Complete Qi Prose

Yan KejunQunyan Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.9

Word count: 189K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

This volume is one installment of the Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties (hereafter the Complete Prose).

The Complete Prose, compiled by Yan Kejun of the Qing dynasty, is divided into fifteen collections: the Complete Prose of High Antiquity and the Three Dynasties, the Complete Prose of Qin, the Complete Prose of Han, the Complete Prose of Later Han, the Complete Prose of the Three Kingdoms, the Complete Prose of Jin, the Complete Prose of Song, the Complete Prose of Liang, the Complete Prose of Chen, the Complete Prose of Later Wei, the Complete Prose of Northern Qi, the Complete Prose of Later Zhou, the Complete Prose of Sui, and the Complete Prose of Tang. It includes 3,497 authors who lived before the Tang, each with a brief biography, and is the most comprehensive general collection of pre-Tang prose to date, holding extremely important scholarly value for research on pre-Tang history, literature, religion, language, and more. It is also the literary general collection with the longest chronological coverage in ancient Chinese literature.

Editor's review

The Complete Prose of Qi is one collection within Yan Kejun's Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties, devoted exclusively to the prose of the Southern Qi dynasty. Yan's work gathers 3,497 pre-Tang authors, each with a brief biography, and has long been regarded as the most comprehensive of pre-Tang prose anthologies, with irreplaceable scholarly value for the study of pre-Tang history, literature, religion, and language. As one collection within it, the value of the Complete Prose of Qi lies in bringing together in one place the edicts, memorials, letters, rhapsodies, and eulogies of the Southern Qi that are scattered across histories, encyclopedias, and inscriptions, so that scholars need not search through many books to grasp the basic contours of a single dynasty's written record. Published by Qunyan Press in 2024, it offers scholars and enthusiasts an accessible edition. In use, note that such general collections prioritize completeness; the sources of individual pieces and their authenticity should be checked against the citations noted in the original text. Moreover, Southern Qi prose is largely parallel and allusive, so non-specialists need not read every piece closely and may search by author or genre.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Specialist scholars and graduate students in the literature, history, and religion of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties
Researchers of ancient history and literature who need to retrieve textual materials from the Southern Qi
Advanced readers with a foundation in classical Chinese and a systematic interest in Six Dynasties prose

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak classical Chinese who hope to start with easy texts
General readers who want only famous Southern Qi pieces and do not care about textual completeness

Reading tips

Begin with the general table of contents and the author biographies to understand the makeup of Southern Qi authors, then read selectively.
Search by genre for edicts, memorials, and letters, and read them alongside the relevant annals and biographies in the Book of Southern Qi.
When citing reconstructed pieces, verify the sources noted in the original book and distinguish complete texts from fragments.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
卷一
卷二
卷三
卷四
卷五
卷六
卷七
卷八
卷九
卷十
卷十一
卷十二
卷十三
卷十四
卷十五
卷十六
卷十七
卷十八
卷十九
卷二十
卷二十一
卷二十二
卷二十三
卷二十四
卷二十五
卷二十六

FAQ

Where does the Complete Prose of Qi stand within the Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties?

According to the book's description, the Complete Prose of Qi is one of the fifteen collections in Yan Kejun's Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties and is devoted exclusively to the prose of the Southern Qi dynasty. The general collection includes 3,497 pre-Tang authors, each with a brief biography, and is the most comprehensive collection of pre-Tang prose to date.

Can pieces in a reconstructed general collection be cited directly as complete original texts?

Caution is needed. Such general collections aim to gather scattered remains, and many pieces are reconstructed from histories, encyclopedias, or inscriptions, so fragments and excerpts occur. Before citing, verify the source noted in the book and, where necessary, check the original documents to confirm whether the text is complete or a surviving fragment, lest a fragment be mistaken for a whole.

How should non-specialist readers use this book?

Treat it as a reference database rather than a book to read straight through. First look at the author biographies to establish a basic map of Southern Qi writers, then read selectively by interest in edicts, letters, or rhapsodies and eulogies; paired with the Book of Southern Qi and works on Six Dynasties literary history to understand each piece's context, reading will be far more efficient.

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About the author

Yan Kejun Author · China · 1762–1843

Yan Kejun (1762–1843), courtesy name Jingwen and art name Tieqiao, was a native of Wucheng in Zhejiang (present-day Huzhou). He was a Qing-dynasty philologist, textual scholar, and bibliophile. A provincial graduate of 1800, he served as an education official in Jiande. He devoted himself to the study of the Shuowen and to collating the stone classics, and his scholarship was distinguished by solid textual criticism. His most notable achievement was single-handedly compiling the Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties, which includes more than three thousand authors with brief biographies and has contributed greatly to preserving pre-Tang texts. The collection here contains 86 of his works, including the collected writings of Sima Tan and Sima Qian, Sima Xiangru, Dong Zhongshu, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, and Emperor Wu of Wei, as well as the Complete Prose of High Antiquity and the Three Dynasties and the Complete Later Han Prose. These works span classical texts, Eastern philosophy, literary appreciation, and biography, reflecting his systematic organization and preservation of pre-Qin through Six Dynasties literature and providing an important foundation for later study of pre-Tang history, thought, and literature.