Nanyuan manlu 南園漫錄

Nanyuan manlu 南園漫錄 "Casual records of the Southern Garden" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Zhang Zhichun 張志淳 (1458-1538), style Nanyuan Yeren 南園野人, from Jiangning 江寧 (i.e., Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu). His highest office was Vice Minister of Revenue (hubu shilang 戶部侍郎). Based on the origins of his family from Yunnan, he wrote the records Yongchang erfang ji 永昌二芳記.

In the book of 10 juan, Zhang tried to imitate Hong Mai's 洪邁 (1123-1202) Rongzhai suibi 容齋隨筆 and Luo Dajing's 羅大經 (c. 1195-1252) Helin yulu 鶴林玉露. It was finished in 1526.

The content of this book is quite wide-ranging, including miscellaneous investigations into historical events and rumors, records of contemporary affairs, and evaluations of historical figures. As the author's ancestral home was Yunnan, the book contains numerous detailed accounts and examinations of events in that region, many of which are valuable.

For example, the entries Luyi 麓夷, Yizhong gui 夷種貴 and Mengmi 孟密 focus specifically on border affairs during the Zhengtong 正統 (1436-1449) and Chenghua 成化 (1465-1487) reign-periods of the Ming dynasty, all based on credible sources. Entries such as Zheng Luchuan 征麓川, Yi chengfa 夷稱法 and Miandian 緬甸, though composed of minor anecdotes and miscellaneous inquiries, also hold significant historical value about the habits and customs of, and historical events among the tribes in southwest China and beyond.

At the end of the book is an afterword written by the author in 1526, which specifically refutes the inaccuracies in He Qiaoxin's 何喬新 (1427-1502) Fuyinlu 撫夷錄.

The last part of the book consists of the author's observations and inquiries, each accompanied by critical examination. For example, in the entry on the River God (Jiangshen 江神), he satirizes Hong Mai for neglecting his duties as an official and instead flattering spirits and deities. In the entry Qiu Jun zhushu 邱濬著書, he criticizes Qiu Jun (1421-1495) for not daring to address the issue of eunuchs in his Daxue yanyi bu 大學衍義補, offering a pointed and insightful critique. In che chapter Zhang Ji shiyi 張籍詩意, he corrects an error in Qu Zongzhi's 瞿宗志 Guitian shihua 歸田詩話, arguing that Qu failed to recognize Zhang had already been serving in an official's retinue when he wrote the poem Huanzhu yin 還珠吟. The rebuttals are clearly reasoned and well supported.

The Nanyuan manlu provides important reference material for the study of Ming history, especially in relation to the history of Yunnan and other frontier regions inhabited by native tribes.

The book is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Yunnan congshu chubian 雲南叢書初編.