Shixiaobian 識小編

Shixiaobian 識小編 "Petty compilation of knowledge" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Dong Fengyuan 董豐垣 (late 18th cent.), courtesy name Juting 菊町, from Wucheng 烏程 (Wuxing 吳興, Jiangsu). He was district magistrate of Dongliu 東流.

The Shixiaobian with a length of 2 juan is a miscellaneous study comprising twenty-four essays, primarily focusing on the ritual Classic Yili 儀禮. It is divided into three sections. The first, "Sacrifices to the local deity" (Jishe 祭社) analyses statements on sacrifices to soil deities, often rejecting the Classic Zhouli 周禮 regarding the practice of offering sacrifices on a square mound in the middle of a marsh. The second part, "Granting of land" (Shoudi 授地), discusses the conferral of land upon those who have rendered meritorious service. It examines the Liyun 禮運 chapter of the Yili, which states: "The Son of Heaven has land to settle his descendants; regional rulers have states (guo 國) to establish their offspring; grand masters have fiefs (cai 采) to provide for their heirs." The last part, "Ancestral sacrifices" (Jizu 祭祖) investigates whether grand masters were entitled to establish a triptych ancestral temple.

The Shixiaobian was printed in 1841 and is included in the series Zhihai 指海, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Xue gu jinshi congshu 學古金石叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.

A book with the same title was written by Zhou Binsuo 周賓所, who lived during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644).