Zhangshi keshu 張氏可書

Keshu 可書, also known as Zhangshi keshu 張氏可書 „Master Zhang’s book of possibilities“, is a collection of stories. A quotation in the book Airizhai congchao 愛日齋叢鈔 attributes authorship to Zhang Zhifu 張知甫 (fl. 1126). The book is not mentioned in Song-period book catalogues. The contents of the book are quite comprehensive and include anecdotes and stories from the late Northern Song period and after the southward migration. The accounts are detailed and can be considered quite erudite. They feature descriptions of the vibrant scenery of Bianliang 汴梁 (i.e., Kaifeng 開封), anecdotes from the capital, court traditions, various hearsay and intriguing tales, as well as humorous and supernatural stories. The original text has already been lost. During the compilation of the imperial series Siku quanshu, the Zhangshu keshu was reconstructed on the basis of the ming-period encylcopaedia Yongle dadian, with a total of fifty entries. Apart from the Siku quanshu, the Keshu is included in the series Hanhai 函海, Mohai jinhu 墨海金壺, Shoushange congshu 守山閣叢書, Hubei xianzheng yishu 湖北先正遺書, Shiwanjuanlou congshu 十萬卷樓叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.