A Recall of Xiangxuehai

Inputtime:2022-02-17 18:00:24

Around the year Gengzi of Guangxu, Pan Zunqi’s younger son, Pan Jiru, re-examined the old coffin at the turn of the century. The old scholar He Jishao’s clerical script inscription “Xiangxue Caotang” (i.e., the Preface to the Xiling Scroll) returned to Panshitang with Chen Shi’s expectations. In his later years, He resided in Suzhou, nearly ten years older than Pan Zunqi, the master of Xiangxue Caotang, and maintained close ties with the Pan clan:

According to the “Qing Official Yearbook”? “Examiner Yearbook,” in the sixteenth year of Daoguang (1836), the 38-year-old He took the examination, with the examiner being Pan, the grandfather of Pan Zuyin, that is, Pan Zunqi’s uncle.

The early manuscript version of “He’s Diary” records He’s interactions with Pan Shi. On the third day of the eleventh month of the nineteenth year of Daoguang: “Paid respects to Pan Shunzhi (i.e., Pan Zunqi), received permission to view the ‘Shengyuan Tie.’” Received a ink-and-wash print of “Cheng San Song” as a gift. Visited Mount Huqiu.

During He’s interactions with Pan Shi, the year of Chou in Tongzhi (1865) stands out as a year of profound reflection.

Besides age, at 67, after a long conversation with Zeng Guofan, He departed and arrived in Suzhou, staying in Wu Pingzhai’s residence. During his stay in Wumen, He composed numerous works on travel and sightseeing, including “Shihu Lanyu Shi” and “Shihu Lanyu Tu” for Pan Zunqi, and “Xiangxue Shi” for Pan Shunzhi. They had been friends for at least thirty years. (Dongzhou Caotang Shi, Volume 27).