Yanshan waiji 儼山外集

Yanshan waiji 儼山外集 is a thematically organised collection of the writings of Lu Shen 陸深 (1477-1544; also written 㴱), original name Rong 榮, courtesy name Ziyuan 子淵, style Yanshan 儼山, from Shanghai. He was an eminent calligrapher and rose to the post of provincial administration commissioner (buzhengshi 布政使) of Sichuan, and even the prestigious office of Director of the Household of the Heir Apparent (zhanshifu zhanshi 詹事府詹事). He was posthumously awarded the title of Vice Minister of Rites (libu shilang 禮部侍郎) and is known by the posthumous title of Lu Wenyugong 陸文裕公.

The Yanshan waiji with a length of 40 juan is a collection of essays which Lu wrote over many years. It was published by his son Lu Ji 陸楫 (1515-1552).

The Shitong huiyao 史通會要 is an extract of the most important statements of Liu Zhiji's 劉知幾 (661-721) history critique Shitong enriched by essential interpretations of scholars on the Shitong. The Tongyilu 同異錄 is a collection of outstanding statements of various historical authors on governance which Lu Shen once presented to the throne. The Gu qiqi lu 古奇器錄 describes outstanding antiques. The book Shuji 書輯 is an essence of various aspects of calligraphy. The remaining books are essays with miscellaneous notes investigating the texts of the Classics, summaries of observations, and discussions on various matters.

Each volume focuses on a specific office or region, and although the individual notes are separated in different essay collections, the overall structure is consistent. While there are some trivial or erroneous statements included, they provide valuable material for research.

The editors of the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 left out six books, for which reason this edition has only a length of 34 juan instead of the original 40 fascicles.