Yijueliao zaji 猗覺寮雜記

Yijueliao zaji 猗覺寮雜記 "Miscellaneous notes from Refined Awareness Studio" is a "brush-note"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the early Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zhu Yi 朱翌 (c. 1130), courtesy name Xinzhong 新仲, style Qianshan Jushi 灊山居士 or Shengshi Laoren 省事老人, from Shuzhou 舒州 (today's Qianshan 潛山, Anhui). After the flight of the Song dynasty to the southeast, he was Director of the Palace Library (bishu jian 秘書監) and concurrently a Drafter in the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu sheren 中書舍人). He participated in the compilation of the veritable records of Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗 (r. 1100-1125). When Counsellor-in-chief Qin Hui 秦檜 (1091-1155) purged Zhao Ding 趙鼎 (1085-1147), Zhu Yi was regarded as Zhao's partisan and was exiled to Qujiang 曲江. Zhu used this time to study old writings and began to make notes on them, on the basis of which his book emerged.

The book extends over 2 juan with 435 brief chapters. The first fascicle critically discusses poems concerning the text, but not regarding the literary quality. The second part of the book examines prose literature, mainly from the historiographical genre. The preface, originally planned to be written by Hong Shi 洪適 (1117-1184), but Hong passed away before it was finished, and it was thus laid into the hands of Shi's brother Hong Mai 洪邁 (1123-1202).

In the edition of the series Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, 68 chapters of the second juan are transferred to the first fascicle to create a numeric balance of the numbers of chapters.

The critique of Zhu's book is excellent and reliable. There are, however, some disputable suggestions and alterations in the book, like a verse from Du Fu's 杜甫 (712-770) poem Maozhai shi 茅齋詩 which Zhu changed in a more medical sense. A verse quoted from a poems of Su Shi 蘇軾 (Su Dongpo 蘇東坡; 1037-1101) referring to a story in Shuyiji 述異記 is erroneously attributed to the Liexianzhuan 列仙傳. Verses attributed to Han Yu 韓愈 (768-824) and Xie Ziran 謝自然 (767-794) originate in the Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義, etc.

Apart from the Zhibuzuzhai congshu, the following series include the Yijueliao zaji: Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書. Longmian congshu 龍眠叢書, Xuehai leibian 學海類編, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, Shuofu 說郛 (Wanwei Shantang 宛委山堂 edition) and Xiangyan congshu 香艷叢書.