Xiangzu biji 香祖筆記

Xiangzu biji 香祖筆記 "Orchid notes" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Wang Shizhen 王士禎 (1634-1711). Xiangzu is an expression for orchids used in the Jiangnan region 江南.

The book of 12 juan was finished in 1705. Its format follows that of the Juyilu 居易錄, another book of Wang Shizhen, featuring essays on literature and critiques of poetry, along with praise for famous figures—styles much admired by contemporaries. However, scattered throughout the text are occasional errors, forced interpretations, and unsubstantiated claims, revealing lapses in factual accuracy. Some parts are confused and unreliable—for instance, the discussion of Yin Jifu 尹吉甫 (852-775 BCE) contains major inaccuracies, and one poetry commentary mistakenly attributes a poem of Liu Yun 柳惲 (465-517) to Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫 (1254-1322).

The likely cause of these issues lies in the author's personal circumstances: after leaving office and returning home in disappointment, his later years were marked by mental decline and disillusionment.

The text is included in the series Wang Yuyang yishu 王漁洋遺書, Shenbaoguan congshu 申報館叢書, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Qingdai biji congkan 清代筆記叢刊 and Siku quanshu 四庫全書. In 1982, the Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社 published an annotated edition.