Rural sayings to entertain the mind, Wu Xia proverbs linked together

Author: Li Guangting (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: August 1, 1982
Features: Notes from the Qing Dynasty, vast and numerous. Among them, Li Guangting's Xiang Yan Jie Yi and Wang Youguang's Wuxia Yanyuan can be considered two works that took a unique path. Xiang Yan Jie Yi and Wuxia Yanyuan were not widely circulated. Before the liberation, Xiang Yan Jie Yi could occasionally be found in the market, but Volume 3 was missing, leading Zhou Zuoren to lament it as a missing original edition and view it as a regrettable matter. Wuxia Yanyuan, on the other hand, was even rarer and was not included in the early edition of Zhonghua Book Company's Da Yanhai. Given that the two books were written by authors from roughly the same era and shared similarities in content, they were compiled into one volume to delight readers. As for the inferior parts of the two books, they are actually common flaws in the notes of past dynasties, and it is believed that modern readers can discern them. Xiang Fang Jie Yi consists of five volumes, an original publication from the 30th year of Daoguang's reign (), without missing leaves. Wuxia Yanyuan consists of four volumes, an original edition from the 25th year of Jiaqing's reign () from the Laotieshanfang, with a posthumous supplement by the author's descendants in the 12th year of Tongzhi's reign (). Each volume is inscribed with "Beizhuang Susishi Collection," "Genghuan Sunshi Participated in annotating the margins; Yunfeng Luoshi Commented and Added Notes." Both books were obtained by the editor from Baohui Hall Bookstore on Longfu Temple Street in Beijing before the liberation. During the ten years of chaos, the editor's collection was lost, but these two books, being compact and easy to hide, survived. They are now being published with annotations and punctuation.