佟世思

Tong Shisi is an author about whom very little is known. Publicly available sources contain no confirmed record of his nationality, dates of birth and death, or English name, and nothing can be verified about his education, career, or social standing. What can be established is that four of his works are held in the collection, including Zha Hua, the similarly titled Shai Hua, and Ershu Zha Hua. Zha Hua appears under more than one version, suggesting that it occupies a central place among his surviving writings. Judging from the titles and the common categories under which they are classed, his works are usually placed in Eastern philosophy, social studies, and classic works. They appear to be in the nature of notes, miscellanies, and historical and literary commentary, written in a relaxed jottings style and concerned with the recording of names, objects, customs, and observations. Given the scarcity of material, the dates of composition, lines of transmission, and later influence of his writings cannot be described in detail. Readers may regard him as a traditional man of letters known for notebook-style works, whose writings await further collation and study.