| Tao Zongyi, a famous novelist, poet and scholar in the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, was a devoted and prolific writer whose works cover many aspects of literature, history and painting. The General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics records eight kinds of Tao Zongyi’s writings (including three kinds of catalogue). In addition, many local chronicles and official and private bibliographies in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which share similarities with but differ from A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics, also include Tao Zongyi writings. This paper is centred upon the recorded and unrecorded Tao Zongyi’s writings in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. Based on a thorough overview and analysis of previous studies, this study comments on and evaluates Tao Zongyi’s writings. The paper is divided into six parts.The Introduction gives an overview of the previous studies on Tang Zongyi’s works, presents the main content and the significance of this paper.The first chapter introduces briefly Tao Zongyi lineage descent and life experiences. Tao Zongyi’s hometown of Taizhou in Zhejiang province has a rich cultural heritage and traditions. The Tao family and his mother’s Zhao family were full of cultural atmosphere, which exerted a good cultural influence on and granted a favorable family education to Tao Zongyi in his childhood. Tao Zongyi lived in the transitional period from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. In his adolescence, his life was stable, pursuing his learning, taking the imperial exams, going on study tours and makinge friends. In his adulthood, he lived through the aftermath of wars, residing in Songjiang, tilling in the fields, instructing apprentices, and writing books. In his later years, he was appointed twice, but still kept on writing, and was productive in cultural and historical writings.The second chapter deals with Tao Zongyi’s writings on classics. First of all, the paper remarks on the Guo Feng Zun Jing recorded in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. It was most likely that somebody in the late Ming Dynasty did it in the name of Tao Zongyi. It is evident that this work is an interpretation of The Book of Songs in terms of the title, synopses wirtten by Four Books library officials and categories of bibliographies by a variety of scholars. Then the study examines the unrecorded classic Si Shu Bei Yi. It is beyong doubt that Tao Zongti was the author. In the light of the title and bibliographic literature by various scholars, this book should be an interpretation of the four books and the like, and it was an exam reference book. Written by him when he was young, it was a summary of his reflections on his learning and exam taking experiences. Because these two books have long since been lost, it is difficult to trace their details.The third chapter critiques Tao ZongYi’s Historical Records. First the paper discusses Gu Ke Cong Chao and Cao Mang Si Cheng included in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. Gu Ke Cong Chao is an epigraphic work composed of seventy-four types of inscriptions from Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty copied and recorded by Tao Zongyi. Cao Mang Si Cheng was indeed authored by Tao Zongyi consisting of 20 essays and biographies written by men of letters in Song and Yuan dynasties, which was concerned about stories of loyal subjects, filial sons, good mothers and virtuous wives. The two works have high historical value. Then the paper evaluates the unrecorded sevens kinds of historical writings in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. Yuan Shi Ye Ting Ji was written by Tao Zongyi, which was all about Gong Ye in the Yuan Dynasty, complementary to records of the mainstream history of Yuan Dynasty. You Zhi Xu Bian was complied by Tao Zongyi as a sequel to You Zhi by Chen Renyu. It was a landscape and poetry anthology with a total of eighty articles from 48 scholars in the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. With careful selection and sufficient information. Ming Ji Zhuan was compiled by Tao Zongyi, a collection of short stories about ancient women and has certain value in literature and art. Shi Ji Zhu Yu was probably written by Tao Zongyi. It was an interpretation of Records of the Historian based on the title and biographic writings of various scholars. The book is not extant today, which makes it impossible to study it in detail. Tang Yi Shi Zhuan was written by Luo Youkai in Yuan Dynasty. Tao Zongyi read it, remarked on it, and put it into Chuo Geng Lu. Shao Tao Lu was Tao Shi Er Pu in Volume 16 of Chuo Geng Lu. It was a partial record of Wang Zhi’s Shao Tao Lu. Sheng Guo Ji Yi Lu is not extant today, so it is hard to examine the specific content of the book but it can be presumed that it was about some anecdotes in Yuan Dynasty.The fourth chapter concerns Tao Zongyi’s writings on Philosophical Writings. The paper first discusses Chuo Geng Lu, Shuo Fu and Shu Shi Hui Yao. Chuo Geng Lu provide a panorama of the history and culture of Yuan Dynasty, involving many aspects, such as laws and systems, anecdotes, folklores and customs, craft technology, cultural relics, calligraphy and painting, operas and novels, characters and phonology, with both literary and historical value. Shuo Fu was a collection of literary sketches consisting of a variety of notes and essays from Han, Wei to Song, Yuan dynasties. It was compiled by Tao Zongyi following Zeng Zao’s style in Southern Song Dynasty, which embodies Tao Zongyi’s conceptions of compilation and novels, exerting a great influence on literature preservation and dissemination. Shu Shi Hui Yao and Bu Yi present a gallery of four hundred and fifty people from ancient times to Yuan Dynasty. It is rich in content, rigorous in style, with great historical literature value. Then the paper remarks on the ten types of unrecorded books of Philosophical Writings. Jin Dan Mi Yu was written by Tao Zongyi, interpreting the knowledge of Taoist inner alchemy of mind, but it has been lost. Yin Zhang Kao is Yin Zhang Zhi Du in Volume 16 of Chuo Geng Lu documenting Tao Zongyi’s examination of the origin, system and the form of seals. Gu Tang Lei Yuan named by booksellers in Ming and Qing dynasties is a codex by Tao Zongyi of Bei Tang Shu Chao. Tu Hui Bao Jian is an comprehensive book on the history of painting, written by Xia Wenyan in Yuan Dynasty. Tao Zongyi referred to part of the text in Chuo Geng Lu. Yao Pu, a short essay on the drug names, was from Tao Zongyi’s Chuo Geng Lu. It was only transcribed from Tao Gu’ Yao Pu. Hua Jue is probably a series of three essays on painting compiled by Tao Zongyi-Xie Shan Shui Jue, Xie Xiang Jue and Xu Hua. Other works included Bo Gu Ji Wen, Qin Jian Tu Shi, Guang Hui Zui and Bi Hai are not extant today, so it is impossible to examine them in detail.The fifth chapter comments on Tao Zongyi’s writings on Miscellaneous Literature. It first discusses Nan Cun Shi Ji and Cang Lang Zhao Ge recorded in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. Nan Cun Shi Ji is a collection of Tao Zongyi’s poems with a total of 463 people and 360 titles. It is rich in content, touching upon odes to human emotions and relations, sighs over of wars and social unrest, nostalgia of living and traveling abroad, and joy of feasts and reclusion. It is diverse in style including songs of strength, health and fortitude and melodies of serenity, elegance and naturalness, which has great literary, artistic and historic value. Cang Lang Zhao Ge is a selective collection of poems composed by another person. All the poems except two in the collection—Ti Yue Wang Miao and Ti Bian Zhuang Ci Hu Tu—were included in Nan Cun Shi Ji. Then the paper discusses the four types of the Miscellaneous Literature unrecorded in A General Catalogue of Complete Works of Chinese Classics. Yuan Ben Ming Mu and Za Ju Lei Bian were taken from Chuo Geng Lu by Tao Zongyi. The two works not only recorded Tao zongyi’s theory of drama but also offered a detailed list of eleven types of Yuanben, and an elaborate catalogue of eight kinds of modes of ancient Chinese court operas. They provide a precious resource for the research of Yuan operas and ancient operas. Tao Nan Cun Wen Chao was supposed to be written by Tao Zongyi, probably about biographies, poetic prefaces and epitaphs. So it was also called Tao Nan Cun Za Chao. Nan Cun Shi Hua is not currently available, so it is difficult to examine it thoroughly.In a nutshell, Tao Zongyi writings on literature and history help preserve a wealth of precious historical information about society, politics, economy and culture during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and also left a host of valuable research results in the field of literature, art and so on. His writings were heralded as a rich and precious cultural heritage with enormous historic and academic research value. |
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