I. Introduction
Ji Yun and His Yuewei caotang biji[1]
The official Ji Yun 紀昀 (1724–1805) is best known as one of the editors-in-chief of the literature encyclopaedia Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and editor of its annotated catalogue, the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 四庫全書總目提要.
In 1773, as soon as the production of this monumental collection of books started, the discovery and subsequent correction of errors began too. The corrections continued until well after the first completed work was presented to the emperor in 1782. Five years later, when Emperor Qianlong was in his summer residence in Luanyang, he personally found many mistakes in one of his collections. As one of the two chief editors, Ji Yun was also pointed out as one of the main delinquents. He quickly wrote an apologetic memorial in response and his apologies were accepted by Emperor Qianlong. Ji Yun offered to travel to Luanyang at his own expense to make all necessary corrections for the Siku quanshu there, and in November of the same year, he already started his task.
The stay in the summer residence at this time of year must have been quite uncomfortable, as were the working conditions. Nonetheless, free of his other official obligations in Peking, Ji Yun managed to complete the necessary alterations for the library in three months time. At the beginning of 1788, he was allowed to return to Peking, but was continuously occupied with further corrections of the different collections (Guy 1987, 98–103).
In the following two years, Ji Yun travelled a few more times to Luanyang. In 1789, after the most important corrections to the Siku quanshu were completed, his main task was to inspect the formal work. Since, as he writes, 'the days were long', he made notes about his own experiences as well as stories told to him. Ji Yun titled the nearly 300 biji Notes From Whiling Away the Summer in Luanyang, Luanyang xiaoxialu 灤陽消夏錄, thus giving the impression of a pleasant summer stay. Especially, since he only randomly mentions the reason for his travels, but instead describes the beauty of the landscape or marvels at the late blooming lotuses at the summer palace in Manchuria.
For the following ten years, Ji Yun continues to collect biji and remarks in the different forewords of the YWCT that he was now so obsessed that he could not stop collecting stories. Moreover, every time that he and his friends would gather, they now told him narratives about strange events. Next to notes of tales exchanged during social gatherings with friends and colleagues, Ji Yun collected anecdotes from and about his relatives, autobiographical accounts, and his thoughts on almost every subject. These notes were published in five different volumes between 1789 and 1798. Two years later, in 1800, the impressive amount of approximately 1,200 narratives were then compiled under the collective title Yuewei caotang biji 閱微草堂筆記 (hereafter YWCT).
The stories of the collection belong to the biji 筆記 (notes) and zhiguai 志怪 (describing anomalies) genre. The latter are part of the didactic literature, through which the reader should receive moral instructions and be persuaded. Through their origin and claim of authentication the zhiguai are close to the historical writings, whereas their content reflects popular beliefs. In accordance with literary conventions, the authenticity of the orally transmitted accounts in the YWCT is maintained. Frequently, the names of persons, places, and dates are given, which is why many historical persons mentioned in the collection could be identified.
The first part gives an overview of Ji Yun's biography, especially his connection with historical persons mentioned in the YWCT. Additionally, Ji Yun's family members, affinal kin, officials and scholars are listed.
The next chapter consists of stories about the natural, which makes up about 300 narratives. It starts with interests of the elite and is followed by narratives of noteworthy human behaviour.
The second chapter is about the 'ordinary' supernatural, comprising of a little less than 600 stories. The ordinary supernatural is not only familiar to the protagonist, but also perceived as part of the natural order. As a starting point and bridge from chapter two, human destiny and divination is examined first; then heaven, the highest in the supernatural realm; then the gods, who are directly subordinated to him; followed by the underworld. The last part finishes with a look at the nearly 300 narratives about ghosts, who make up more than half of all narratives of the 'ordinary' supernatural.
The final chapter consists of a little less than 400 stories about the 'extraordinary' supernatural. In contrast to the ordinary supernatural, this is either not understood, seldom occurring or rarely mentioned in the collection. The extraordinary supernatural is usually not directly related to human destiny and not of practical benefit to society. Included in this category are 'particular creatures and phenomena', 'demonic creatures and apparitions', and finally the magic fox. Even though the latter is well-known, understood and frequently mentioned, it is defined as belonging to a species that is unusual.
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[1] This website was first published in 2008 and since then has undergone many revisions. New research became available, and I am now mainly interested in the historical characters mentioned by Ji Yun in his collection. At the beginning of 2024, I renamed the website, and it took an exceptionally long time for it to show in Google search results again. I also want to apologise for the rather bad design, but there is only so much that can be done with the free version of Google websites. Should you have any questions, comments, etc., I am happy to hear from you by email (yueweicaotangbiji [at] gmail.com).