Yanggong bilu 楊公筆錄

Yanggong bilu 楊公筆錄 "Brush records of Master Yang" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126) by Yang Yanling 楊延齡 (late 11th cent.), also written 楊彥齡. He says that he was commandant (wei 尉) of Shanyin 山陰, revenue manager (sihu 司戶) of Xizhou 隰州 and district magistrate of Fuyang 滏陽 during the Yuanfeng reign-period 元豐 (1078-1085). Later on, he moved to Changzhou 常州 and was given the prestige title of Gentleman for Court Service (chaofenglang 朝奉郎). Yang also wrote a chronological table of the "Spring and Autumn Annals", Zuoshi chunqiu nianbiao 左氏春秋年表.

The book of 1 juan length is a collection of the author's notes based on extensive reading and personal observations. It covers a wide range of topics, including classical studies, history, anecdotes from both the government and common people, as well as customs and traditions. The book references the views of Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086) and Lu Dian 陸佃 (1042-1102) and also recounts an encounter with the Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao 程顥, 1032-1085; and Cheng Yi 程頤, 1033-1107) in Luoyang 洛陽. This demonstrates the author's impartial approach, accommodating the perspectives of Wang Anshi's "New Learning" (xinxue 新學) and the Cheng brothers' Luoyang School (Luoxue 洛學), among others.

When discussing phonetics and semantics, the author primarily cites Xu Shen's 許慎 (c. 58-c. 147) Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, except for one instance where the (lost) Zishuo 字說 is referenced. Additionally, the book contrasts the four types of poems in the Shijing 詩經 "Book of Songs" (sishi 四詩, i.e., feng 風, daya 大雅, xiaoya 小雅, and song 頌) with the "three lights" (sanguang 三光, i.e., sun, moon, and stars). While the book Tingshi 程史 attributes this idea to Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037-1101), Yang Yanling himself recorded it as a dream he had while awaiting the state examination, thereby correcting a common literary misconception.

Despite its accuracy and scholarly rigor, the book does have certain limitations. For example, in its discussion of the Yijing 易經 "Book of Changes", it follows the interpretations of Zheng Guai 鄭夬, as found in Zheng's writings on the Yijing like Yizhuan 易傳, Yice 易測, Yizhuan ci 易傳辭 or Yizhuan ci houyu 易傳辭後語. However, at the time, Shao Bowen's 邵伯溫 (1057-1134) excellent book Yixue bianhuo 易學辨惑 had not yet been published, so the author was unaware of the errors in this interpretation. Nevertheless, the book remains a precise and valuable reference work.

The book is in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Zhiyuan milu chuke 芝園秘錄初刻 and Xuehai leibian 學海類編.