Southern New Book

Author: [Song] Qian Yi, Huang Shoucheng (ed.)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-10-01
Features: The Southern New Book (Nanbu Xinshu) consists of ten volumes, compiled by Qian Yi of the Northern Song Dynasty and included in the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) compiled during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The preface of the Siku Quanshu states: "[The old edition has the title 'Annotations by Later Scholars' at the beginning of each volume, listing the family histories of the Qian family who compiled the annotations. Qian Yi, styled Xibai, was a son of the ruler of Wu-Yue and served as a Hanlin Academician during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. This book was written during his tenure as the magistrate of Kaifeng County in the Dazhong and Xianfu years. It records stories from the Tang Dynasty, with some references to the Five Dynasties period]." It also mentions: "[Chao Gongzi's Reading Records described it as five volumes, while Jiao Jiong's Catalogue of Classics in the National History described it as ten volumes. Upon examining its title, it is organized from Jia to Gui using the ten Heavenly Stems as chronicles, so it is indeed ten volumes. The records of the Formula Office likely refer to a different merged version]." According to the Siku Quanshu, the recorded Chao Gongzi's Reading Records is the Yuan edition, but checking the Wei edition also only contains five volumes. Whether the Siku Quanshu merged it or if there are missing parts remains unclear. However, the Records of Arts and Literature in the Song Dynasty already listed this book as ten volumes, indicating that it was not until the Ming Dynasty that Jiao Jiong recorded this ten-volume original.