Zhanyuan jingyu 湛淵靜語

Zhanyuan jingyu 湛淵靜語 "Serene talks from profound [yet clear] depths" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Yuan period 元 (1276-1368) by Bai Ting 白珽 (1248-1328), courtesy name Tingyu 廷玉, style Zhanyuan 湛淵 or Qixia Shanren 棲霞山人, from Qiantang 錢塘 (today part of Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang). When the Mongols took over the Song empire 宋 (960-1279), Bai served as vice magistrate of Anfeng 安豐, but he first refused to serve the Yuan dynasty, and dedicated his life to studies of literature. He once travelled to the capital Dadu 大都 (present-day Beijing), where he was recommended by Li Yan 李衍 for the appointment as Confucian instructor second-class (ru xuezheng 儒學正) in the route of Taiping 太平路, where he established the Tianmen Academy 天門書院 and the Caishi Academy 采石書院. He was then transferred to Changzhou 常州 as Confucian instructor (ruxue jiaoshou 儒學教授) and then made vice supervisor of Confucian schools (ruxue fu tiju 儒學副提舉) of Jiang-Zhe 江浙. His career continued with the function of Grand Commissioner for Salt and Granaries in (yancang dashi 鹽倉大使) in Huai-Dong 淮東, and finally administrative assistant (panguan 判官) in the prefecture of Lanxi 蘭溪州. Bai's collected writings are called Zhanyuan ji 湛淵集.

The book includes notes about the many discussions Bai Ting had with his guests in Hangzhou. The transmitted 2 juan only make out a fragment of the original text. The book is a miscellany of various topics, wide-ranging in scope, with much of value. For example, at the very beginning is a poem bestowed by Emperor Lizong 宋理宗 (r. 1224-1264) upon Lin Xiyi 林希逸 (1193-1271), which was not included in Li E's 厲鄂 (1692-1752) poetry critique Songshi jishi 宋詩紀事. There is also a perceptive analysis of Rao Shuangfeng's 饒雙峰 (i.e., Rao Lu 饒魯; 1193—1264) discussion on the Five Agents (wuxing 五行) in the Shangshu 尚書 chapter Hongfan 洪範, and a particularly detailed account of the old imperial palace in Bianjing 汴京 (Kaifeng 開封), which serves as a valuable reference. Bai also records a discussion about Ni Si's 倪思 (1147-1220) thought on Sima Guang's 司馬光 (1019-1086) critique Yi Meng 疑孟, in which he argues that Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086), citing Mengzi's 孟子 advocacy of "bold action" (da you wei zhi 大有為之), sought to have Emperor Shenzong 宋神宗 (r. 1067-1085) emulate and revere him. In response, Sima Guang wrote this work to show that Mengzi could not be entirely trusted. This explanation is not found in other books.

The book also contains points open to debate. For example, it identifies the expression "bright bronze bowl" (jiaoran tongwan 皎然銅碗) as referring to Fang Guan 房琯 (696-763) in the "Song of the Dragon's chant" (Longyin ge 龍吟歌), a claim not found in any poetic sources — yet Li He's 李賀 (790-816) collected works, Changgu ji 昌谷集, actually include a pseudo-version of the Longyin ge. It attributes authorship of the dictionary Kuangmiu zhengsu 匡謬正俗) to Yan Zhenqing 顏真卿 (709-785), unaware that it was written by Yan Shigu 顏師古 (581-645). The analysis of "Chang Xi's lunar divination" (Chang Xi zhan yue 常羲占月) is borrowed from Shi Shengzu's 史繩祖 (1192-1274) Xuezhai zhanbi 學齋占畢. These examples reveal occasional lapses or uncritical borrowings. Nonetheless, on the whole, the book offers much of value and can serve as a useful resource for those studying literature or history.

The book is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Wulin wangzhe yizhu 武林往哲遺著 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.