The Current Status of the Existing Xuanbian Shengjian Xinqi Wanbao Shishan (Selected Poems)

Abstract

Xuanbian Shengjian Xinqi Wanbao Shishan (選編省監新奇萬寶詩山) is a collection of poems collected and published in the early Ming period. The reference book for the imperial examination was recorded as a Song Dynasty edition, so it can be handed down to the book collectors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, the quality of the works included is not high, there is no signature, the source is unknown, so it is not taken seriously, but it has gathered a considerable number of “Shengshih-shih” (省試詩) for the metropolitan examinations. Therefore, the Siku Quanshu official (四庫館臣) said: “Speaking of test works, the most complete in the Tang Dynasty is Wenyuan Yinghua (文苑英華), and in the Song Dynasty is Wanbao Shishan (萬寶詩山).” Through the study of the poems recorded in this book, we can see the relationship between the general literati and the secular society under the influence of the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty. After investigating the existing version and circulation of the book, this article analyzes the topic of poems, and compared with the practicing poetry of the metropolitan examinations for recording the main features of this book. (Article content in Chinese with English extended abstract)

Keywords

• wanbao shishan
• sheng-ti-shih
• the civil service examinations