About the author
Su E is the author of Tang-dynasty notebook anecdotes and scholarly miscellanies. Three works survive under his name, including Duyang Zabian, Su Shi Yanyi, and a modern edition of Duyang Zabian. Public information about his life, native place, and dates is limited and hard to verify. Judging from the extant works, his writing covers court and popular anecdotes, institutional matters, and the explanation of names and things: Duyang Zabian records many Tang court stories, marvels, and rare objects in a style close to notebook fiction, while Su Shi Yanyi focuses on classical and historical sources and the glossing of names and things, resembling scholarly reading notes. Both works have long been consulted by scholars studying Tang social customs and the transmission of texts, and in traditional bibliography they are often classed among the miscellaneous or anecdotal writers. Modern editions have also made Su E's writings easier for general readers to read and consult.