Wangshi tanlu 王氏談錄

Wangshi tanlu 王氏談錄 "Talks of Master Wang" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126) by Wang Qinchen 王欽臣 (c. 1034-c. 1101), courtesy name Zhongzhi 仲至, from Songcheng 宋城 (today's Heqiu 商丘, Henan). Wang received the jinshi degree by grace and was Vice Transport Commissioner (zhuanyun fushi 轉運副使) of Shaanxi 陜西, vice ministerial director in the Ministry of Works (gongbu yuanwailang 工部員外郎), Vice Chamberlain for the Imperial Stud (taipu shaoqing 太僕少卿), Vice Director of the Palace Library (bishu shaojian 秘書少監), senior compiler in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies (Jixian Dian xiuzhuan 集賢殿修撰, edict attendant (daizhi 待制) and head of the military prefecture of Chengde 成德軍.

The book of one juan length is quoted in the series Shuofu 說郛, where the author's name is rendered as Wang Zhu 王洙 (997-1057), who was actually Wang Qinchen's father. This is based on a statement by Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (c. 1183-1262), author of the book catalogue Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄解題, who said that the book was a script of Wang Zhu's instructions, but his assumption cannot be substantiated on the basis of the book. However, the postscript Bianlu guanlan shumu 編錄觀覽書目, was written by Wang Zhu.

The book's content, arranged in 99 brief chapters, is extensive and diverse, covering a wide range of topics, including the Classics, history, culture, and both official and folk anecdotes. It offers many valuable insights. Notably, its interpretation of the phrase hui shi hou su 繪事後素 which aligns with Zhu Xi's 朱熹 (1130-1200) collected commentaries Zhuzi jizhu 朱子集注. The book also presents well-reasoned arguments, such as the necessity of preserving both versions when collating texts and the principle that Classical exegesis should not alter words to fit interpretations. Additionally, the author recommends to make a distinction in textual annotation between one-character expressions (using the note yi zuo 一作 "one version has") and expressions of two characters and more (using the note yi yun 一云 "one version says"). The Wangshi tanlu serves as a useful reference for the study of Classical texts and historical analysis.

The book is part of the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Baoyantang miji 寶顏堂秘笈, Tang-Song congshu 唐宋叢書, Shuofu (Wanwei Shantang 宛委山堂 edition) and Siku quanshu 四庫全書.