Prose · LT508

Notebooks

Scholarly miscellanies recording scientific discoveries, anecdotes, and arts.

48works

11dynasties

46authors

Han

5 works

202 BCE – 220 CE

  1. Monthly Ordinances for the Four ClassesCui ShiAn Eastern Han household almanac of farming, chores and rites month by month.
  2. Comprehensive Meaning of CustomsYing ShaoExplaining the names of things and clearing up doubts about popular custom.
  3. Shuowen jiezi (Explaining Simple Graphs and Analyzing Compound Characters)Xu ShenA "wen" is the root of the images of things; a "zi" is what breeds and multiplies from it.
  4. Shanghan zabing lun (Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases)Zhang ZhongjingEach time I read of Yueren's diagnosis at Guo and of how he read the complexion of the Marquis of Qi, I could not help sighing in admiration at his talent.
  5. Chuci ZhangjuWang Yi (comp.)Li means parting; sao means sorrow; jing means a path.

Tang

6 works

618–907

  1. Biography of Camel Guo the Tree PlanterLiu ZongyuanI only follow the tree's nature so as to bring out what it is.
  2. The Classic of TeaLu YuTea is a fine tree of the South.
  3. Further Old Tales from the Liu FamilyLi DeyuHe witnessed all of it himself; it is not hearsay; it is reliable and attested and may serve as a true record.
  4. Wujing zhengyi (Correct Meanings of the Five Classics)Kong Yingda (comp.)The sage looked up and looked down to observe, modeling himself on heaven and earth to nurture the multitude of beings.
  5. Correct Meanings of the Book of RitesKong Yingda (comp.)Ritual is what weaves heaven and earth: traced to its root it lies in the first oneness, and followed from beginning to end it embodies what human feeling desires.
  6. Preface to the Inscription on the Stone BridgeZhang JiazhenThe stone bridge over the Xiao River in Zhao commandery is the work of the Sui craftsman Li Chun; its making is extraordinary, and no one knows how it was done.

Song

12 works

960–1279

  1. Brush Talks from Dream BrookShen KuoA commoner named Bi Sheng went further and made movable type. His method was to carve characters in sticky clay, each as thin as the rim of a coin.
  2. Classified Conversations of Master ZhuZhu XiBefore Heaven and Earth existed there was after all only principle.
  3. Record of a Dream of Splendour in the Eastern CapitalMeng YuanlaoPeace had long prevailed and people and goods were plentiful.
  4. Old Affairs of WulinZhou MiZhou Mi's recollection of court ceremony and city life in Southern Song Hangzhou.
  5. Menglianglu (Record of the Millet Dream)Wu ZimuThinking back on past times, it is almost like a dream, and so I call it the Record of the Millet Dream.
  6. Yingzao fashi (Building Standards)Li JieYour servant has heard that the ridgepole above and the eaves below were, in the Changes, the time of "Great Strength"; setting the positions and telling the directions is truly a rite of an age of peace.
  7. Hundred Family SurnamesAnonymousZhao, Qian, Sun, Li; Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang.
  8. Pingzhou KetanZhu YuThe pilots know the lie of the land: at night they watch the stars, by day the sun, and in murk and gloom the compass needle.
  9. Rules of the Charitable EstateFan ZhongyanWhat is given for clothing and food and for weddings and funerals is called the charitable estate.
  10. Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to GoryeoXu JingIn all over three hundred entries in forty juan: each thing drawn in its form, each matter explained.
  11. Wujing ZongyaoZeng Gongliang (comp.)I have heard that the way of Heaven favours arms, showing thunder and light to proclaim its might; affairs of state rest on the army, so camps and guards are set up to order its ranks.
  12. Ducheng JishengGuanpu Naide WengWhat I have seen and heard has been no matter of a day, so I could not but gather and record it.

Ming

6 works

1368–1644

  1. Compendium of Materia MedicaLi ShizhenBroad yet not cluttered, detailed yet to the point, thoroughly examined to the end: it looks straight into the depths of the sea.
  2. Yongle EncyclopediaJie Jin (comp.)Rhymes order the characters, and characters link the matters.
  3. War Diary (Nanjung Ilgi)Yi Sun-sinDriving on from victory to victory as if into an empty land.
  4. Surviving Writings of Master GaoGao PanlongWhat is called reverence is this; what is called benevolence is this; what is called sincerity is this: it is the way of returning to one's nature.
  5. Sights and Scenes of the Imperial CapitalLiu Tong, Yu YizhengA late-Ming account of Beijing's sights and customs in eight juan.
  6. Jihe yuanben (Elements of Geometry)Matteo Ricci & Xu Guangqi (trans.)A scholar's learning presses on to the fullest knowledge, and that knowledge must come from a clear grasp of the principles of things.

Qing

8 works

1636–1912

  1. Maxims for Managing the HomeZhu BoluOver a bowl of congee or rice, reflect upon the arduous labor that produced it; holding half a strand of silk, keep in mind the difficulty of material resources.
  2. Recipes from the Garden of ContentmentYuan MeiIn learning one must first know and then act — and so it is with food and drink.
  3. Six Records of a Floating LifeShen FuI remember that as a small child I could look straight into the sun with my eyes wide open and make out the tip of an autumn hair.
  4. Evidential Study of the Meaning of Terms in the MenciusDai ZhenIf I understand it and do not speak, that is disloyal.
  5. A Study of the Forged Classics of the Xin LearningKang YouweiThe loss of the Six Classics was blamed on the Qin burning; that is Liu Xin's false story.
  6. Maxims from the Family InstructionsKangxi EmperorI thought: if I do not know it myself, how can I judge who is right? So, stung by this, I set myself to learn.
  7. Miscellaneous Notes from ReadingWang NiansunNiansun notes: after Xiling the character shi ('clan') has dropped out.
  8. Annual Customs and Festivals in PekingFucha DunchongA late-Qing record of the festival year in Beijing.