Sun Guangxian is the author of Beimeng Suoyan (A Miscellany of Northern Dreams). Available public information about him is limited, and his life, native place, and dates of birth and death are not clearly recorded. Judging from the surviving work, Beimeng Suoyan chiefly records court and unofficial observations, the words and deeds of figures, and institutional and historical anecdotes from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods. It combines the strengths of miscellaneous notes and historical sources, is written in a concise style, and stresses factual recording, showing a clear character of historical jottings. Later ages have often regarded the book as an important reference for studying late Tang and Five Dynasties society and politics, and it also reflects Sun Guangxian's interest in organizing old anecdotes and his narrative skill. In library classification his work is placed under Eastern philosophy, but its value is better understood as note literature and historical record. The library currently holds one work by him, Beimeng Suoyan.
