Handan Chun
Handan Chun (Chinese: 邯鄲淳), courtesy name Zishu (Chinese: 子叔) or Zili (Chinese: 子禮), also known as Handan Zhu (Chinese: 邯鄲竺), was a writer, calligrapher, and official from Yingchuan Commandery (modern day Yuzhou, Henan) who served the state of Cao Wei during the early 3rd century. As a calligrapher, he was an expert in many types of scripts and was one of the first scholars to study the Shuowen Jiezi. He is credited with restoring the archaic tadpole script tradition. His most famous work is the Xiaolin (笑林), a collection of humorous anecdotes.
Life
The
In early 190, Handan had a position in the court in
In 208, Handan accepted an invitation to join the court of
In 217, Handan was appointed literary scholar in Cao Zhi's court. When Cao Cao was considering which of his sons would be named heir, Handan Chun recommended Cao Zhi, which Cao Pi resented.
Identity
Little information on Handan Chun is found in the historical records, and sometimes they appear contradictory. Different courtesy names are recorded for Handan. The
Shen Yucheng and Shi Xuancong argue that the Handan Chun who wrote the Cao E stele was different from the one who wrote the Xiaolin. They argue that if the anecdote recorded in the Kuaiji dianlu is true, and that the same person went on to write the Xiaolin, then Handan Chun would have been in his nineties when he would be writing it.[1]
There is also a discrepancy in the records on Handan Chun's ancestral home. It is generally accepted that Handan Chun came from Yingchuan Commandery, but the Book of Wei and the History of the Northern Dynasties state that he came from Chenliu Commandery.[12]
Calligraphy
According to the Weilüe, Handan Chun was an expert in many types of scripts, including bird-worm seal script, and in the Shuowen Jiezi.[13]
The Siti shushi (四體書勢), quoted in Pei Songzhi's commentary on Records of the Three Kingdoms, records that Handan taught the classics in the tadpole script. It then states that his style of calligraphy was imitated by Wei Ji so well that he could not distinguish his own copy of the Book of Documents from Wei Ji's. Then, it states that during the reign of Cao Fang, scholars attempted to recreate Handan Chun's tadpole script to make a stone stele inscribed with the classics in three different scripts. However, Handan's calligraphy was lost by that time, so the scholars created a new tadpole script, which was made to resemble tadpoles to match the script name.[14][13]
Works
Handan Chun's works include Xiaolin (笑林), a collection of jokes and folk humor; "Zeng Wu Chuxuan shi" (贈吳處玄詩), also called "Dazengshi" (答贈詩), a farewell poem about him leaving Linzi to go to Luoyang; "Shang shouming shubiao" (上受命述表), which announces his other composition, "Shouming shu" (受命述), a poem praising the new Cao Wei dynasty, and "Touhu fu" (投壺賦), a
Xiaolin
Handan Chun's most famous work is the Xiaolin (笑林), a collection of humorous anecdotes. It is considered by scholars to be the first collection of jokes in Chinese literature, and the earliest zhiren xiaoshuo (志人小説, "records of personalities").
"Zeng Wu Chuxuan shi"
The "Zeng Wu Chuxuan shi" (贈吳處玄詩) was a farewell poem that Handan wrote upon leaving Linzi for the Cao Wei court in Luoyang, where he took on the position of erudite supervising secretary (博士給事中) in 220. It was written in return to a poem written by Wu Chuxuan (吳處玄), who was probably also an attendant in Cao Zhi's court, but there are no mentions of him otherwise. The poem is also a source of historical information, confirming the accuracy of the Weilüe's records on Handan Chun's life.[18]
"Touhu fu"
The "Touhu fu" (投壺賦) was a
References
- ^ a b c d Baccini 2011, pp. 114.
- ^ Yu Yu's Kuaiji dianlu quoted in the commentary of the Hou hanshu, vol 84: "上虞長度尚弟子邯鄲淳,字子禮。時甫弱冠,而有異才。尚先使魏朗作曹娥碑,文成未出,會朗見尚,尚與之飲宴,而子禮方至督酒。尚問朗碑文成未?朗辭不才,因試使子禮為之,操筆而成,無所點定。朗嗟歎不暇,遂毀其草。"
- ^ Baccini 2011, p. 133.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Yu Huan's Weilüe quoted in the Sanguozhi zhu, vol 21: "時五官將博延英儒,亦宿聞淳名,因啟淳欲使在文學官屬中。會臨菑侯植亦求淳,太祖遣淳詣植。植初得淳甚喜,延入坐,不先與談。時天暑熱,植因呼常從取水自澡訖,傅粉。遂科頭拍袒,胡舞五椎鍛,跳丸擊劒,誦俳優小説數千言訖,謂淳曰:「邯鄲生何如邪?」於是乃更著衣幘,整儀容,與淳評説混元造化之端,品物區別之意,然後論皇羲以來賢聖名臣烈士優劣之差,次頌古今文章賦誄及當官政事宜所先後,又論用武行兵倚伏之勢。乃命廚宰,酒炙交至,坐席默然,無與伉者。及暮,淳歸,對其所知歎植之材,謂之「天人」。"
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 10–11.
- ^ OCLC 817583015.
- ^ OCLC 238234833.
- ^ Yu Huan's Weilüe quoted in the Sanguozhi zhu, vol 21: "及黃初初,以淳爲博士給事中。淳作投壺賦千餘言奏之,文帝以爲工,賜帛千匹。"
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 145.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 112.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 113.
- ^ a b Baccini 2011, pp. 134–135.
- ^ Yu Huan's Weilüe quoted in the Sanguozhi zhu, vol 21: "時人已不復知有古文,謂之「科斗書」,漢世祕藏,希得見之。魏初傳古文者,出於邯鄲淳。敬侯寫淳《尚書》,後以示淳,而淳不別。至正始中,立三字石經,轉失淳法。因科斗之名,遂效其法。"
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 137–138.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 137.
- ^ Baccini 2011, pp. 139.
Bibliography
- Compiled by Fan Ye (5th century). Hou hanshu 後漢書 [Book of the Later Han] (in Chinese). Vol. 84.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Compiled by Pei Songzhi (5th century). Sanguozhi zhu 三國志注 [Annotations to the Records of the Three Kingdoms] (in Chinese). Vol. 21.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Baccini, Giulia (3 March 2011). The Forest of Laughs (Xiaolin): Mapping the offspring of self-aware literature in ancient China (PDF) (PhD thesis). Ca' Foscari University of Venice.