Yulin 喻林

Yulin 喻林 "Forest of metaphors" is an encyclopaedia compiled during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Xu Yuantai 徐元太 (1536-1617), also written 徐元泰, courtesy name Ruxian 汝賢, style Huayang 華陽, from Xuncheng 宣城 in the prefecture of Ningguo 寧國, Anhui.

Xu Yuantai was very interested in metaphors and parables in all types of traditional literature and collected these kinds of literary illustrations over a period of more than twenty years. The book of 120 juan length (according to some sources, between 38 and 80 juan) is divided into 10 chapters dealing with cosmology, politics, human affairs, education, and objects of daily life. The book covers 158 themes, and more than 400 different sources are quoted. Xu's citations are very diligent, indicating the book's name, the author, and even the name and number of the chapter. Despite the scholarly efforts he put into his compilation, there were a lot of errors in his citations, and he also often changed the original text in his quotations.

The oldest print, with a length of 80 juan, was produced in 1589. The Yulin in included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書. It has been republished in 1991 by the Shanghai Guji Press 上海古籍出版, a print from 1615 was reproduced in the same year by the Shanghai Cishu Press 上海辭書出版社.

There is also a 24-juan-long manuscript extract called Yulin yiye 喻林一葉 compiled during the Qing period 清 (1611-1911) by Wang Su 王蘇 (jinshi degree 1790). The preface is dated 1794.

A supplement to the Yulin called the Guang yulin 廣喻林 was compiled by Gu Bosu 顧伯宿. It is 30-juan-long and is only preserved as a manuscript.