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The ''Taiping Guangji'' (), sometimes translated as the ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Era'', or ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Xinguo Period'', is a collection of stories compiled in the early Song dynasty. The work was completed in 978, and printing blocks were cut, but it was prevented from publication on the grounds that it contained only ''xiaoshuo'' (fiction or "insignificant tellings") and thus "was of no use to young students." It survived in manuscript until it was published in the Ming dynasty. It is considered one of the '' Four Great Books of Song'' (宋四大書). The title refers to the Taiping Xinguo era (太平興國, "great-peace rejuvenate-nation", 976–984 AD), the first years of the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song.
The collection is divided into 500 volumes () and consists of about 3 million Chinese characters. It includes 7,021 stories selected from over three hundred books and novels from the Han dynasty to the early Song dynasty, many of which have been lost. Some stories are historical or naturalistic anecdotes, each is replete with historical elements, and were not regarded by their authors as
"Taiping Guangji" ("Extensive Records of the Taiping Era ")
'' Encyclopedia of China'' (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed., via archive.org. *Kurz, Johannes. "The Compilation and Publication of the Taiping yulan and the Cefu yuangui", in Florence Bretelle-Establet and Karine Chemla (eds.), Qu'est-ce qu'écrire une encyclopédie en Chine?. ''Extreme Orient-Extreme Occident Hors série'' (2007), 39–76. {{Authority control Chinese literature Chinese prose texts 10th-century Chinese books Song dynasty literature Chinese short story collections Leishu 978 Chinese anthologies Chinese encyclopedias
The ''Taiping Guangji'' (), sometimes translated as the ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Era'', or ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Xinguo Period'', is a collection of stories compiled in the early Song dynasty. The work was completed in 978, and printing blocks were cut, but it was prevented from publication on the grounds that it contained only ''xiaoshuo'' (fiction or "insignificant tellings") and thus "was of no use to young students." It survived in manuscript until it was published in the Ming dynasty. It is considered one of the '' Four Great Books of Song'' (宋四大書). The title refers to the Taiping Xinguo era (太平興國, "great-peace rejuvenate-nation", 976–984 AD), the first years of the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song.
The collection is divided into 500 volumes () and consists of about 3 million Chinese characters. It includes 7,021 stories selected from over three hundred books and novels from the Han dynasty to the early Song dynasty, many of which have been lost. Some stories are historical or naturalistic anecdotes, each is replete with historical elements, and were not regarded by their authors as fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, but the topics are mostly supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
, about Buddhist and Taoist priests, immortals, ghosts
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
, and various deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
. They include a number of Tang dynasty stories, especially '' chuanqi'' (tales of wonder), that are famous works of literature in their own right, and also inspired later works.
In the 17th century, the vernacular novelist and short story writer Feng Menglong produced an abridged edition, ''Taiping Guangji Chao'' (太平廣記鈔), reducing the number of stories to 2,500 in 80 volumes.
Pu Songling was said to have been inspired by ''Taiping Guangji''; the short story "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream
"A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" (), also translated as "Dr Tsêng's Dream", is a short story written by Chinese author Pu Songling in ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (1740). The story revolves around an ambitious scholar whose dreams ...
" parallels one of ''Taiping'' stories.
Contents
The Taiping Guangji was compiled by Wang Kezhen (王克贞), Song Bai (宋白), Hu Meng (扈蒙), Xu Xuan (徐铉), Zhao Linji (赵邻几), Lü Wenzhong (吕文仲), Li Fang (李昉), Li Mu (李穆), and others. *''The Tale of Li Wa
''The Tale of Li Wa'' () is a short novella by Bai Xingjian (or Bo Xingjian).
Song Geng (C: 宋 耕, P: ''Sòng Gēng''), author of ''The Fragile Scholar: Power and Masculinity in Chinese Culture'', wrote that this was one of three Tang Dynasty ...
'' by Bai Xingjian
*''Huo Xiaoyu's Story'' by Jiang Fang this story has been translated by Stephen Owen to English in ''Anthology of Chinese Literature, Beginnings to 1911'' (1996)
*''The Tale of Liu Yi'' translated as ''The Dragon King's Daughter'' by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang
References
Sources
* Allen, Sarah M. (2014), ''Shifting Stories: History, Gossip, and Love in Narratives from Tang Dynasty China.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press. * Charles E. Hammond, "T'ang Legends: History and Hearsay" ''Tamkang Review'' 20.4 (summer 1990), pp. 359–82. * . *Cheng, Yizhong"Taiping Guangji" ("Extensive Records of the Taiping Era ")
'' Encyclopedia of China'' (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed., via archive.org. *Kurz, Johannes. "The Compilation and Publication of the Taiping yulan and the Cefu yuangui", in Florence Bretelle-Establet and Karine Chemla (eds.), Qu'est-ce qu'écrire une encyclopédie en Chine?. ''Extreme Orient-Extreme Occident Hors série'' (2007), 39–76. {{Authority control Chinese literature Chinese prose texts 10th-century Chinese books Song dynasty literature Chinese short story collections Leishu 978 Chinese anthologies Chinese encyclopedias