Houdelu 厚德錄

Houdelu 厚德錄 "Records of profound virtue" is "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Li Yuangang 李元綱 (c. 1170), courtesy name Guoji 國紀. He hailed from Qiantang 錢塘 (modern Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang) and was a prefectural government student (xiangsheng 庠生) during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong 宋孝宗 (r. 1162-1189). Apart from the Houdelu, he authored the book Shengmen shiye tu 聖門事業圖.

In the 4-juan-long book, Li Yuangang assembles statements from several authors who speak of the honest and righteous administration of officials in the past, providing examples for the future. The text is highly influenced by the Buddhist belief in the retribution for sins in a later life. Karmic effects can only be compensated by virtuous behaviour and sincere conduct of life.

Some of the paragraphs also include stories about supernatural occurrences, like Zhang Xiaoji's 張孝基 rebirth as a Daoist immortal. According to the story, this rebirth was the result of Zhang's attempts at buying him free of the death penalty, as a consequence of which he encountered the Daoist master Zhongli Quan 鍾離權, who instructed him in the methods to find the Way (Dao 道). The compilers of the descriptive bibliography Siku quanzu zongmu 四庫全書總目, therefore, raised doubt whether Li Yuanguang really wrote the Houdelun. At least, the book can be used for educational purposes because it gives advice to the reader to support the poor and uphold justice and fairness.

The Houdelun is to be found in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Baihai 稗海, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 and Lidai xiaoshi 歷代小史.