Tieweishan congtan 鐵圍山叢談

Tieweishan congtan 鐵圍山叢談 "Dense talks of Mt. Tiewei" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Cai Tao 蔡絛 (1097-1162), courtesy name Yuezhi 約之, style Baina Jushi 百衲居士. He hailed from Xianyou 仙游 in the prefecture of Xinghua 興化 (near today's Fujian 福建, Fuzhou) and was the second son of the Counsellor-in-chief Cai Jing 蔡京 (1047-1126). Cai Tao occupied the office of edict attendant (daizhi 待制) of the Huiqiu Hall 徽猷閣, but when his father was accused of treason, in 1125, Cai Tao was banished to Bobai 博白 (in today's Guangxi province). In Bobai he lived at the foot of Mt. Tiewei, for which reason his book has been given that title. Cai Tao also wrote the texts Xiqing shihua 西清詩話, a poetry criticism, and Beizheng jishi 北征紀實, an account of a military campaign.

The bibliographical chapter of the encyclopaedia Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考 says that the Tieweishan congtan was 5 juan "scrolls" long, but the received version is divided into 6 fascicles. The book describes the history of the Song dynasty from its foundation on until the reign of Emperor Gaozong 宋高宗 (r. 1127-1162), the first emperor of the Southern Song 南宋 (1127-1279). It describes the court administration and tells stories about various court officials. The language is vivid and elegant, making the book one of the best in narrative literature. Statements about the role of Cai Jing must, nevertheless, be taken with care because the son, of course, embellished the role his father had taken in the late reform era and his contribution to the downfall of the Northern Song 北宋 (960-1126).

The Tieweishan congtan is included in the series Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Xuehai leibian 學海類編 (all 6 juan editions), Xu baichuan xuehai 續百川學海, Gujin shuohai 古今說海, Lidai xiaoshi 歷代小史, Shuofu 說郛, Wuchao xiaoshuo 五朝小說, Wuyishizhai chongchao 無一是齋重鈔 and Shuoku 說庫 (extracts only). In 1983, the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 published a modern edition with annotations by Feng Huimin 馮惠民 and Shen Xilin 沈錫麟.