Libraly Journal

Libraly Journal ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (10): 114-124.

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A Study on the Author and Content of Wu Shan Za Zhu, theOnly Existing Copy Collected in Harvard-Yenching Library

Yang Shengxiang (Advanced Institute of Confucian Studies, Shangdong University)   

  • Online:2022-10-15 Published:2022-10-19
  • About author:Yang Shengxiang (Advanced Institute of Confucian Studies, Shangdong University)

Abstract:

The six existing manuscripts of Wu Shan Za Zhu Collected in Harvard-Yenching Library havenot documented the author’s name. Through the analysis of the name, imperial examination, birthplace andrelatives, we can know that the author is Wu Siquan, the Jinshi of Huining in Gansu in the Qing Dynasty.According to Annotated Catalogue of the Chinese Rare Books in the Harvard-Yenching Library, HarvardUniversity, U.S.A., edited by Mr. Shen Jin, suggests that Wu Shan Za Zhu was written by Wu Yiyi in theQing Dynasty. But that view is wrong. The first four books preserve a lot of information of the biographiesand behaviors of people from Shaanxi and Gansu, from which we can get a glimpse of the social customsof the Qing Dynasty. The last two books are collections of prefaces and letters about the Joseon Dynasty.Furthermore, there are sixteen articles ghostwritten by Wu Siquan in Wu Shan Za Zhu.