Zhi Wen Lu

Author: (Qing) Yongnei Ju
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-20
Features: Zhi Wen Lu is one of the more popular note novels from the Qing Dynasty. The author did not leave their name, but signed as "Yongnei Jushi." The life of Yongnei Jushi remains unclear, but based on the preface of the book and some passages within, he was from Zhejiang, had traveled to various places, and resided in Guangzhou, Guangdong. He was likely a person from the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty. Yongnei Jushi often interacted with scholars and officials but lived a modest life. During his time in "residing in Guangzhou," he once "was unemployed at the Guangzhou inn, coincidentally suffering from an illness." He frequently carried a pottery pot, which was scoffed at and discarded by the "families of wealthy and noble families" and the "aristocratic and luxurious ones," using it to "brew wine before flowers and cook tea under the moon." He called himself a "rationalized madman" and considered the pottery pot his "companion in adversity." Thus, it is evident that Yongnei Jushi was a "down-and-out" scholar. Zhi Wen Lu consists of 12 volumes, collecting 247 works. Except for the travelogue Shuilian Dong and the prose Sha Bao Mr. Biography, the rest are stories narrating strange and supernatural events. These stories, in terms of art, often imitate note novels such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Zi Bu Yu, featuring simple plots, concise language, and archaic yet literary word choices.