Qingbo zazhi 清波雜志

Qingbo zazhi 清波雜志 "Miscellaneous reports from Qingbo" is a story collection compiled during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zhou Hui 周輝 (also written 周煇; b. 1126), courtesy name Zhaoli 昭禮, from Huaihai 淮海 (in today's Anhui province). He was the son of the famous writer Zhou Bangyan 周邦彥 (1056-1121). He was an erudite literatus (boxue hongci 博學宏詞) and once was sent to the Jin empire 金 (1115-1234) as an emissary. Qingbo 清波 was the name of a city district and of a gate of the city of Hangzhou 杭州 (Lin'an 臨安), the capital of the Southern Song empire.

The book is 12 juan in size, with a supplement (Qingbo biezhi 清波別志) of 3 juan. It was completed in 1193. The stories refer to personalities and events from that period. For example, it recounts a story of a temple monk dreaming during the day of a golden dragon eating lettuce (Jinlong shi woju 金龍食萵苣), and another of Emperor Gaozong 宋高宗 (r. 1127-1162) being indifferent to women sitting at a wooden table — stories that seem aimed at glorifying the imperial family. It also includes accounts such as Counsellor Lü Dafang 呂大防 (1027-1097) advising Emperor Zhezong 宋哲宗 (r. 1085-1100) on eight matters, using a method of comparing ancient and modern examples; Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037-1101) composing eight rhapsodies during his exile in Hainan; and numerous records of Cai Jing's 蔡京 (1047-1126) life and posthumous affairs. Each story in the book is generally told in detailed prose, with many involving court affairs and high officials. It can be read as an alternative to historical records.

Quite interesting from a literary perspective are Zhou's discussions on contemporary poetry. He believed their content should "awaken the heart and clear the eyes". To support this view, he specifically cited two long poems: one by Li Qingzhao 李清照 (1084-1155) and another by Zhang Lei 張耒 (1054-1114), both written in praise of the stele inscription Zhongxing song 中興頌 from the Tang period 唐 (618-907). Li's poem, using the past to criticise the present, is rich in thought and conveys a valuable spirit of concern for the nation, warning those in power and condemning treacherous ministers. Zhou also praised poems that truthfully recorded events or described scenes. For instance, he discusses the beacon towers established during the early Shaoxing reign-period 紹興 (1131-1162) of the Southern Song. He also quotes Fan Chengda's 范成大 (1126-1193) poem on crabapple (haitang 海棠) blossoms in the region of Ba-Shu 巴蜀 (today's Sichuan province).

Zhou Hui placed great importance on the accuracy of printed editions, emphasising that "an incorrectly judged character can distort the meaning of an entire piece" and "mislead future learners greatly". From this, one can see Zhou's rigorous approach to poetry criticism, which offers valuable insights for later generations in appreciating poetry.

The text can be found in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Xu guyi congshu 續古逸叢書, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, Sibu congkan xubian 四部叢刊續編, and – in excerpts – the collections Baihai 稗海, and Shuofu 說郛.