Zishi jinghua 子史精華

Zishi jinghua 子史精華 "Pure blossoms of the masters and the historians" is an encyclopaedia compiled on imperial order during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Wu Shiyu 吳士玉 (1665-1733), Wu Xiang 吳襄, Zhang Tingyu 張廷玉 (1672-1755), Jiang Tingxi 蔣廷錫 (1669-1732), Zhang Zhao 張照 (1691-1745), and others. The compilation took place between 1721 and 1727.

The traditional literary categories of the histories and the so-called "masters" are the widest and richest. For this reason, the Kangxi Emperor 康熙帝 (r. 1662-1722) ordered to select the most important paragraphs among the writings of the two categories, in order to provide a useful handbook giving a convenient overview of these types of literature, famous statements and idioms, and often-read stories. The 160-juan-long book is divided in 30 encyclopaedic categories, with 260 sub-chapters. The quoted paragraphs are to be found as explanations to keywords, to which remarks are added for a better understanding. The Zishi jinghua has, in spite of all its strengths, been criticized for the inconvenience and inadequate arrangement of the keywords.

There is a print by the Wuying Hall 武英殿 from 1727, a print from 1892, a print by the Shanghai Tongwen Press 上海同文 from 1884, and one by the Shanghai Jicheng Tushu Press 上海集成圖書公司 from 1851. In 1991, the Beijing Guji Press 北京古籍出版社 published a reprint. The Zishi jinghua is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.