ChinaKnowledge.de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History and Literature
Shilei fu zhu 事類賦註 "Commented rhapsodies on categorized matters", often abbreviated to Shileifu 事類賦, original name Yiziti fu 一字題賦 "Rhapsodies on single words", is an encyclopaedia compiled and annotated during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Wu Shu 吳淑 (947-1002), also called Wu Chu 吳俶, courtesy name Zhengyi 正儀.
The commentary part (zhu 註) was written by Wu himself and is an integral part of the book. Wu Shu participated in the compilation of the large, officially issued encyclopaedias Taiping yulan 太平御覽, Taiping guangji 太平廣記 and Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 and also compiled the books Jiang-Huai yiren lu 江淮異人錄 and Mige xiantan 秘閣閑談. He finished his encyclopaedia Shilei fu zhu in 993. It has a length of 30 juan (in a draft version just 20) and is divided into 14 parts, covering 100 topics. The Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Hua Ximin 華希閔 (1672—1751) wrote an extension, Guang shilin fu 廣事類賦 in 40 juan.
The Shilei fu zhu is a general encyclopaedia covering many fields of knowledge, from astronomy to biology. The title is derived from the fact that each topic is described in the shape of rhapsodies or prose-poems (fu 賦), and the commentary, written by the author himself, explains the sentences of the rhapsodies. This arrangement contributed to the high literary quality of the encyclopaedia. It was estimated as a valuable book in former times.
| 伊齊女之微蟲兮亦含氣而游嬉。（《古今注》曰：「牛亨問董仲舒曰：蟬為齊女何？答曰：昔齊王后怨王而死。尸變為蟬，登庭樹。嘒唳而鳴。故曰齊女。」） | The Qi maiden, though a tiny creature / Still possesses breath and frolics about. (The Gujinzhu says, "Niu Heng asked Dong Zhongshu, 'Why is the cicada called the Qi maiden?' He replied, 'In the past, the queen of Qi resented the king and died. Her corpse transformed into a cicada, which ascended the courtyard tree and chirped plaintively. Hence, it is called the Qi maiden.'") |
| 乘凉風以翾翥，應白露而鳴嘶。（《淮南子》曰：「孟秋，凉風至，白露降，寒蟬鳴。」） | Riding the cool wind, it flutters and soars, / In response to the white dew, it cries and wails. (The Huainanzi says, "In the first month of autumn, the cool wind arrives, the white dew descends, and the cold cicada begins to sing.") |
| 雖么麽，以無力。（《援神契》曰：「蟬無力，故不食。」） | Though tiny and weak, it lacks strength. (The [apocryphal text] [Xiaojing] yuanshen qi says, "The cicada has no strength; thus, it does not eat.") |
| 亦采章而有緌。（《禮》曰：「蠶則績，而蟹有匡。范則冠，而蟬有緌。成人之兄死而子臯為之衰。」） | It also bears patterned adornments and has tassels. (The "Rites" say, "The silkworm spins its cocoons, but the crab supplies the box for it. The bee has a cap, but the cicada supplies the tassels for it. When the elder brother died, it was Zigao who performed the mourning rites for him.") |
| 美王充，之不捕。（《論衡》曰：「王充為小兒，不妄狎儕倫，不掩雀捕蟬。」） | Virtuous Wang Chong would not catch it. (The Lunheng says, "When Wang Chong was a child, he did not recklessly play with his peers, nor did he cover sparrows or catch cicadas.") |
The earliest print dates from 1146 and was produced by the Tea and Salt Commission Office (chayansi 茶鹽司). The most widespread Qing-period print is that of Hua Ximin's Jianguang Studio 劍光閣 from 1746. It was also printed in 1813 by Huang Pilie 黃丕烈 (1763-1825) in his series Shiliju congshu 士禮居叢書. The Shileifu is also included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書. In 1989, the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 published a modern edition.
| 1.-3. | 天 | Heaven and astronomy |
| 4.-5. | 歲時 | Seasons and time |
| 6.-8. | 地 | The Earth |
| 9.-10. | 寶貨 | Jewels and commodities |
| 11. | 樂 | Music |
| 12.-14. | 服用 | Clothes and utensils |
| 15.-16. | 什物 | Miscellaneous objects |
| 17. | 飲食 | Drinking and food |
| 18.-19. | 禽 | Birds |
| 20.-23. | 獸 | Beasts |
| 24.-25. | 草木果鱗介 | Herbs and trees, fruits, scaly animals and conches |
| 26. | 蟲 | Worms and insects |
Shileifu tongbian 事類賦統編 is collection of encyclopaedias compiled during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Huang Baozhen 黃葆真. It is a joint publication of a series of encyclopaedias based on the model of the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) book Shilei fu zhu 事類賦注 by Wu Shu 吳淑 (947-1002), and includes the following supplements:
| 廣事類賦 四十卷 | Guang shileifu (1699) | (Qing) 華希閔 Hua Ximin |
| 續廣事類賦 三十卷 | Xuguang shileifu (1798) | (Qing) 王鳳喈 Wang Fengjie |
| 廣廣事類賦 三十二卷 | Guangguang shileifu (1808) | (Qing) 吳世旃 Wu Shizhan |
| 事類賦補遺 十四卷 | Shileifu buyi (c. 1800) | (Qing) 張均 Zhang Jun |
The books are not arranged separately, but the entries have been dispersed according to encyclopaedic themes so that the Tongbian can be viewed as a book of its own and not as a series. The sources are, nevertheless, indicated so that the five originals can be identified. Huang Baozhen added some poems from the encyclopaedias Yuanjian leihan 淵鑒類函 and Fenlei zijin 分類字錦 that are appended to the end of each chapter of the Tongbian.
A further supplement to the Shilei fu zhu not included in this collection is Shileifu buyi 事類賦補遺 with a length of 14 juan, compiled by Zhang Juntan 張均坦 (preface 1811).