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Shejing 射經

Mar 20, 2013 © Ulrich Theobald

There were several books with the title Shejing 射經 "Book of archery", or Jiaoshejing 教射經 "Instructions for archery", most of which are lost. The oldest of these was written during the Tang period 唐 (618-907) by Wang Ju 王琚 (d. 747). Fragments of it are included in the series Shuofu 說郛 and it is quoted in the early Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) encyclopaedia Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成.

Song-period 宋 (960-1279) bibliographies list two books of this title, one with a length of 1 juan, and one with a length of 2 juan. The Southern-Song-period 南宋 (1127-1279) master Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223-1296) says that the book Shejing was divided into two chapters, the first discussing the rules of the body (tifa 體法), and the second the power of the bow (gongli 弓力). A further, 3 juan-long book of this title is likewise recorded in the imperial bibliography Yiwen zhi 藝文志 (ch. 202-209) in the official dynastic history Songshi 宋史. These books seem to be lost.

The same source lists a book Shejing written by Zhang Zhongsu 張仲素 (769?-819), 3-juan long, which is lost. Tang Hao 唐豪 (1887–1959), author of the study Zhongguo wuyi tuji kao 中國武藝圖籍考, says that there was a book of this title written during the Jin period 晉 (265-420) by Du Yu 杜預 (222-284) that is lost.

The bibliographical chapter Yiwen lüe 藝文略 of Zheng Qiao's 鄭樵 (1104-1162) statecraft encyclopaedia Tongzhi 通志 lists a 4 juan-long anonymous Shejing that is also lost. Another, 4 juan-long Shejing, was written by Tian Yi 田逸. It is likewise lost. According to the bibliography Qianqingtang shumu 千頃堂書目, the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) master Li Chengfen 李呈芬 wrote a Shejing of 13 juan.

Sources:
Shi Xuanyuan 施宣圓 et al., eds. (1987). Zhongguo wenhua cidian 中國文化辭典 (Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexue yuan chubanshe), 1188.
Zhang Shan 張山, Pei Xirong 裴錫榮, ed. (1994). Zhonghua wuyi da cidian 中華武藝大辭典, p. 330. Nanjing: Jiangsu kexue jishu chubanshe.
Wen Renjun 聞人軍 (2021). "Mengxi bitan gong you liushan buzheng: Jian jie Wang Ju Shejing zhi yanbian 《夢溪筆談》“ 弓有六善”補徵 — —兼揭王琚《射經》之衍變", Guangxi Minzu Daxue xuebao (Ziran kexue ban) 廣西民族大學學報(自然科學版), 2021 (2): 31-39+67.