), and he argues that the current edition mistakenly uses "enjoy together" (gong le 共樂) instead. These examples further expand our understanding of textual differences.

The descriptive bibliography Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 四庫全書總目提要 refers to some of these discussions as "inclining toward peculiar theories and presenting unusual interpretations. In fact, as a work of individual opinion, the Jingzhai gutou need not be overly criticized. It does occasionally contain some oversights, but overall, the book remains a carefully scrutinized work of textual research. It remains a valuable resource for studying the Classics, history, and culture.

The surviving fragments of the Jingzhai gutou were compiled from quotations in the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) encylcopaedia Yongle dadian 永樂大典. The Qing scholar Lu Xinyuan 陸心源 (1838-1894) later compiled a collection titled Jingzhai gujin tou shiyi 敬齋古今黈拾遺, which can also be consulted as a reference. The text of 8 juan included in the series Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書, Haishanxianguan congshu 海山仙館叢書, Jifu congshu 畿輔叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編. In the collection Ouxiang lingshi 藕香零拾, Li's book is called Jingzhai gujin tou 敬齋古今黈 and arranged into 12 juan, with 2 fascicles of "fragments" (Yiwen 逸文), and an appendix.