Zhao Yi

Life

His direct ancestor was 趙孟堙; his great-grandfather was 趙敔明, his father 趙惟寬, and his grandfathers are given as 趙斗煃 and 趙福臻.

In 1761, Zhao passed the jinshi examination, placed third in the palace examination, and was appointed a Hanlin compiler; his examination credentials also included 鄉貢舉人 and 明通榜.

His offices included Inner Court Secretary, compiler, assistant examiner in Shuntian Prefecture, service in the Grand Council, and circuit inspector of Guixi, and he also held a third-rank honorary title. The Grand Council appointment is associated with the twenty-first year of the Qianlong era (1756), while the years listed for his assistant-examiner appointments are 1762, 1763, and 1766.

In the winter of 1766, he became prefect of Zhennan Prefecture in Guangxi and opened the prefectural granary to relieve urgent popular needs; in 1770 he was transferred to Guangzhou Prefecture in Guangdong and the following year was promoted to the Guixi Military-Defense Circuit in Guizhou.

Accounts differ about his service in Li Shiyao’s staff: one places him on the staff of the Viceroy of Liangguang, while another says that in 1787, during the Lin Shuangwen campaign in Taiwan, he joined the staff of the Viceroy of Min-Zhe, planned troop movements and military supplies, and proposed strategies for defeating the enemy, earning Li Shiyao’s reliance.

His retirement is likewise described in two ways. One account says that in 1772 he resigned because of his mother’s illness, returned home, taught at Anding Academy, and devoted himself to reading; another says that after Lin Shuangwen was captured in spring 1788, he resigned when the military affair was over and firmly refused official rewards. In his later years he returned to his native place and occupied himself with writing.

Family and associations

He had four sons: 趙廷偉, 趙廷彥, 趙廷俊 (1770–1833), and 趙廷英.

His sons-in-law were 沈景蒼, 金裕恩, 高德葆, 湯詒憲, and 蔣純健.

His grandsons included 趙公桂, 趙公樾, 趙忠𢏺, 趙景謨, 趙僧善, 趙鳴盛, 趙慶齡, 趙覽, and 趙忠弼; his great-grandsons included 趙增某, 趙增祥, and 趙增祿.

His friends included 錢大昕, 李調元, 王昶, 孫原湘, 程晉芳, and 張塤.

He was also appreciated by 富察傅恆, exchanged poems with 李瑞岡, wrote a preface for a work by 趙秉清, exchanged poetry and prose with 釋悟情, and served as an examiner for 祝德麟.

Scholarship and poetry

Zhao was both a poet and a historian; his poetry was ranked alongside that of Yuan Mei (袁枚) and Jiang Shiquan (蔣士銓), and he was particularly accomplished in historiography.

In literary criticism he did not promote poetic schools, advocated originality over imitation, and drew his poetic spirit from Song poetry; in composition he favored a plain, straightforward manner often tinged with mockery and humor.

Hong Liangji described his poetry as “如東方正諫，時帶詼諧,” while Yuan Mei characterized it as “忽正忽奇，忽莊忽俳。稗史方言，皆可聞入.”

His poetry had considerable influence in Qing poetry; Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi, together with Jiang Shiquan, were called the “Three Greats of the Qianlong era,” and Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi, together with Zhang Wentao, were called the “Three Greats of Qing xingling poetry.”

His historical work 《廿二史札記》 earned him renown in historiography and was counted among the “three great historical works of the Qing dynasty.”

Works

His principal works include 《廿二史札記》 (36 juan; also titled 《二十二史劄記》), 《陔餘叢考》 (43 juan; also titled 《陔餘叢考四十蘭卷》), 《皇朝武功紀盛》 (4 juan), 《甌北詩話》 (10 juan), 《甌北詩集》 (53 juan), and 《簷曝雜記》 (6 juan, also written 《檐曝雜記》).

Other work titles include 《甌北全集》, 《甌北詩鈔》, 《甌北集》, 《唐宋十家詩話》 (12 juan), 《宮史》 (36 juan), and 《放翁年譜》; 《成語》 (1 juan) was a compilation.

Legacy

His five-character linked-verse poem 《題黃鶴樓十六韻》 contains the lines “樓真千尺回，地以一詩傳.”