This paper engages in a bibliographical study of the 72 poems of the five-character regulated verses, which appear in the First Cast Gapinja-Type Edition of Hyangsansamchebeop. It will explore several themes in the following order: the life and literature of Bai Juyi(白居易); the composition of the Hyangsansamchebeop poems; the collection of works and writing-related matters; and a comparison of Hyangsansamchebeop with Zhu Jincheng’s Bai Juyi ji jian jiao(白居易集箋校).
All 72 poems of Hyangsansamchebeop were collected in Anthology of Poems by Bai Juyi(白居易文集). Bai Juyi ji jian jiao cites that there are 7 poems from Book 13, 4 poems from Book 14, 1 poem from Book 15, 4 poems from Book 16, 1 poem from Book 17, 3 poems from Book 19, 1 poem from Book 20, 1 poem from Book 23, 1 poem from Book 24, 6 poems from Book 25, 21 poems from Book 26, 16 poems from Book 27, 2 poems from Book 28, 3 poems from Book 34, and 1 poem from Book 37, making 72 poems in all.
The poems included in Hyangsansamchebeop show us matters related to the writing of the poems such as the time, place or government post Bai was in when he wrote the works. Bai selected the most works from his 50s and from his writings done in Changan and Luoyang. Bai Juyi went through various government posts after passing the jinsasi(進士試) examinations at 29 years of age. His official life bore close relations to the writing time and place and had a great influence in the creation of the poems. The poems contain scenes of Bai Juyi’s everyday life and surroundings with 25 poems for “Spring”, 16 poems for “Wine”, 13 poems for “Autumn”, 12 poems for “Sentiments”, 3 poems for “Partings”, and 3 poems for “Winter”. Altogether, there are 72 poems in 6 categories.
A comparison done of the First Cast Gapinja-Type Edition of Hyangsansamchebeop (Model A), created around the 10th year of King Jungjong’s reign, with Zhu Jincheng’s Bai Juyi ji jian jiao (Model B) yielded the following results. First, the original texts of Model A and Model B have differences in letters: there are instances of Model A and Model B having similar Chinese characters so that there are no great differences in the translation; instances of Model A and B having contrasting letters so that it is difficult to know the differences in translation; instances where Model A and B have contrasting letters yet differences in translation are clear; instances where later annotations show that the letter of Model A is more correct; and instances where later annotations show that the letter of Model B is more correct. Secondly, the annotations which appear in Model B complete the translation of the original text. Thirdly, the poems in Model A and Model B have the same titles, yet Model B sometimes has different titles for the poems in the annotations. The results of this study will be used in the most fundamental studies of Bibliography, Chinese Literature, Chinese poetry which includes the study of Bai Juyi’s poetry.