The Golden Tower and Its Master: A Study of Xiao Yi’s (508–555) Jinlouzi (“Master of the Golden Tower”)

Abstract

This is a study of the Jinlouzi (“Master of the Golden Tower”), a sixth century zishu (masters text), its compiler, Xiao Yi (508–555), and of the cultural and social contexts in which the text was produced. While most of Xiao Yi’s work did not survive in transmission, this compilation bearing Xiao Yi’s self-chosen alternative name “Master of the Golden Tower” has withstood the passage of time. But this is not a study of using the Jinlouzi to reconstruct Xiao Yi’s life and thoughts. Nor do I claim that the Jinlouzi can be used to trace the overall social and intellectual contexts of the early medieval period. Instead, it is Xiao Yi’s master persona and his quest for becoming a master through the text of the Jinlouzi that stand at the center of this study. In six chapters it is shown that Xiao Yi proceeds on the course of the master tradition at the same time blazing trail of his own in quest for “masterhood.” Chapters 1 and 2 look into how the master engages in discourses that effectively identify himself as one of the members of an intellectual community. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss how the master establishes his textual authority and creates his legacy where the textual tradition had become diffuse and multiform. Chapters 5 and 6 document how the Master of the Golden Tower took form in the Jinlouzi when the masters tradition was being eclipsed by new forms of literary expression, such as biji (informal jottings) and the discursive essay. This study reveals a multi-faceted master, who both conforms to the intellectual tradition of the masters text and goes beyond it by leaving his indelible imprint.