Xixue jiyan 習學記言

Xixue jiyan 習學記言, full title Xixue jiyan xumu 習學記言序目, is a book written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Ye Shi 葉適 (1150－1223), courtesy name Zhengze 正則, style Suixin Jushi 水心居士, from Yongjia 永嘉 in the prefecture of Wenzhou 溫州, Zhejiang. He obtained the jinshi degree in 1178 and was prefect of Jizhou 蘄州, and then promoted to the post of Vice Minister of Personnel (libu shilang 吏部侍郎), later transferred to the post of prefect of Jiankang 建康, concurrent with the duty of military commissioner along the Yangtze (yan Jiang zhizhishi 沿江制置使). Ye Shi was finally academician awaiting instructions (daizhi 待制) of the Hall of Preserving Literature (Baowenge 寶文閣) and concurrently military commissioner of the Jiang-Huai region (Jiang-Huai zhizhishi 江淮制置使). His posthumous title is Ye Zhongdinggong 葉忠定公.

His book of 50 juan length is the result of extensive literary studies and consists of notes on a wide range of different writings. Ye had two special problems in mind, namely the analysis of the outcome of political decisions, and the metaphysical mechanisms of things. His book is divided according to the four traditional categories, beginning with notes on the Confucian Classics, then proceeding to the "masters and philosophers", and historiographical writings, and ending with literature in the proper sense. Because Ye interpreted matters of statecraft in the traditional Confucian sense, with wide support of agriculture without suppression of merchandise, his book is sometimes called a book of Confucian scholarship, even if he brought forward criticism towards Meng Ke 孟軻 (385-304 or 372-289 BCE), Zichan 子產 (d. 522 BCE), and Confucius (Kongzi 孔子; 551-479 BCE). Ye's analysis of political developments of the Tang 唐 (618-907) and the early Song periods helps to understand path-dependencies in the political system.

The book is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Jingxianglou congshu 敬鄉樓叢書. A modern edition was published in 1976 by the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局.