The Rat and the Unpolished Jade

Dai Zhi is an author from ancient China about whom very little biographical information is publicly available. His native place, dates of birth and death, courtesy name, and official career are all unrecorded; all that is known is that one work by him survives, the Shupu (Rat's Unpolished Jade). In our catalog this book is classified under social sciences, and it is the main basis for understanding Dai Zhi's writings. Judging from the surviving information, the Shupu belongs to the tradition of notes and textual criticism, dealing largely with classical and historical allusions, the names and institutions of things, and the interpretation of words. Its form is that of notebook-style entries, each taking up a specific question and mixing textual investigation with discussion, reflecting the scholarly habit of daily accumulation and analysis typical of traditional men of letters. Because almost nothing can be verified about the author's life, later assessments of the book have had to rest on the text itself, and its influence has remained largely within the scope of notebook literature and scholarly jottings. On the whole, Dai Zhi is an author known through a single surviving work, and further research awaits the discovery of more material.