Английская Википедия:Biji (Chinese literature)
Biji (Шаблон:Zh) is a genre in classical Chinese literature. Literally "notebook" or "written notes",[1][2] a book of biji can contain anecdotes, quotations, random musings, philological speculations, literary criticism and indeed everything that the author deems worth recording.
History
The genre first appeared during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and matured during the Tang dynasty. The biji of that period of time mostly contains the believe-it-or-not kind of anecdotes, and many of them can be treated as collections of short fictions. To differentiate this kind of "biji fiction" from the general biji, the former is later called biji xiaoshuo (筆記小說 "notebook fictions").
Biji flourished during the Song dynasty, many works of which adopting an "an item-by-item style and stipulated no further rules for the size, structure, or mutual relations of these items", and continued to flourish during the later dynasties up until the end of the 19th century.[1] According to Ronald Egan, the biji as a genre "served as an alternative to the classical commentary and the formal essay" in traditional Chinese letters and allowed writers to record their reflections or scholarly insights freely.[2]
Famous works of biji include:
- Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang (酉陽雜俎 Yǒuyáng Zázǔ), by Duan Chengshi, Tang dynasty
- Dream Pool Essays (夢溪筆談 Mèngxī Bǐtán) by Shen Kua, Song dynasty
- Notebooks from the Rong Study (容齋隨筆 Róngzhāi Suíbǐ) by Hong Mai, Song dynasty
- Little Notes on the Nature of Things (物理小識 Wùlǐ Xiǎoshí) by Fang Yizhi, Ming dynasty
- Notes of the Thatched Abode of Close Observations (閱微草堂筆記 Yuèwēi Cǎotáng Bǐjì) by Ji Yun, Qing dynasty
See also
References
Шаблон:Reflist Шаблон:China-lit-stub
