The Master of the Golden Tower (Jinlouzi 金樓子)

The Master of the Golden Tower (Jinlouzi 金樓子) is a work of political, cultural, and literary thought written by Xiao Yi 蕭繹 (508-555), known posthumously as Emperor Yuan 元帝 (r. 502-555) of the Liang dynasty (502-557). Written over the course of its author's life and likely intended to be continued beyond his untimely death, Jinlouzi consists of a series of chapters on topics ranging from the conduct of kings and their consorts, admonition for the author's sons, and funerary arrangements, to clever witticisms, book collecting, and tales of the marvelous. It is within these tales, part of Xiao Yi's chapter on "Anomaly Accounts" (zhiguai 志怪), that we get a glimpse of the author's interest in the supernatural, in those uncanny creatures and events whose veracity was often too epistemologically ambiguous to be included in standard histories. Writing these down in less formal contexts became something of a pastime for educated elites, as were the oral storytelling sessions whence those tales often came, giving rise to a milieu of tale writing that intersected with the miracle stories and hagiographies of the Buddhist and Daoist traditions, and which would have profound effects on the development of the literary genre of fictional narrative in subsequent centuries. Each of the chapters in Jinlouzi—fourteen in total in the extant text—proceeds in roughly the same manner, via citations from works past and present (including some of Xiao Yi's own previous writings) interspersed with the author's comments and reflections. In its form and scope, Jinlouzi belongs to the tradition of Masters Works (zishu 子書), a literary genre of long-form philosophical treatises with chapters on social, ethical, and political issues, often titled with the name or epithet of the author followed by zi 子 ("master"). Other books in this tradition include Liu An's 劉安 (179-122 BC) Huainanzi 淮南子 (The Master of Huainan) and Ge Hong's 葛洪 (282-343) Baopuzi 抱朴子 (The Master Who Embraces Simplicity). Xiao Yi's work stands out in this tradition, as much for its relatively late date—the genre had lost some of its popularity beginning in the fifth century—as for its striking intimacy. In addition to the autobiographical preface (zixu 自序) that was a standard part of the genre, Jinlouzi contains many personal references to its author and his life, including lengthy biographies of both his father and mother, an entire chapter devoted to instructions and advice for his sons, an account of his personal book collection of 80,000 scrolls, and a discourse on the proper behavior of royal princes. Indeed, Xiao Yi seems to have written Jinlouzi with his position as one of the royal princes very much in mind, centering the majority of his work's content on the concerns germane to life in that most exclusive echelon of elite society in the imperial palace. Xiao Yi was seventh son of the founder of the Liang dynasty, Emperor Wu 武帝 (given name Xiao Yan 萧衍 [464–549, r. 502–549]), and his older half-brothers were Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503–551), who would later rule as Emperor Jianwen 簡文帝 (r. 549-551), and Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501–531), who is perhaps best known for his compilation of the literary anthology Wenxuan 文選. Xiao Yi finally took the throne after his brother Xiao Gang's demise late in 552, but his was a short reign that lasted just over two years. His seat of power in Jiangling fell to armies from the Western Wei in 554, and he was captured and executed shortly thereafter. Before his death, he ordered that his massive book collection be burned, and thus Jinlouzi stands as a work that reflects much of the learning and thought of the sixth century elite, written by a prolific book collector who perpetrated what was perhaps the greatest bibliocaust since that of the Qin dynasty several centuries earlier.