Public information about Pan Wei is limited; all that is known is that the author has one work, The Record of the Hundred Trades (Baigong Ji). Judging from the title and its common classification under "theory," the book appears to center on traditional handicrafts and the various trades, and to have the character of an examination, survey, and discussion. In it, the author may record, in a relatively plain style, the categories, processes, and lines of transmission of various craftsmen and skills, bringing scattered folk production experience into an orderly narrative framework so that readers can understand the overall shape of the hundred trades from a theoretical perspective. Because more information about the author's life, identity, and writing background is lacking, it is difficult to know the research approach and sources, or to judge the book's specific reception among scholars or readers. On the available evidence, Pan Wei's writing tends toward systematic organization and rational exposition of craft traditions rather than personal lyricism or essayistic elaboration; the text serves to place specific trades and skills within a discussable framework of knowledge. Readers interested in how traditional crafts are recorded and theorized may take The Record of the Hundred Trades as one reference point, though understanding of the author and the book still awaits further public materials.
