Xuelüzhai biji 雪履齋筆記

Xuelüzhai biji 雪履齋筆記 “Brush-notes from the Studio of Sandals in the Snow”is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Yuan period 元 (1276-1368) by Guo Yi郭翼 (d. 1364), courtesy name Xizhong 羲仲, style Dongguo Sheng 東郭生 or Qianshan Xiansheng 遷善先生, from Kunshan 昆山 (in today's Jiangsu province). The title of the is derived from a story in the Shiji 史記 (126 Huaji liezhuan 滑稽列傳), where a naive person, Master Dongguo 東郭先生, with worn-out shoes is caught in the snow.

The book of 1 juan length is a collection of miscellaneous notes written by Guo Yi, with no particular order or systematic commentary. However, many of the discussions contain valuable insights. For example, it offers an explanation of the Shang Shu 商書 (Book of Documents) regarding two obscure phrases, drawing on Zhang Jiucheng's 張九成 (1092-1159) interpretation; it explains a passage from the Lunyu 論語 "Confucian Analects" regarding the care of dogs and horses, based on He Yan's 何晏 (190-249) commentary; it refutes the false claims in Zhang Jiuling's 張九齡 (678-740) Jinjianlu 金鑒錄; and it argues against the theory of Cai Qing 蔡清 (1453-1508) on the "three worthies" (san ren 三仁) mentioned by Confucius, offering interesting perspectives. The book also discusses Xie Shizhi's 謝師直 (i.e., Xie Jingwen 謝景溫; 1021-1097) views on a certain topic, offers commentary on poetry, and provides some reasoned interpretations. However, when explaining the Lunyu passage on "supernatural strength and chaotic spirits", and when discussing the concept of "force differing from category", the author places too much trust in ancient annotations, leading to some overly curious conclusions.

This book had not been published for a long time. The oldest edition was in the series Xuehai leibian 學海類編, but it contains quotes from figures such as Yuan Huang 袁黃 (1533-1606), who lived in the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644). Since Guo Yi had passed away by the end of the Yuan period, it is impossible for him to have encountered Yuan Huang. Therefore, it is clear that this book was later altered by Ming people and is not the original edition.

The text is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Hanhai 函海 and Loudong zazhu 婁東雜著.