The Golden Terrace Collection

纳延Jul 2024

3.7

Word count: 25K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

We, your servants, respectfully note: Jintai Ji in two juan, by Naiyan of the Yuan dynasty (originally written Nailan; now corrected). Naiyan is the author of Heshuo Fanggu Ji, already recorded. This collection was compiled by Wei Su. Prefixed are three prefaces by Ouyang Xuan, Li Haowen, and Gong Shitai, written in the renchen year of Zhizheng; there is also a colophon by Huang Jin written in the gengyin year of Zhizheng. At the end are a postscript by Jie Xisi dated yiyou of Zhizheng and a postscript by Cheng Wen dated xinmao of Zhizheng, and the yihai year of Zhizheng.

Editor's review

Jintai Ji is a poetry collection by the Yuan poet Naiyan (Nailan), compiled by Wei Su. It opens with three prefaces by Ouyang Xuan, Li Haowen, and Gong Shitai, and closes with a colophon by Huang Jin and postscripts by Jie Xisi, Cheng Wen, and others. These prefaces and postscripts are themselves important documents of Yuan literary networking and criticism. Naiyan also wrote Heshuo Fanggu Ji; his poems often concern the mountains and rivers, historic sites, and social contacts of north and south, in a clear, smooth, and restrained style carrying the refined, orthodox air of Yuan academic and court literati. The collection is modest in size, yet it allows observation of late Yuan literati literary taste and the networks of prefaces and colophons, and has reference value for studying Yuan poetry, literary creation by ethnic minority writers, and textual transmission. Read the prefaces and postscripts alongside the poems, noting the selection standards embodied in Wei Su's compilation and the evaluations of Naiyan's style by Ouyang Xuan and others, so as to understand the aesthetic orientation of the late Yuan poetry scene. It is suitable as supplementary material for Yuan literature research and for close reading by readers interested in the genre of classical prefaces and colophons.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature specialists studying Yuan poetry and literary creation by ethnic minority writers
Scholars interested in the genre of classical prefaces and colophons and Yuan literary networking
Graduate students in classical literature needing supplementary materials on Yuan literature
Lovers of classical poetry interested in the late Yuan court and academic poetic style

Not a good fit for

General leisure readers looking for popular stories or modern novels
Beginners with no classical Chinese who are unwilling to use annotations
Readers of general history who only want a quick overview of Yuan historical developments

Reading tips

Read first the three prefaces by Ouyang Xuan, Li Haowen, and Gong Shitai to grasp how contemporaries positioned Naiyan's poetic style
Read the postscripts by Jie Xisi and Cheng Wen alongside the poems, noting how compilation and commentary respond to each other
Select poems on landscapes and historic sites and compare them with Heshuo Fanggu Ji to appreciate their travel-record character
Look up Yuan reference works for personal and place names before returning to the lines to avoid misreading

版权信息
金台集叙
果啰罗易之诗序
金台集题词
钦定四库全书金台集卷一
钦定四库全书金台集卷二
金台集题诗
金台集虞集诗

FAQ

Who wrote the prefaces and postscripts to Jintai Ji?

According to the material, the collection opens with three prefaces by Ouyang Xuan, Li Haowen, and Gong Shitai, written in the renchen year of Zhizheng; there is also a colophon by Huang Jin written in the gengyin year of Zhizheng; at the end are a postscript by Jie Xisi dated yiyou of Zhizheng and a postscript by Cheng Wen dated xinmao of Zhizheng, among others. These prefaces and postscripts are important materials for understanding late Yuan literary evaluation.

Why was Naiyan's poetry collection compiled by Wei Su?

The material only states that the collection was compiled by Wei Su and does not explain the specific reason. Wei Su was an important late Yuan literary figure; his act of compilation itself reflects the process by which Naiyan's collected works were organized after his death. Readers may understand the compiler's selection tendencies in light of the prefaces and postscripts, but should not infer details not recorded in the material.

Do I need to know Heshuo Fanggu Ji first to read this poetry collection?

You need not read it through, but knowing that Naiyan also wrote Heshuo Fanggu Ji helps grasp his interest in travel and antiquarian inquiry. Poems on landscapes and historic sites in the collection can be compared with that work to understand his observational perspective; if reading only the poems, begin with the prefaces and postscripts to learn the author's background.

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About the author

纳延 Author

Nayan: public information about this author is limited, and little is known beyond the fact that a single work, Jintai ji (The Jintai Collection), is attributed to him; in some bibliographies it is classified as a philosophical reading. With no reliable records of his dates, courtesy name, native place, or circle of associates, it is difficult to reconstruct the full course of his life, and only a brief sketch can be drawn from the surviving work and its classification. The word "Jintai" in the title often evokes the Golden Terrace of Yanjing in traditional sources, a motif readily associated with the fortunes of scholars and the choice between public service and reclusion; its placement among philosophical readings further suggests that the book may address questions of life, the ways of the world, or scholarly principles. As far as the available information shows, Nayan is not a widely known author, and the circulation of his work was probably limited, with a relatively specialized readership. Those who wish to learn more about him and his book must still rely on bibliographic records and a close reading of the text itself, rather than filling in biographical details by conjecture.