Shilei fu zhu 事類賦註

Shilei fu zhu 事類賦註 "Commented rhapsodies on categorized matters", often abbreviated to Shileifu 事類賦, original name Yiziti fu 一字題賦 "Rhapsodies on single words", is an encyclopaedia compiled and annotated during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Wu Shu 吳淑 (947-1002), also called Wu Chu 吳俶, courtesy name Zhengyi 正儀.

The commentary (zhu 註) was written by Wu himself and is an integral part of the book. Wu Shu participated in the compilation of the large, officially issued encyclopaedias Taiping yulan 太平御覽, Taiping guangji 太平廣記 and Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 and has also compiled the books Jiang-Huai yiren lu 江淮異人錄 and Mige xiantan 秘閣閑談. He finished his encyclopaedia Shilei fu zhu in 993. It has a length of 30 juan (in a draft version just 20) and us divided into 14 parts, covering 100 topics. The Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Hua Ximin 華希閔 (1672—1751) has written an extension, Guang shilin fu 廣事類賦 in 40 juan.

The Shilei fu zhu is a general encyclopaedia covering many field of knowledge, from astronomy to biology. The title is derived from the fact that each topic is described in the shape of a rhapsody or prose-poem (fu 賦), and the commentary, written by the author himself, is explaining the sentences. This arrangement contributed to the high literary quality of the encyclopaedia. It was estimated as a valuable book in former times.

The earliest print dates from 1146 and was made by the Tea and Salt Commission Office (chayansi 茶鹽司). The most widespread Qing-period print is that of Hua Ximin's Jianguang Studio 劍光閣 from 1746. It was also printed in 1813 by Huang Pilie 黃丕烈 (1763-1825) in his series Shiliju congshu 士禮居叢書. The Shileifu is also included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書. In 1989, the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 published a modern edition.

Shileifu tongbian 事類賦統編

Shileifu tongbian 事類賦統編 is collection of encyclopaedias compiled during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Huang Baozhen 黃葆真. It is a joint publication of a series of encyclopaedias based on the model of the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) book Shilei fu zhu 事類賦注 by Wu Shu 吳淑 (947-1002), and includes the following supplements:

The books are not arranged separately, but the entries have been dispersed according to encyclopaedic themes, so that the Tongbian can be viewed as a book by its own, and not as a series. The sources are, nevertheless, indicated, so that the five originals can be identified. Huang Baozhen added some poems from the encyclopaedias Yuanjian leihan 淵鑒類函 and Fenlei zijin 分類字錦 that are appended to the end of each chapter of the Tongbian.

A further supplement to the Shilei fu zhu not included in this collection is Shileifu buyi 事類賦補遺 with a length of 14 juan, compiled by Zhang Juntan 張均坦 (preface 1811).