Xinshi 心史

Xinshi 心史 "History written from the heart" is a collection of miscellaneous writings compiled during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zheng Sixiao 鄭思肖 (1241-1318), courtesy name Yiweng 憶翁, style Suonan 所南, Muxue Guoren 木穴國人 or Sanwai Yeren 三外野人. He hailed from Lianjiang 連江 (today in Fujian) and was an erudite literatus (hongci 鴻詞) in the National University (taixue 太學), when the Song dynasty fell. After the foundation of the Yuan dynasty 元 (1279-1368), he retired and lived in Suzhou 蘇州 (in today's Jiangsu province). He was good at painting orchids and plums, yet with the peculiar custom not to paint the ground in which these plants were growing. This was allegedly an allegory for the late dynasty.

His collected writings have a length of 7 juan and consist of several sub-collections, namely the poetry collections Xianchun ji 咸淳集, Dayi ji 大義集 and Zhongxing ji 中興集 (with 251 poems), and the prose writings Jiujiushu 久久書, miscellaneous writings (zawen 雜文) and short essays (lüexu 略敘), which are all concerned with the downfall of the Song. The collection is supplemented by a preface (zixu 自序), a postface (ziba 自跋), an "oath" (mengyan 盟言), and a kind of "incantation", Liaobingzhou 療病咒.

Zhao's writings were inspired by patriotic feelings for officials with "sincere hearts hard as stone" (zhen xin tie shi jian 貞心鐵石堅), who sacrificed their lives to the Song dynasty, and by criticism of "traitorous" officials. He hoped that the Song dynasty might be restored. The language is sombre, and profound thoughts are expressed through evocative words. The alternative title of the collection is derived from Zhao's decision to preserve his manuscript in a water-tight iron case (tiehan 鐵函) that he threw into a well of Chengtian Monastery 承天寺 in Suzhou. The case was salvaged as late as 1638, and the well-preserved text was published for the first time by Master Zhang 張氏 from Jinhua 金華, and somewhat later by Lu Dan 陸坦 and Xiu Ningwang 休寧汪 from Wuxian 吳縣. A new print was published by the Guangyi Shuju Press 廣益書局 in Shanghai. The text is included in the series Mingbianzhai congshu 明辨齋叢書 (published by Yu Zhaojun 余肇鈞), yet arranged in 2 juan. A manuscript edition was published by the Zhongzhu Shuwu Studio 種竹書屋 in 1894. This version is called Zheng Suonan Xiansheng Xinshi 鄭所南先生心史 and includes a supplement (buyi 補遺).