Complete Song Dynasty Notes - (Part 2) (9)

Author: Zhu Yian
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Song Dynasty notes are an important part of Song Dynasty literature, with a vast number of them. Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty is the third large-scale anthology in the field of Song Dynasty literature and history after Complete Poems of the Song Dynasty and Complete Prose of the Song Dynasty. It is a systematically compiled and comprehensive collection of Song Dynasty notes. Each volume of notes is accompanied by an academically valuable preface written by the editor, including a brief biography of the author, the process of compilation, content evaluation, version information and sources, the base text used, and an overview of the collation. The entire book is printed in traditional Chinese characters in vertical columns with modern punctuation marks, making it an extremely valuable historical source. The new exquisite packaging makes it an excellent gift and collectible, truly precious. The entire book is divided into approximately ten volumes, and this book is Volume 1 of the second series. Overall, Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty, Volume 2, has the following characteristics:
First, the book scientifically defines the meaning of "notes" and strives to collect as many notes written by Song Dynasty authors as possible, truly reflecting the "completeness" of Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty and avoiding omissions or disorganization. The compilers adhere to the principle that "notes are spontaneous records rather than deliberately composed works." They are limited to collecting "specialized collections of Song Dynasty notes" and exclude "uncompiled, scattered individual notes," as well as "specialized collections with focused themes and rigid structures," such as "poetry discussions, dialogues, or specialized catalogs like The Tea Classic, Painting Catalogs, Records of Prominent Officials, and Official Precepts." Of course, they also exclude novels and biographies that narrate stories in a sequential manner.
Second, most of the Song Dynasty notes in this book are presented to the public for the first time after collation and punctuation, reflecting the "newness" of the book. Among the 49 notes in this volume, 13 have already been published by Zhonghua Book Company and Shanghai, while 36 have been newly collated and published, accounting for over 73% of the total. These newly collated notes, though some may be brief, contain content related to the social economy, politics, and customs of the time, leaving behind valuable historical materials for future generations, truly precious.
Third, compared to previously collated and published Song Dynasty notes, this book is relatively "accurate" in terms of collation. The contributors to the collation and preface of this book are mostly scholars with outstanding achievements in ancient Chinese history and literature, particularly in Tang and Song literature and history. Although they dare not overpraise them as the best in the world, they can be considered top-tier selections.
Note: The line breaks () are preserved as they are.