''What the Master Would Not Discuss'' (, alternatively known as Xin Qixie ) is a collection of supernatural stories compiled by

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

scholar and writer

Yuan Mei Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese painter and poet of the Qing Dynasty. He was often mentioned with Ji Yun as the "Nan Yuan Bei Ji" (). Biography Early life Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang (, in modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang province, to a cu ...

. The work has also been called ''What the Master Does not Speak of'' and other such titles, as well as ''Censored by Confucius'' in one translated work of selected tales.

Title

The title of the work ''Zi bu yu'' refers to the passage of the ''

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

'' of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

that states, "The topics the Master did not speak of were prodigies, force, disorder and gods"Lau, D. C. tr. (1982) 979''Confucius: The Analects'', Book Seven, p. 88 ''apud'' , p. xxiii His reference to the master was criticised as a 'heretical' use of Confucian texts. Yuan later changed the title to ''Xin Qixie'' ( zh, t=新齊諧, s=新齐谐, labels=no, "New Wonder Tales of Qi/from Qi") when he discovered there was a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

text with the title ''What the Master Would Not Discuss''. However, Yuan's collection is still commonly known by its original title. The original anthology appeared in 24 volumes, and a sequel anthology followed in 10 volumes under the title ''Xu xin Qi xie'' ( zh, t=續新齊諧, s=续新齐谐, labels=no, "A Sequel to New Wonder Tales of Qi"). The 34 total volumes combined boasts a content exceeding 1,000 short stories and accounts.

Release

''Zi Buyi'' first appeared in print in 1788. In contrast to the prevailing

Confucian orthodoxy The debate over whether the ancient Chinese masters can be counted as philosophers has been discussed since the introduction of this academic discipline into China about a hundred years ago. Cultural immersion in the West by figures such as Hu Sh ...

of the imperial court, the 747 short stories depicted a rich tapestry of daily life, including themes of ghosts, sex, betrayal, revenge, transvestism, homosexuality, and corruption. However, Yuan defended the collection, as the whims of an ageing man enjoying his last days as much as possible, though the content of his stories relates to many of his personal grievances with the Confucian establishment. The work was so popular that the government censored it in 1836 during attempts to suppress anti-establishment sentiment.

Stories

The stories were collected over a lengthy period of time. The sources included oral accounts from friends and relatives, official gazettes, or other collections.

In popular culture

One of the supernatural creatures mentioned in this collection called the Hua Po (花魄), literally Floral Spirit, is a recurring demon in the popular Japanese video game series '' Megami Tensei''.

External links

China Knowledge

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * * Chinese literature Jiangshi fiction Fictional depictions of Bao Zheng in literature Chinese short story collections {{China-myth-stub