王晫

Wang Zhuo was a Qing-dynasty man of letters known chiefly for his biji fiction and anecdotal writings. His life is now difficult to trace: his nationality and dates of birth and death are unrecorded, and publicly available sources are limited, so his general profile can only be inferred from his surviving works. Eleven of his works are held in the collection, with representative titles including Jinshi Shuo and its individual volumes and collected edition, as well as the Compendium of Qing-Dynasty Biji Fiction. Jinshi Shuo imitates the format of A New Account of Tales of the World, recording the words and deeds and anecdotes of his contemporaries in arranged volumes, and possesses both historical and literary value. The Compendium of Qing-Dynasty Biji Fiction gathers works of this kind, showing that he devoted considerable effort to compiling and editing such writings. His works are commonly classified under classics, philosophical readings, and classical literature; their subjects lean toward character appraisal, records of worldly affairs, and the customs of the literati, written in a concise and evocative style that continues the tradition of classical-language biji. Owing to limited sources, details of his life and acquaintances cannot be supplied, and readers should appreciate his aims and the documentary significance of his writings through the works themselves.