Yujian 寓簡

Yujian 寓簡 "Notes from [my] studio" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) of 10 juan length written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Shen Zuozhe 沈作喆 (fl. 1147), courtesy name Mingyuan 明遠, style Yushan 寓山, from Huzhou 湖州 (in today's Zhejiang province). He was the nephew of Chief Counsellor Shen Gai 沈該. He obtained the jinshi degree in 1135 and was left court gentleman consultant (zuo fengyilang 左奉議郎) and then office manager of the fiscal commission (caosi ganguan 漕司幹官) of the route of Jiangxi 江西. when the peace treaty between the Song and Jin 金 (1115-1234) empires was first established, land and residences were granted to generals. Shen Zuozhe wrote a memorial of gratitude on behalf of Yue Fei 岳飛 (1103-1142), which offended Qin Hui 秦檜 (1091-1155). This proves that Shen was part of Yue Fei's military staff. He also claimed to have held an official position in Weiyang 維揚, though the specific role remains unknown. The preface of Shen's book is dated 1174, which suggests that the book was written after he had been dismissed from office.

In addition to the Yujian, Shen wrote another book titled Jiyi 己意 "Personal insights", which is lost. His collected writings are called Yulin ji 寓林集 or Yushan ji 寓山集, but this work has also been lost. The only surviving fragment of his poetry is the "Song of the fan-makers" (Fangong ge 扇工歌), which is preserved in Zhou Hui's 周輝 (1126-1198) Qingbo zazhi 清波雜志.

The book consists of categorised records. The first entry discusses admonition through ancient poetry, carrying a profound meaning. In his interpretation of the expression Di Yi gui mei 帝乙歸妹 "King Di Yi's [rule about the] marriage of his younger sister" in the Yijing 易經 hexagram Tai 泰, he argued that a ruler's virtue should be on par with that of an emperor, enabling the proper regulation of human relations - an unconventional view. His interpretation of the final hexagram, Weiji 未濟, aligned with Daoist principles of continuous transformation—stating that true movement does not return, and if it returns, it ceases to move. He also connected this to Buddhist ideas of dwelling neither in non-action nor clinging to action. Shen Zuozhe interpreted the Yijing through the lens of Buddhist and Daoist teachings, reflecting the gradual convergence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

His analysis of the "Taiyi movement through the Nine Palaces" (taiyi xing jiugong 太乙行九宮) found in the apocryphal classic Qianzaodu 乾鑿度 traced the method's origins back to the medical canon Huang Di Suwen 黃帝素問, demonstrating his ability to uncover the fundamental sources of esoteric doctrines. Shen asserted that the Five Agents were essential to practical governance, as they regulated the calendar, seasonal cycles, and movements of qi 氣 ("breath", "ether"), each being indispensable.

Regarding Shao Yong's 邵雍 (1011-1077) Huangji jingshi 皇極經世, he critiqued Shao's numeriological system, which incorporated Yang Xiong's 揚雄 (53 BCE-18 CE) four-number method but altered it by adding the concept of absolute nonexistence while removing the notion of inherent existence. Shen argued that this modification was inconsistent with ancient traditions, demonstrating his ability to discern forced interpretations within numerological theories.

Shen also offered critical assessments of classical interpretations. He pointed out that Liu Chang's 劉敞 (1019-1068) commentaries on the Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals" with the interpretation of Nanmen 南門 as an act of usurping the emperor's authority was actually derived from Lu Guimeng's 陸龜蒙 (d. c. 881) inscription Liangguan ming 兩觀銘. Shen argued that Zilu's 子路 (542-480) "tying his sash" (jie ying 結纓) occurred two years after the capture of the fabulous Qilin 麒麟, making the statement attributed to Confucius on the "unicorn" in the "Gongyang Commentary" (Gongyangzhuan 公羊傳) inaccurate. Shen contested Su Shi's 蘇軾 (1037-1101) reading of the Lunyu 論語 "Confucian Analects", asserting that "worrying about gain" (huan de zhi 患得之) should actually be read as "worrying about not gaining" (huan bu de zhi 患不得之), using Han Yu's 韓愈 (768-824) Wuzhe Wang Chengfu zhuan 圬者王承福傳 as evidence, demonstrating that this was the original meaning.

Furthermore, Shen clarified that the family name of Yang Xiong should follow the radical "hand" (扌) instead of "tree" (木), thus rejecting Yang Xiu's 楊修 (175-219) claim to be a descendant of Yang Xiong. Lastly, he corrected a historical mistake in the collected works of Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773-819), noting that Liu's memorial of gratitude to the throne mentioned Yu Di 于頔 (d. 818) staying in Xiangyang 襄陽, despite the fact that Yu had already left Xiangyang two years prior.

The editions in the series Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 are arranged in 10 juan; the Shuofu 說郛 (Wanwei Shantang 宛委山堂 edition) and Gujin shuobu congshu 古今說部叢書 include excerpts of 1 juan, and the Jiuxiaoshuo 舊小說 only includes five fragments. The widespread Zhibuzuzhai edition includes an appendix with quotations from Zhou Hui's 周煇 (1126-1198) Qingbo biezhi 清波別志 and Wei Ju'an's 韋居安 (jinshi 1268) Meijian shihua 梅磵詩話.