Yigou 藝彀

Yigou 藝彀 "Mastery of the arts" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Deng Bogao 鄧伯羔 (c. 1550), courtesy name Ruxiao 孺孝, from Changzhou 常州, Jiangsu.

He was initially interested in the Classics study from the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE), but later turned to literary composition. In his later years, he devoted himself to the "Six Arts", with particular expertise in the Yijing 易經 "Book of Changes". The gist of his studies can be found in his books Gu Yi quan 古易詮 and Jin Yi quan 今易詮.

His book Yigou with a length of 3 juan and a supplement of 1 fascicle is a detailed examination of classical texts, carefully studying and verifying older writings. Although it largely draws from previous works, it is distinguished by its extensive citations and insightful analysis. For instance, the author questions whether there were two different figures named Mou Rong 牟融 (d. 79 CE) in the Han dynasty; he argues that the famous Chushibiao 出師表 of Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮 (181-234) originally existed in two versions. The Yigou demonstrates meticulous philological analysis, such as using Ban Gu's 班固 (32-92 CE) rhapsody Xijing fu 西京賦 and the statecraft encyclopaedia Tang liudian 唐六典 to differentiate between specific characters. The book also refutes the absurd claims made by the Su Shi 蘇軾 (Su Dongpo 蘇東坡. 1037-1101) regarding the Taowu 檮杌 (a mythical beast associated with chaos) and corrects Shao Yong's 邵雍 (1011-1077) improper reference to "outer ministers" (waichen 外臣). However, despite its strengths, the work is not without some mistakes.

The text can be found in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.