Records of the Xuan Chamber

张读Qunyan Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.9

Word count: 80K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Xuan Shi Zhi (Records of the Xuan Chamber) is a ten-volume collection of Tang dynasty chuanqi tales. It is recorded in the Chongwen Catalogue, the New Tang History's Bibliography of Arts and Letters, and the Song History's Bibliography of Arts and Letters, in eleven volumes. The Ming manuscript and the Baihai edition both contain ten volumes plus one volume of supplements, with over 110 entries. It was presumably compiled in the Southern Song from the Taiping Guangji, and the Congshu Jicheng edition was printed from this text. A modern edition is Zhang Yongqin and Hou Zhiming, eds., Xuan Shi Zhi and Du Yi Zhi (Zhonghua Book Company, 1983). In addition to the supplements, 65 further recovered fragments survive, making this currently the best edition.

Editor's review

Xuan Shi Zhi is one of the Tang chuanqi collections of notable value both as historical source material and as literature. Its title alludes to Emperor Wen of Han summoning Jia Yi to the Xuan Chamber to ask about the spirits and gods, signaling that the book deals largely with the supernatural and the strange. This edition offers readers a standard ten-volume text with supplements; beyond the main text it includes supplements and recovered fragments, making it easier to grasp the work as a whole. The stories are short and plainly told, combining the fantastical color of the zhiguai tradition with many details of Tang social beliefs, customs, and literati taste, and they are of reference value for studying the evolution of Tang fiction and popular conceptions. Readers need not seek intricate plots; the book is better read in fragments, a few at a time, with attention to narrative technique and zhiguai motifs. For general readers it is more like a volume of Tang curiosities, suitable as an introductory extension to classical fiction; for scholars it can serve as auxiliary material for the Tang chuanqi corpus.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Classical literature readers interested in Tang chuanqi and zhiguai tales
Students of history and literature studying Tang social beliefs and popular conceptions
General readers who enjoy short tales of the strange and prefer fragmentary reading
Students of classical Chinese literature needing source material on Tang fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers of fiction expecting full-length plots and strong dramatic conflict
Beginners without a foundation in classical Chinese who need a vernacular translation
Readers who prefer modern subjects or realism

Reading tips

Begin with the supplements and recovered fragments, then return to the main text to grasp the distribution of themes.
Read three to five tales at a time, noting recurring supernatural motifs and narrative conventions.
Look up unfamiliar allusions using general knowledge of Tang culture; do not labor over the classical text word by word.
For research, read in conjunction with the relevant entries in the Taiping Guangji.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
宣室志 [唐]张读

FAQ

What does the title Xuan Shi Zhi mean?

The title comes from the story of Emperor Wen of Han summoning Jia Yi to the Xuan Chamber to ask about the spirits and gods, signaling that the book deals largely with the supernatural and the strange. This manner of naming also reflects the Tang zhiguai habit of invoking ancient precedent to claim a tradition for itself.

Is this book suitable for readers with no classical Chinese?

This is an edited edition of the original classical text without a vernacular translation for each tale, so readers with weak classical Chinese will find it difficult. It is advisable first to acquire basic classical reading ability, or to read alongside an annotated or selected translation.

What are the length and style of the stories?

Most of the stories are short and plainly told, dealing mainly with the supernatural and the strange and touching also on Tang social customs and literati taste. The style is fragmentary overall and does not suit reading for sustained, connected plots.

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About the author

张读 Author

Zhang Du was a Tang dynasty writer of biji xiaoshuo, or notebook tales. Very little is known about his life, and public records are limited, yet the four works attributed to him show considerable skill in classical Chinese narrative. His best-known work, Xuanshi Zhi, is mainly a collection of strange tales about gods, ghosts and retribution, mixed with anecdotes of the time. The pieces are short and the style plain and concise, inheriting the tradition of Six Dynasties zhiguai and influencing Tang chuanqi and later notebook fiction. It is important material for understanding Tang beliefs and narrative taste. A combined edition, Xuanshi Zhi · Pei Xing Chuanqi, places him alongside Pei Xing, showing both writers' standing in Tang and Five Dynasties notebook fiction, while the two-volume Tang and Five Dynasties Notebook Fiction Survey presents his work within a larger documentary context. His writings are often read as classical literature and for literary appreciation, best approached through the zhiguai tradition and the evolution of classical notebook writing.