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Ganzhuji 紺珠集 "Collection of purple beads" is a collection of stories compiled by an anonymous author of the Tang period 唐 (618-907). According to the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) bibliography Junzhai dushu zhi 郡齋讀書志, the 13-juan-long book was said to be a compilation of Zhu Shengfei 朱勝非 (1082-1144), but Chao Gongwu 晁公武 (1105-1180), author of the book catalogue, doubts this.
According to an old saying there was a certain Zhang Yangong 張燕公 (Zhang Yue 張説), who owned a string of purple beads (ganzhu 紺珠), with the help of which he was able to remember everything without noting it down in a notebook.
The book begins with a preface written by Wang Zongzhe 王宗哲, magistrate (ling 令) of Guanyang 灌陽, and dated 1137. Wang says that he did not know when and by whom the book was written, but the dates of life of Zhu Shengfei are known precisely. It might, therefore, be that the text of the Ganzhuji found its first form earlier than the Song period.
| 金麥銀粟 | Gold wheat and silver millet |
|---|---|
| 咸通中，同昌公主下降珍寳之盛，無與為比。其異者金麥銀粟，連珠帳，卻寒簾，犀簟，牙席，蠲忿犀，如意玉，九鸞釵，辟邪香之類。 | During the Xiantong reign-period (860-873), Princess Tongchang handed down unparalleled treasures. The most outstanding among them were a screen of joint pearls, a curtain holding away frost, a mat of rhino horn, a seat-mat of ivory, a horn mitigating anger, an "as-you-wish" jade, a nine-phoenix hairpin and incense repelling demons. |
| 九花虯 | The nine-flower dragonlet |
| 代宗時，范陽節度使李徳山，貢馬額高九寸，毛拳如麐，以身被九花紋，故號九花虯。後賜郭子儀，旌殊勳也. | During the reign of Emperor Daizong 唐代宗 (r. 762-779), Li Deshan 李徳山, the military commissioner of Fanyang 范陽, presented a horse whose front was nine-inches high, and whose hairs were curled like that of a unicorn. Because its fur had the pattern of nine flowers, it was called "nine-flower dragonlet". Later on, it was presented to Guo Ziyi 郭子儀 (697-781) as a figurehead of his outstanding merits. |
| 軟玉鞭 | The whip of soft jade |
| 天寶中，異國獻軟玉鞭，屈之首尾相就舒之，則勁直如繩。乃以聯蟬繡帛為袋，碧蠶絲為鞘。碧蠶絲者，彌羅國所貢，自然碧色，縱之一尺引之一丈。 | During the Tianbao reign-period (742-755), a foreign country presented as tribute a whip of soft jade. When bending it, both ends turned back to a straight shape, just like a rope. [The court had it] enclosed in a bag of cloth embroidered with joint cicadas, and in a sheath of green silk. This green silk was a tribute from Kashmere, with naturally green colour, and a length of 1 feet to 1 fathom. |
| 詰多珠 | The jieduo pearls |
| 大歷中，日林國獻靈光豆，形類中國菉豆，色紅而光芒，長數尺有餘，又名詰多珠。同石菖蒲煮之，即大如鵝卵，食之甚美，可數日不飢。 | During the Dali reign-period (766-779), the country of Rilin presented "beans of numinous radiance". They had the shape like green beans in the Middle Kingdom, but were red, and emanated a radiance into a distance of several feet and more. They were also called jieduo pearls. When cooked with Japanese rush (Acorus gramineus), they became as large as goose eggs, had a good taste, and made full for several days. |
| 龍角釵 | The dragon-horn hairpin |
| 亦日林國所獻釵玉紺色刻蛟龍形。帝以賜獨孤妃。一日，帝與妃同遊龍池，有紫雲自釵上起，命置掌中，以水噴之，須臾化龍，去。 | It was also presented by the country of Rilin a hairpin of purple jade encarved with the shape of a dragon. The Emperor made it a present to Consort Dugu. One day, the Emperor and his consort visited the Dragon Pond, and a purple cloud rose above the hairpin. [The Emperor] ordered her to put it into her hand. Water sputtered out of it, and in an instant, it turned into a dragon, and disappeared. |
The arrangement of the text is similar to Zeng Zao's 曾慥 (early 12th cent.) collection Leishuo 類說, but it quotes only half as much books as the latter, and many different books than the Leishuo. The Ganzhuji can, therefore, serve as an exciting source of stories from ancient times.
It is to be found in the series Baijinglou congshu 拜經樓叢書 and Siku quanshu 四庫全書.