Biji () is a genre in classical Chinese literature. It roughly translates "

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking. History ...

". A book of biji can contain anecdotes, quotations, random musings, philological speculations, literary criticism and indeed everything that the author deems worth recording. The genre first appeared during the Wei and Jin

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

, and matured during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. The biji of that period of time mostly contains the believe-it-or-not kind of anecdotes, and many of them can be treated as collections of

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

s. To differentiate this kind of "biji fiction" from the general biji, the former is later called "biji xiaoshuo" (筆記小說 "notebook fictions"). Biji flourished during the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, and continued to flourish during the later dynasties. Famous works of biji include: *''

Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang The ''Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang'' () is a book written by Duan Chengshi in the 9th century. It focuses on miscellany of Chinese and foreign legends and hearsay, reports on natural phenomena, short anecdotes, and tales of the wondrous an ...

'' (酉陽雜俎 ''Yǒuyáng Zázǔ''), by Duan Chengshi, Tang Dynasty *''

Dream Pool Essays ''The Dream Pool Essays'' (or ''Dream Torrent Essays'') was an extensive book written by the Chinese polymath and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095), published in 1088 during the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. Shen compiled this encycloped ...

'' (夢溪筆談 ''Mèngxī Bǐtán'') by

Shen Kua Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen wa ...

*''Notebooks from the Rong Study'' (容齋隨筆 ''Róngzhāi Suíbǐ'') by

Hong Mai Hong Mai (, 1123 Poyang County, Poyang-1202 Hangzhou), courtesy name Jinglu (), art name Yechu () and Rongzhai (), was a Chinese statesman, Confucianism, Confucian scholar and writer during the Southern Song dynasty. He was the author of ''Yijianzh ...

, Song Dynasty *''Little Notes on the Nature of Things'' (物理小識 ''Wùlǐ Xiǎoshí'') by Fang Yizhi,

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

References

Ronald Egan 'Introduction' in Qian Zhongshu ''Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters'' Harvard University Press, 1998 Ronald Egan trans. Chinese literature Chinese literary genres Literary genres {{China-lit-stub

See also

References