Chuogenglu 輟耕錄

Chuogenglu 輟耕錄 "Retirement to the countryside", full title Nancun chuogeng lu 南村輟耕錄, is a privately written history of the late Yuan period 元 (1279-1368). It is compiled in the style of a "brush-notes" essay (biji 筆記, zhaji 札記). Because of its missing focus on political history, it is traditionally not categorized as history, but as novel.

The author is Tao Zongyi 陶宗儀 (1322-1403), courtesy name Jiucheng 九成, style Nancun 南村, from Qingyang 清陽 in the prefecture of Huangyan 黃岩. He was an eminent scholar of the late Yuan period. With the disintegration of the Yuan central government, he retired to the countryside and dedicated himself to studies and writing, "ceasing farm labours" (chuo geng 輟耕).

The 30-juan-long book, the result of ten years of compilation, gives an overview, in a loose style, of what he had seen and heard in southern China in the previous decades. His book also renders accounts of the government style in the capital and the provinces. Of particular interest are his information about daily urban life during his time. He narrates the activities of his contemporaries, like painting, poetry - including popular songs (yao 謠), and operas and theatre plays. Tao Zongyi even left notes about the physicians of his time and their medical knowledge. The Chuogenglu is a very rich source for the political, social and cultural life under the Yuan dynasty.

There were many different editions of the Chuogenglu, the oldest being is a print from the end of the Yuan period, and several from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). In 1958, the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 published a modern version, based on the Yuan print. The Chuogenglu is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Sibu congkan sanbian 四部叢刊三編.