Records of Jealousy

虞通之Jun 2024

3.0

Word count: 1.5K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are highly original, inventive, and literary. Early intellectual forms are especially distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysical studies, the Twenty-Four Histories, and customs and local gazetteers are all vast and profound in content. This series, "Essence of the Chinese Classics: Original Texts in Culture," preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate character and subtly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Duji (Notes on Jealousy), compiled by Yu Tongzhi of the Southern Dynasties, is a biji work that gathers old anecdotes and stories around the theme of jealousy, a rather unusual subject in traditional texts. It does not discuss abstract doctrines but presents the jealousies of ancient family life through short anecdotes in terse language, with a distinct flavor of zhiren biji (character sketches). For readers studying ancient social customs, women's circumstances, and family ethics, the book offers a distinctive vantage point beyond the official histories. This edition preserves the original appearance of the text and emphasizes authenticity, making it suitable for reading as historical source material and biji literature. There is no need to seek a continuous plot; read it as a series of independent items, and attend to the era's ideas and the narrator's stance behind each story, observing both how the ancients recorded "jealousy" and how the recorder himself stood.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholarly readers of literature and history studying ancient social customs and family ethics
Readers interested in zhiren biji and ancient anecdotal literature
Readers concerned with women's circumstances and gender issues in antiquity who wish to read primary sources
Advanced readers who enjoy short classical Chinese stories and are capable of critical reading

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking systematic theoretical exposition or academic monographs
General leisure readers who prefer complete stories and vernacular narrative
Beginners who struggle with classical Chinese and need sentence-by-sentence translation aids

Reading tips

Read item by item, a few at a time; there is no need to finish in one sitting.
Note the narrator's wording and judgments, and distinguish between the story and the recorder's stance.
Read alongside works on Southern Dynasties social and family history to deepen understanding.
Keep simple notes on recurring motifs to help summarize the book's overall features.

版权信息
妒记

FAQ

Is Duji a novel?

It is a work of ancient biji literature, gathering old anecdotes about jealousy and bearing the character of zhiren biji; it differs from the modern novel. Most entries are short stories with both historical and literary value, and should be read as source material rather than fiction.

Why is the book called Duji (Notes on Jealousy)?

The title states the book's theme: jealousy, especially jealousy in family relations. It reflects how people of the time recorded and regarded this phenomenon; it is not a systematic treatise.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

A basic understanding of Southern Dynasties history and ancient family ethics is helpful, as is some ability to read classical Chinese. The stories are short and background information is limited; without such knowledge, one may see only curiosities and miss their social significance.

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About the author

虞通之 Author

Yu Tongzhi was a figure of the Southern Dynasties period, and public sources offer very limited information about his life: his birth and death years, native place, and official career cannot be reliably determined. One work attributed to him survives, namely Ji Ji (Records of Jealousy). The book belongs to the tradition of ancient anecdotal literature and gathers stories on the theme of jealousy, drawing largely on domestic life and marital relations. Its style is concise with a touch of humor, reflecting contemporary concern with questions of female virtue and family order. Ji Ji is often classed among classic works, and its contents are cited by scholars studying Six Dynasties fiction and social customs. Because historical records are scarce, knowledge of Yu Tongzhi himself rests on this single work and its transmission, and further biographical details await the discovery of new materials and further research.