Chen Yuanjing () was a scholar of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

and

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

known for writing the

Shilin Guangji Shilin Guangji () is an encyclopedia written by Chen Yuanjing (陈元靓) during the Yuan dynasty and Mongol Empire. The book contains text written in Chinese characters, Mongolian script, and the ʼPhags-pa script. Chen Yuanjing was a native of C ...

. Chen Yuanjing was born at the end of the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

in Chong'an (崇安), Jianzhou, nowadays

Nanping Nanping (), historically known as Yanping (), is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to th ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

. He probably lived during the late 12th to the middle part of the 13th century.Chen, Klasing (2020-12-16). "Memorable arts: The mnemonics of painting and calligraphy in Late Imperial China"
University of Leiden

Life

Chen Yuanjing had the autograph "Guanghan Xianyi" (广寒仙裔) or descendant of (Chen) Guanghan.

Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao The ''Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao'' ("Annotated Catalog of the Complete Imperial Library") is an annotated catalog of the thousands of works that were considered for inclusion in the '' Siku Quanshu''. Work for the 200-chapter catalog began in 1773 ...

《四库全书总目提要》Liu Chun (刘纯): writes that the birth and death date are unknown《四库全书总目提要》载：“元观，不知其里贯，自署广寒仙裔。而刘纯作后序，称为隐君子。其始末亦未详言，莫之考也。” According to studies by Fang Yanshou (方彦寿), a certain Guanghan master could be found working around Sanguili (三桂里), Kaoting (考亭), Jianyang (建阳) in Jianzhou (Fujian) province. Chen Guanghan may have been born around Kaoting, Jianyang in Jianzhou. Chen Yuanjing himself was born in Chong'an in modern-day Fujian, which was also his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

(祖籍 / 籍贯). Chong'an is also where Guanghan was buried. Chen Guanghan had a son named Chen Xun ( 陈逊), a Song dynasty person who became a

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

in the fourth year of

Emperor Zhezong Emperor Zhezong of Song (4 January 1077 – 23 February 1100), personal name Zhao Xu, was the seventh emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Yong but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after his coronation. He reig ...

(around 1098, Shaosheng 4th year 绍圣四年). Chen Yuanjing was also a descendant of Chen Xun. The other details of Chen Yuanjing's life are unknown.Chen family genealogy《陈氏族谱》云：“神讳逊，行二十四，建阳考亭人。三月初三日生，生则有异于人。甫八岁，读书过神庙，见神迎送，止之方回，以其事告父母。弱冠登科，累官至侍中，终于任。”Lu Xinyuan (陆心源),

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

: Chen Yuanjing was from Chong'an, Fujian. He descends from Chen Guanghan, whose tomb is in Chong'an. Guanghan had a son named Chen Xun, who is an ancestor of Chen Yuanjing. 陆心源《仪顾堂续跋》卷十一〈永乐椠《事林广记》跋〉云：“元靓仕履无考，当为福建崇安人，广寒先生之裔。广寒先生名字无考，墓在崇安。其子名逊，绍圣四年进士。元靓必逊之裔也。”Wang Ke (王珂). Chen Yuanjing's Family and Life〈陈元靓家世生平新证〉，《图书馆理论与实践》，2011

Publications

Shilin Guangji

During the reign of

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

of the

, Chen Yuanjing wrote and published the Shilin Guangji, an encyclopedia which detailed the life during the Song and Yuan dynasties, as well as containing maps of the large Yuan empire and examples of the

ʼPhags-pa script The Phags-pa script is an alphabet designed by the Tibetan monk and State Preceptor (later Imperial Preceptor) Drogön Chögyal Phagpa for Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, as a unified script for the written languages within the Yu ...

and

Mongolian script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946. It is traditionally writte ...

. Chen's book was popular and easy to understand at the time and would be expanded and used by later scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as in Korea and Japan to learn more about Chinese history, the Yuan dynasty, and Mongol Empire. Chen's Shilin Guangji and the illustrations therein were used as a basis for later encyclopedias such as the

Sancai Tuhui ''Sancai Tuhui'' (, ), compiled by Wang Qi () and his son Wang Siyi (), is a Chinese ''leishu'' encyclopedia, completed in 1607 and published in 1609 during the late Ming dynasty, featuring illustrations of subjects in the three worlds of heaven ...

and

Gujin Tushu Jicheng The ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng'' (), also known as the ''Imperial Encyclopaedia'', is a vast encyclopedic work written in China during the reigns of the Qing dynasty emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng. It was begun in 1700 and completed in 1725. The work w ...

. In 1684,

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

scholar Utsunomiya Teki (宇都宮的), also called Utsunomiya Ton'an ( 宇都宮遯庵), wrote the following in a preface to Chen's work: "There is nothing excluded in his recording of affairs" and that "he cites his sources meticulously" and "his work for modern scholarship is no small thing."

Other works

Besides the Shilin Guangji, Chen Yuanjing is known for writing the 40 volumes of Suishi Guangji (岁时广记), Bowenlu (博闻录), and other treatises. His works are prefaced by Liu Chun (刘纯), Zhu Jian (朱鉴), and other authors, indicating that Chen Yuanjing may have been born during the reign of

Emperor Lizong of Song Emperor Lizong of Song (26 January 1205 – 16 November 1264), personal name Zhao Yun, was the 14th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the fifth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1224 to 1264. His original name was ...

.Hu Daojing. Preface to Shilin Guangji,

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

edition (2004) 胡道静：〈元至顺刊本《事林广记》解题〉，收录于胡道静著：《中国古代典籍十讲》，复旦大学出版社，2004 The Suishi Guangji (岁时广记) or "Expansion of the Random Notes to Events of the Annual Seasons" is an annuary or book detailing customs and yearly

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

.Wu Huifang (吴蕙芳)：Chinese Everyday Leishu and Historical Value《〈中国日用类书集成〉及其史料价值》，Jindai Zhongguo shi yanjiu tongxun《近代中国史研究通讯》(Modern Chinese Historical Research Communications) 第30期 (2000) It was an expansion of the Suishi Zaji (岁时杂记) or "Random Notes to Events of the Annual Seasons" written by Lü Xizhe (吕希哲 ca. 1080-1125). Chen's Suishi Guangji has a preface written by Zhu Jian (朱鑑/朱鉴 1190-1258), the grandson of

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

. Based on Zhu Jian's year of death, it can be deduced that Chen published the Suishi Guangji earlier and had lived during the 12th and 13th centuries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yuanjin Hokkien people Song dynasty writers Yuan dynasty writers Writers from Fujian 13th-century Chinese historians 13th-century Chinese writers Mongolian writers Mongol Empire scholars Mongol Empire people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Jian'ou Yuan dynasty people