Mozhuang manlu 墨莊漫錄

Mozhuang manlu 墨莊漫錄 "Loose records from Ink Village [Lodge]" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zhang Bangji 張邦基 (mid-12th cent.), courtesy name Zixian 子賢, from Gaoyou 高郵 (in today's Jiangsu province). He is documented for the years 1123 and 1148.

The 10-juan-long book primarily records various miscellaneous matters and occasionally engages in textual analysis. It contains many valuable insights, such as differences in the use or errors in particular words in the poetry of Han Yu 韓愈 (768-824), Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037-1101), Du Fu 杜甫 (712-770), and Wang Gui 王珪 (571-639). The book also meticulously analyzes verses from Huang Tingjian's 黃庭堅 (1045-1105) poetry. These interpretations are exceptionally precise and thorough.

Additionally, Zhang Banji identifies the book Biyunxia 碧雲騢 as the work of Wei Tai 魏泰 and attributes the Longchenglu 龍城錄 and Yunxian sanlu 雲仙散錄 to Wang Zhi 王銍 (d. 1144). These findings are valuable for textual research.

The book records various intriguing details, such as Zheng Xuan's 鄭玄 (127-200) commentary on the Han dynasty's 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) palace incense recipes, rose oil adhesive leaf books, whirlwind leaf books, and the corrections of muhu 穆護 to muhu 木瓠 "wooden gourd" and juli 具理 pingying 瓶罌 "bottle jar". Notably, the book's documentation of population statistics and transportation figures from the Song period aligns closely with historical records.

However, some accounts, such as the strange local phenomena in the district of Panyuan 潘源; Zhou Xin's 周昕 (d. 196) father transforming into a sheep; Hu Shiwen 胡師文 encountering the ghost of Wu Bangu 吳伴姑; a scholar from Mingzhou 明州 meeting Pei Xiu 裴休 (791-864); and Ye Shining's 葉世寧 dream under Yan Qingguan's 嚴清關 influence, lean toward fiction and superstition. There are also occasional errors, such as mistakenly identifying Wang Anshi's 王安石 (1021-1086) younger sister as his daughter.

Despite these minor flaws, the book remains a valuable and noteworthy piece of Song-dynasty anecdotal writing, offering useful reference material for those studying literature and history.

Zhang's book is found in the series Baihai 稗海, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, Shuofu 說郛 (Wanwei Shantang 宛委山堂 edition), Jingxiutang congshu 敬修堂叢書 and Sibu congkan sanbian 四部叢刊三編 (with critical notes by Zhang Yuanji 張元濟).