Wen Xuan

The Wen Xuan ([wə̌n.ɕɥɛ̀n]; Chinese: 文選), usually translated Selections of Refined Literature, is one of the earliest and most important anthologies of Chinese poetry and literature, and is one of the world's oldest literary anthologies to be arranged by topic. It is a selection of what were judged to be the best poetic and prose pieces from the late Warring States period (c. 300 BC) to the early Liang dynasty (c. AD 500), excluding the Chinese Classics and philosophical texts. The Wen Xuan preserves most of the greatest fu rhapsody and shi poetry pieces from the Qin and Han dynasties, and for much of pre-modern history was one of the primary sources of literary knowledge for educated Chinese.

The Wen Xuan was compiled between AD 520 and 530 in the city of Jiankang (modern Nanjing) during the Liang dynasty by Xiao Tong, the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang, and a group of scholars he had assembled. The Liang dynasty, though short-lived, was a period of intense literary activity, and the ruling Xiao family ensured that eminent writers and scholars were frequently invited to the imperial and provincial courts. As Crown Prince, Xiao Tong received the best classical Chinese education available and began selecting pieces for his new anthology in his early twenties. The Wen Xuan contains 761 separate pieces organized into 37 literary categories, the largest and most well known being "Rhapsodies" (fu) and "Lyric Poetry" (shi).

Study of the Wen Xuan enjoyed immense popularity during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and its study rivalled that of the Five Classics during that period. The Wen Xuan was required reading for any aspiring scholar and official even into the Song dynasty. Throughout the Yuan and Ming dynasties study of the Wen Xuan lapsed out of popularity, though the great philologists of the Qing dynasty revived its study to some extent.

Three volumes of the first full English translation of the Wen Xuan have been published by the American sinologist David R. Knechtges, professor emeritus of Chinese at the University of Washington, who aims to eventually complete the translation in five additional volumes.

The Wen Xuan was compiled during the 520s by Xiao Tong—the son and heir apparent of Emperor Wu of Liang—at the Liang capital Jiankang (modern Nanjing) with the assistance of his closest friends and associates. Xiao was a precocious child and received an excellent classical Chinese education. His two official biographies both state that by age four he had memorized the Five Classics and at age eight gave a relatively competent lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety to a group of assembled scholars. As Xiao matured, he developed a love of scholarship and books, and by his early teenage years the library of the Eastern Palace – the Crown Prince's official residence – contained over 30,000 volumes.

Xiao spent much of his leisure time in the company of the leading Chinese scholars of his day, and their serious discussions of literature impelled the creation of the Wen Xuan. His main purpose in creating the Wen Xuan was the creation of a suitable anthology of the best individual works of belles-lettres available, and he ignored philosophical works in favor of aesthetically beautiful poetry and other writings. In the Wen Xuan's preface, Xiao explains that four major types of Chinese writing were deliberately excluded from it: 1) the traditional "Classics" that were anciently attributed to the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, such as the Classic of Changes (I Ching) and the Classic of Poetry (Shi jing); 2) writings of philosophical "masters", such as the Laozi (Dao De Jing), the Zhuangzi, and the Mencius; 3) collections of rhetorical speeches, such as the Intrigues of the Warring States (Zhan guo ce); and 4) historical narratives and chronicles such as the Zuo Tradition (Zuo zhuan). After Xiao Tong's death in 531 he was given the posthumous name Zhaoming 昭明 ("Resplendent Brilliance"), and so the collection came to be known as the "Zhaoming Wen xuan". Despite its massive influence on Chinese literature, Xiao's categories and editorial choices have occasionally been criticized throughout Chinese history for a number of odd or illogical choices.

A large number of manuscripts and fragments of the Wen Xuan have survived to modern times. Many were discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts and are held in various museums around the world, particularly at the British Library and Bibliothèque Nationale de France, as well as in Japan, where the Wen Xuan was well known from at least the 7th century. One manuscript, held in the Eisei Bunko Museum, is a rare fragment of a Wen Xuan commentary that may predate Li Shan's authoritative commentary from the mid-6th century.

The Wen Xuan contains 761 works organized into 37 separate categories: Rhapsodies (fu 賦), Lyric Poetry (shī 詩), Chu-style Elegies (sāo 騷), Sevens (qī 七), Edicts (zhào 詔), Patents of Enfeoffment (cè 册), Commands (lìng 令), Instructions (jiào 教), Examination Prompts (cèwén 策文), Memorials (biǎo 表), Letters of Submission (shàngshū 上書), Communications (qǐ 啓), Memorials of Impeachment (tánshì 彈事), Memoranda (jiān 牋), Notes of Presentation (zòujì 奏記), Letters (shū 書), Proclamations of War (xí 檄), Responses to Questions (duìwèn 對問), Hypothetical Discourses (shè lùn 設論), Mixed song/rhapsody (cí 辭), Prefaces (xù 序), Praise Poems (sòng 頌), Encomia for Famous Men (zàn 贊), Prophetic Signs (fú mìng 符命), Historical Treatises (shǐ lùn 史論), Historical Evaluations and Judgments (shǐ shù zàn 史述贊), Treatises (lùn 論), "Linked Pearls" (liánzhū 連珠), Admonitions (zhēn 箴), Inscriptions (míng 銘), Dirges (lěi 誄), Laments (aī 哀), Epitaphs (béi 碑), Grave Memoirs (mùzhì 墓誌), Conduct Descriptions (xíngzhuàng 行狀), Condolences (diàowén 弔文), and Offerings (jì 祭).