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An object-oriented study on Yongwu shi: poetry on eyeglasses in the Qing dynasty1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2016

Zinan Yan
Zinan Yan*
Affiliation:
Beijing Normal University
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

This paper suggests a different approach in the study of Qing dynasty yongwu poetry, which is to analyse the cultural significance of the object in this literary subgenre instead of its lyrical essence. Taking eyeglasses as an example, this paper surveys the general development of imported and domestic eyeglasses in China from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, and presents various literary interpretations assigned to this object through time. It further discusses Western and Chinese materiality, the economy and scholars' lives, political and social justification, as well as literary complexity and object identity, which are vital to the development of poetry on eyeglasses in the late imperial period.

Keywords

KangxiQianlongYuan MeiMaterialityEyeglassesYongwu
Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 79 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 375 - 397
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2016 

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Footnotes

1

This work is supported by the “BNU Young Scholar Fund” and the “Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities”.

References

2 For remarks on the definition and essence of “poetry on things”, see Fong, Grace S., “Wu Wenying's Yongwu Ci: poems as artifice and poems as metaphor”, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 45/1, 1985, 323–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Also see Wu, Fusheng, “From object to symbol: the evolution of Yongwu Shi from Xiao Gang to Li Shangyin”, Asian Culture Quarterly 37/3–4, 1999, 77–9Google Scholar; Jack, W. Chen, The Poetics of Sovereignty: On Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2010), 214–7.

3 Zhang Yushu 張玉書, Yuding Peiwenzhai yongwu shixuan 御定佩文齋詠物詩選, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (Taipei: Taiwan shangwu yinshuguan, 1983), vol. 1432–4.

4 Fong, “Wu Wenying's Yongwu Ci”, 323–47.

5 Wu, “From object to symbol”, 77–91.

6 Lin Shuzhen 林淑貞, Zhongguo yongwu shi “tuowu yanzhi” xilun 中國詠物詩「託物言志」析論 (Taipei: Wanjuanlou tushu youxian gongsi, 2002).

7 There are at least a few hundred poems on eyeglasses from the Qing dynasty. This assumption of the total number is based mainly on the search results of the Zhongguo jiben gujiku 中國基本古籍庫 (Database of Basic Chinese Classical Texts): of the approximately 800 collected works of Ming scholars, there are only two poems on eyeglasses, and of approximately 1,200 collected works of Qing scholars, there are about 100. However, many more collected works by Qing scholars are not included in this database, so the actual number of poems on eyeglasses should be greater, but it should not exceed a thousand.

8 Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China. Volume 4: Physics and Physical Technology. Part I: Physics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962), 120.

9 Needham, Science and Civilization in China, 118–21. See also McDermott, Joseph, “Chinese lenses and Chinese art”, Kaikodo Journal XIX, 2001, 11 Google Scholar. Although some Ming and Qing scholars argue that eyeglasses first entered China during the Yuan dynasty, there is again no solid evidence to support this assumption.

10 Lu Yingyang 陸應陽 (Cai Fangbing 蔡方炳, ed.), Guanyu ji 廣輿記 (Printed in 1686), juan 24, 27b.

11 Needham, Science and Civilization in China, 120. See also Shuyan, Dong 董树岩, “Yanjing ru Hua kao” 眼镜入华考, Wuli tongbao, no. 2, 1994, 39 Google Scholar.

12 For a summary of Ming scholars' accounts on eyeglasses before the second half of the sixteenth century, see Li Shen 李慎, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo” 明清之际西洋眼镜在中国的传播 (MA dissertation, Ji'nan University, 2007), 10.

13 Li, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo”, 19–20.

14 Wu Mingdao 吳銘道, Guxue shanmin shihou 古雪山民詩後, in Siku weishoushu jikan 四庫未收書輯刊 (Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 2000), vol. 9.27, 343.

15 Li, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo”, 49–50.

16 Sun Chengze 孫承澤, Yanshanzhai zaji 硯山齋雜記, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu yinshuguan, 1983), vol. 872, 187–8.

17 Lang Ying 郎瑛, Qixiu xugao 七修續稿, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1123, 384.

18 Wu Kuan came first in both the metropolitan examination and the palace examination in the eighth year of the Chenghua reign (1472).

19 Wu Kuan 吳寬, Jiacang ji 家藏集, in Siku quanshu huiyao 四庫全書薈要 (Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1985), vol. 413, 176–7.

20 The term “tadpoles” (kedou 蝌蚪) refers to overly complex ancient graphic designs of characters and also implies “small-sized characters”. This line means that with eyeglasses, the poet could study those difficult texts which he left behind due to the decline of his vision.

21 This line means that the poet is devoted to reading and does not realize that time passes quickly.

22 The term “ribbons and dance” refers to the first stanza of the poem “Shu in the hunting-fields” in the Book of Songs: “Shu in the hunting-fields / Driving his team of four, / The reins like ribbons in his hand, / His helpers leaping as in the dance!” (叔於田, 乘乘馬. 執轡如組, 兩驂如舞). For the translation of the complete poem, see Arthur Waley (trans.), The Book of Songs (New York: Grove Press, 1996), 66–7.

23 The term “a scorpion's sting” (chaiwei 蠆尾) refers to a special technique in calligraphy.

24 Bian Ruyuan 邊汝元, Yushan shicao 漁山詩草, in Siku weishoushu jikan 四庫未收書輯刊 (Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 2000), vol. 8.23, 383.

25 For a discussion on the materiality and production of domestic eyeglasses, see McDermott, “Chinese lenses and Chinese art”, 11–2.

26 Li, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo”, 32–5.

27 One liang 兩 (tael) of silver is ten qian 錢 (mace), and one qian is ten fen 分 (cent).

28 Ye Mengzhu 葉夢珠, Yueshi bian 閱世編 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1981), 163.

29 The term shaoliao 燒料 (sintered material) refers to a type of material that is similar to, but not as good as, glass. However, the term mizhi 米汁 refers to miganshui 米泔水 (water used to rinse rice); in this case, it probably refers to the colour of the eyeglasses with a clear indication of opaqueness, but it may refer to part of the manufacturing process.

30 This line could also be translated as: “the price is decreased as [the colour of the lenses] fades”.

31 Sun, Yanshanzhai zaji, 187–8.

32 Li Guangting 李光庭, Xiangyan jieyi 鄉言解頤, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1272, 204.

33 Li, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo”, 35–8. See also Haozhi, Hou 侯皓之, “Pei cha qiuhao xi: Cong dang'an jizai tan Yongzheng huangi yu yanjing” 佩察秋毫細：從檔案記載談雍正皇帝與眼鏡, Gugong wenwu yuekan 297, 2007, 58–60 Google Scholar; and Kleutghen, Kristina, “Chinese occidenterie: the diversity of ‘Western’ objects in eighteenth-century China”, Eighteenth-Century Studies 47/2, 2014, 120 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

34 Chen Kangqi 陳康祺, Langqian jiwen erbi 郎潜紀聞二筆, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1182, 428.

35 Ji Maiyi 紀邁宜, Jianzhongtang shi 儉重堂詩, in Siku weishoushu jikan 四庫未收書輯刊 (Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 2000), vol. 8.26, 650.

36 Qian Chengzhi 錢澄之, Tianjian shiji 田間詩集, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1401, 506.

37 Tao Ji 陶季, Zhouche ji 舟車集, in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu 四庫全書存目叢書 (Ji'nan: Qilu shushe, 1997), vol. Ji. 258, 166–7.

38 Song Luo 宋犖, Mantang nianpu 漫堂年譜, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 554, 238.

39 Hui Dong 惠棟, Yuyang shanren zizhuan nianpu buzhu 漁洋山人自撰年譜注補, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 554, 167.

40 Zhang Taijiao 張泰交, Shouhutang ji 受祜堂集, in Siku jinhuishu congkan 四庫禁燬書叢刊 (Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 1997), vol. Ji. 53, 284–5.

41 Zha Shenxing 查慎行, Jingyetang shiji 敬業堂詩集 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986), vol. 2, 811. See also Zhang Tingyu 張廷玉 et al. (comp.), Huangqing wenying 皇清文穎, in Siku quanshu huiyao 四庫全書薈要 (Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1985), vol. 465, 207. The first poem is the same in these two works, but the second poem has two versions, where the wording is different in the first and third couplets. I think the poem in Huangqing wenying 皇清文穎 (Literary Masterpieces of the Imperial Qing) is a later version, because some imprecise expressions in the other version have been corrected. Yang Xuan 楊瑄 (fl. 1694–1723) also composed a set of three poems on receiving a pair of eyeglasses from Emperor Kangxi. See Zhang, Huangqing wenying, vol. 465, 447.

42 Aisin Gioro Hongli 愛新覺羅弘曆, Yuzhi shiji 御製詩集 (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue chubanshe, 1993), vol. 9, 326.

43 Qing shilu 清實錄 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), vol. 26, 417–8.

44 Betty Peh-T'i Wei, Ruan Yuan, 1764–1849: The Life and Work of a Major Scholar-Official in Nineteenth-Century China before the Opium War (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2006), 56. See also Chang Jianhua 常建华, Qianlong shidian 乾隆事典 (Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe, 2010), 446.

45 Zhu Kejing 朱克敬, Ming'an zazhi, Ming'an erzhi 瞑庵雜識, 瞑庵二識 (Changsha: Yuelu shushe, 1983), 72.

46 This couplet probably describes a type of eyeglasses where the two lenses fold on top of each other.

47 Ruan Yuan 阮元, Yanjingshi ji 揅經室集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1993), vol. 2, 753.

48 Liu Fenggao was also a good friend of Ruan Yuan; for an interesting introduction on their relationship, see Wei, Ruan Yuan, 336–40.

49 The “Mirror of the Mind”, a Buddhist concept, is to reflect the Truth only if it is kept clean.

50 “Autumn waves” is a metaphor for one's clear vision.

51 The term “a fly's head” (yingtou 蠅頭) refers to characters written in small size, which are as small as a fly's head.

52 Liu Fenggao 劉鳳誥, Cunhuizhai ji 存悔齋集, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1486, 156.

53 It is also worth noting that Liu Fenggao tried in the third couplet to please the emperor in another way. “To put [eyeglasses] on the eyes, / through [it one] can gaze in quietude” (即以謀於目, 因之静可睋), is composed imitating the “Imperial Style” (yuzhi ti 御製體) of Emperor Qianlong. For remarks on Emperor Qianlong's poetic style, as well as those imitational works written by the emperor's literary aides, see Qian Zhongshu 錢鍾書, Tanyi lu 談藝錄 (Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 2001), 205–18, 545–9, 553–5, 556–73.

54 Glass is “dry” because, in the Chinese understanding, it has the attribution of “fire”, while crystal is “tender” because it has the attribution of “water”.

55 The character bi 蔽 has two meanings, “being obscured” or “being deceived”, and Emperor Qianlong is playing with both meanings here.

56 Hongli, Yuzhi shiji, vol. 9, 326.

57 Hongli, Yuzhi shiji, vol. 6, 697.

58 Hongli, Yuzhi shiji, vol. 10, 263.

59 Hongli, Yuzhi shiji, vol. 7, 476–7.

60 For a detailed study of Yuan Mei's literary thought and practice, see J.D. Schmidt, Harmony Garden: The Life, Literary Criticism, and Poetry of Yuan Mei (1716–1798) (London and New York: Routledge Curzon, 2003), 151–286.

61 There was probably a string tying together the two lenses. For a brief survey of different types and accessories of eyeglasses, see Li, “Ming Qing zhiji Xiyang yanjing zai Zhongguo de chuanbo”, 40–1.

62 Yuan Mei 袁枚, Xiaocang shanfang shiwenji 小倉山房詩文集 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2006), vol. 1, 441.

63 This self-annotation shows Yuan Mei's own understanding of the following line in Xunzi, translated by John Knoblock:

Moreover, in appearance King Yan of Xu's eyes [were so protruded that he] could see his forehead. 且徐偃王之狀，目可瞻馬（焉）。

In some earlier versions of Xunzi, the term zhanyan 瞻焉 (to see one's forehead) is written as zhanma 瞻馬 (to gaze a horse), but some commentators believe ma 馬 is a misprint of yan 焉, and yan means “forehead” (same as yan 顏). However, in Wang Xianqian's 王先謙 (1842–1917) annotation, he reads zhanyan 瞻焉 as zhanma 瞻馬, so this line suggests that the King cannot see small things clearly, but can only see big things (e.g. a horse) placed right in front of him – this indicates short-sightedness. For the translation and some notes on different annotations of the original line, see John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), vol. 1, 204, 295. For the original line and different annotations, see Wang Xianqian 王先謙, Xunzi jijie 荀子集解 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1988), vol. 1, 74.

However, Yuan Mei's understanding of this line is different from above interpretations. In a passage entitled “Illnesses of the Present Day which Appear in Ancient Books” (Jin jibing xian gushu 今疾病見古書), Yuan Mei writes:

Xunzi says: “King Yan of Xu's eyes could gaze upon yan”. [The character] yan [means] a small bird. [So] this is short-sightedness of the present day.《荀子》曰：「徐偃王目可瞻焉。」焉，鳥之微者。即今近視也。

Yuan Mei reached the conclusion of short-sightedness from a different approach. However, he did not give a logical explanation as to why the King seeing a small bird is proof that the King is short-sighted. But if one can clearly see a small bird in the distance, would it not suggest that the person is far-sighted? See Wang Yingzhi 王英志 (ed.), Yuan Mei quanji 袁枚全集 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1993), vol. 5, 479.

64 Wang Xianqian, Xunzi jijie, vol. 1, 74. In addition, for different stories about King Yan of Xu, see Xu Yulong 徐玉龍, Shizhuan yu minjian gushi zhong de Xu Yanwang gushi yanjiu 史傳與民間故事中的徐偃王故事研究, Donghua Zhongguo wenxue yanjiu, no. 7, 2009, 49–64.

65 Yuan Mei's writings, in both his poetry and poetic criticism, are full of exaggerations and mistakes. For a detailed discussion of this issue, as well as Yuan Mei's habit of showing off, see Qian, Tanyi lu, vol. 2, 768–72.

66 Yuan, Xiaocang shanfang shiwenji, vol. 1, 477.

67 Yuan, Xiaocang shanfang shiwenji, vol. 2, 1030.

68 Qian Weicheng, who came first in the palace examination in 1745, was the Provincial Education Commissioner of Zhejiang (Zhejiang xuezheng 浙江學政) at that time.

69 Qian Weiqiao, a younger brother of Qian Weicheng, received the title of Provincial Graduate (Juren 舉人) in 1762.

70 There are two versions of this linked verse: the version recorded in Qian Weicheng's poetry collection is slightly different from that in Qian Weiqiao's collection. See Qian Weicheng 錢維城, Qian Wenmin Gong quanji 錢文敏公全集, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1442, 605; Qian Weiqiao 錢維喬, Zhuchu shiwenchao 竹初詩文鈔, in Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1460, 36.

71 For discussions on the mass production of domestic eyeglasses and the quality improvement, see McDermott, “Chinese lenses and Chinese art”, 12–4.

72 Yang Jingting 楊静亭 (Li Hongruo 李虹若, ed.), Chaoshi congzai 朝市叢載 (Printed in 1887), juan 7, 41.

73 Yang, Chaoshi congzai, 41–2.

74 Traditional society recognized four kinds of people. These are, in declining order: literati (shi 士), farmers (nong 農), craftsmen (gong 工), and merchants (shang 商).

75 Chen, Langqian jiwen erbi, 428.