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Bianzhu 編珠

Oct 23, 2010 © Ulrich Theobald

Bianzhu 編珠 "Composition of pearls" is an encyclopaedia compiled on imperial order during the Sui period 隋 (581-618). Authorship of the book was traditionally attributed to Du Gongzhan 杜公瞻 (preface of 611) but is first mentioned in Song-period 宋 (960-1279) bibliographies.

It was apparently lost soon. The Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Gao Shiqi 高士奇 (1645-1703) discovered it among a pile of wastepaper of the household administration of the heir apparent and tried to reconstruct it on the base of of quotations in other sources. This part is called Xu Bianzhu 續編珠, a further collection of fragments is called Buyi 補遺. The Bianzhu has a length of 2 juan and consists of 14 parts. The two supplements by Gao Shiqi are 2-juan-long each. For each lemma in the Bianzhu, a source is indicated. It is also indicated if a lemma has been reconstructed by Gao Shiqi.

The Bianzhu is only preserved in quotations, and prints are very rarely found. There is a manuscript copy in the library of the Imperial Household from the Qing period, and a print from the Qingyin Hall 清吟堂 of Master Gao 高氏 in Qiantang 錢塘, Zhejiang, from 1698. Unfortunately they only contain the first five chapters. These copies were the base for the edition in the official series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.

There is a book called Xianyuan bianzhu 仙苑編珠, which is a collection of Daoist biographies and writings compiled by Wang Songnian 王松年, who lived during the 10th century.

Table 1. Contents of the Bianzhu 編珠
1. 天地 Heaven and Earth
2. 山川 Mountains and rivers
3. 居處 Architecture
4. 儀衛 Banners and defence
5. 音樂 Music
6. 器玩 Tools and utensils (lost)
7. 珍寶 Jewellery (lost)
8. 繒彩 Painting and colours (lost)
9. 酒膳 Beverages and food (lost)
10. 黍稷 Grains (lost)
11. 菜蔬 Vegetables (lost)
12. 果實 Fruits (lost)
13. 車馬 Carts (lost)
14. 舟楫 Boats (lost)
Sources:
Li Bingzhong 李秉忠, Wei Canjin 衛燦金, Lin Conglong 林從龍, ed. (1990). Jianming wenshi zhishi cidian 簡明文史知識詞典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe), 721.
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰, eds.g (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 2, 2034, 2311.
Liu Quanbo 劉全波, He Qinanglin 何强林 (2019). "Bianzhu bianzuan yu liuchuan kao 《編珠》編纂與流傳考", Beijing Ligong Daxue xuebao (Shehui kexue ban) 北京理工大學學報(社會科學版), 21 (3): 183-188.
Pan Yinsheng 潘寅生, Guo Jiankui 郭建魁, ed. (1993). Zhonghua shehui kexue gongjushu cidian 中華社會科學工具書辭典(Lanzhou: Gansu renmin chubanshe), 681.
Wang Jingzhou 王京州 (2022). "Gao Shiyi, Zhu Yizun yu Kangxi de leishu yinyuan: Yi Du Gongzhan Bianzhu de faxian he bianke wei zhongxin 高士奇、朱彝尊與康熙的類書因緣——以杜公瞻《編珠》的發現和編刻為中心", Zhongguo chuban shi yanjiu 中國出版史研究, 2022 (1): 24-34.
Wu Feng 吳楓, ed. (1987). Jianming Zhongguo guji cidian 簡明中國古籍辭典 (Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe), 875.
Yuan Mingren 袁明仁, et al., eds. (1992). Sanqin lishi wenhua cidian 三秦歷史文化辭典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin jiaoyu chubanshe), 128.
Zhao Hankun 趙含坤 (2005). Zhongguo leishu 中國類書 (Shijiazhuang: Hebei renmin chubanshe), 26-27, 379.