About the author
Xi Shu is an author about whom very little biographical information is publicly available; no clear record of his nationality, dates of birth and death, or English name has been found. The library currently holds only one work by him, Chronicles of Grain Transport Ships (Caochuan Zhi). Judging from its title, the book deals with the ships used in grain transport and appears to be a documentary work on the grain transport system, shipbuilding, and related practical matters. In the common classification, Xi Shu is placed under Eastern philosophy, a label that sits somewhat uneasily with the subject matter of his surviving work, so readers should interpret it in light of the book's actual contents. Because verifiable information about the author's life is so scarce, this introduction makes no conjecture about his career, academic background, or social standing. On the available evidence, Xi Shu's significance lies mainly in his compilation and recording of grain transport shipping affairs in Chronicles of Grain Transport Ships, a text that offers a useful reference for the study of ancient grain transport and shipping matters, while the circumstances of its composition and transmission await further research.