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Luoyang jinshen jiuwen ji 洛陽搢紳舊聞記

Oct 19, 2013 © Ulrich Theobald

Luoyang jinshen jiuwen ji 洛陽搢紳舊聞記 "Hearsay about the scholar-officials of Luoyang" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Zhang Qixian 張齊賢, courtesy name Shiliang 師亮, from Caozhou 曹州 (today's Caoxian 曹縣, Shandong). His highest office was manager of affairs (pingzhangshi 平章事) of the Palace Secretariat (zhongshusheng 中書省) and the Chancellery (menxiasheng 門下省), with the honorific title of Minister of Works (sikong 司空). His posthumous title is Zhang Wending 張文定公.

The book of 5 juan in length (the bibliographical chapter in the Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考 says, 10 juan) was based on conversations with senior officials and elders in Luoyang, who recounted old stories from the late Tang 唐 (618-907) and the Later Liang 後梁 (907-923) periods. From these conversations, Zhang gathered over twenty accounts, which he organized into a book. The narratives are detailed and rich, and the stories are comparable to unofficial histories. They can serve as useful references for historical studies and additions, for instance, for the Wudaishi 五代史. That the latter served quotes Zhang's book underlines the importance of this book as a historiographical source. Only the story of the death of the Prince of Dongdan 東丹 differs from the official version, and some stories belong to the realm of fiction and fantasy.

Some entries in the book hold significant value. For example, the section titled "Unofficial account of Zhang, Commandant under the Prince of Qi (Qi Wang Zhang lingwang waizhuan 齊王張令王外傳) provides a highly detailed account of Zhang Quanyi's 張全義 governance of Luoyang, which has been extensively cited in official historical records. Another entry, regarding the treatment of scholars by Emperor Taizu of the Later Liang 梁太祖 (r. 907-912), revealing the cruelty and brutality of the Emperor. However, some entries are based on hearsay and are not reliable. These include tales such as "The retribution of the magistrate's wife in Hengyang (Hengyang Zhou ling qi baoyin 衡陽周令妻報應) and "The dyer in Luoyang who saw the ghost of someone unjustly punished" (Luoyang rangong jian yuangui 洛陽染工見冤鬼), which involve supernatural elements and ghostly encounters.

The text is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀 and Shuofu 說郛.

Sources:
Ding Xixia 丁喜霞. 2012. "Luoyang jinshen jiuwen ji ciyu zhaji 《洛陽縉紳舊聞記》詞語札記." Luoyang Shifan Xueyuan xuebao 洛陽師範學院學報 31 (12): 95-96.
Wu Feng 吳楓, ed. 1994. Zhonghua gu wenxian da cidian 中華古文獻大辭典, vol. Wenxue 文學卷, 510. Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe.