The Seal of the Unity of the Three — Vol. 2 - The Golden Elixir

160 II. Commentaries, Essays, and Related Works
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other scholars published in 1783. 3 The eminent textual scholar, Sun
Yirang 孫 詒 讓 (1848–1908), annotated three passages of Zhu Xi’s
redaction in 1894. 4 The Cantong qi, moreover, was one of the sources
for the last major premodern dictionary of the Chinese language, the
Kangxi zidian 康 熙 字 典 (Dictionary of the Kangxi Reign Period;
1716). This work quotes the Cantong qi to illustrate the meanings of
a few words or phrases, and to provide examples of uncommon
pronunciations of certain graphs. 5 Quotations of the Cantong qi are
also found in Qing-dynasty rhyme-books. In particular, the Qinding
yayun huiji 欽 定 押 韻 彚 輯 (Compendium of Rhymes, Compiled by
Imperial Command; 1725) cites the Cantong qi more than one hundred
times. 6
The main indicators of textual filiation (see Appendix 2) show
that the redaction by Chen Zhixu was, either on its own or at least to
a substantial extent, at the basis of the commentaries by Zhang
Wenlong, Xu Wei, Wang Wenlu, Zhen Shu, Li Guangdi, Wang Fu,
and Dong Dening. In addition, the text redacted by Chen Zhixu
gained renown—albeit anonymously—among literati and scholars
when, in 1592, the Cantong qi was included in the expanded version
of the Han Wei congshu 漢 魏 叢 書 (Collected Works of the Han and
the Wei Dynasties). This highly regarded collection features the
Cantong qi at the beginning of the “Masters” (“Zi” 子 ) section. It
3
Qinding siku quanshu kaozheng, 73.43a-b.
4
“Zhouyi cantong qi”, in his Zhayi, 11.14a-15a.
5
The Kangxi zidian quotes passages of the Cantong qi in at least four
entries, concerned with the words or phrases ya 芽 (“sprout, beginning”,
22:8), bagui 八 歸 (“the 8 goes back”, 55:8, including a quotation from Chen
Zhixu’s commentary), chanü 女 (“lovely maid”, 68:1), and tiangang 天 罡
(“Celestial Net”, 73:12). The Kangxi zidian also refers to the Cantong qi for
the uncommon pronunciations of several characters: yi 一 , pronounced like xi
兮 in 22:6; si 祀 , pronounced like ci 祠 in 26:16; tai 臺 , pronounced like ti 題
in 37:22; ya 芽 , pronounced like wu 吾 in 42:6; and rong 容 , pronounced like
yang 陽 in 85:8. (On this subject, see also the next footnote).
6
This and similar works—e.g., the Maoshi guyin kao 毛 詩 古 音 考 (A
Study of the Ancient Rhymes of the Book of Odes)—provide intriguing hints
about the readings of certain graphs of the Cantong qi, which sometimes
match the “irregular” readings of the same graphs in such sources as the Book
of Odes, the Songs of Chu, and other poetical works. Based on these
readings, certain verses of the Cantong qi that appear to fall outside the
rhyme patterns would actually rhyme with the adjacent verses. The Qinding
yayun huiji and the Maoshi guyin kao are both found in the Siku quanshu.
© Fabrizio Pregadio and Golden Elixir Press 2012