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Bowuzhi 博物志
The Bowuzhi 博物志 "Vast records about different topics" is a collection of short stories arranged in an encyclopedical manner. It was written by the Western Jin period 西晉 (265-316) writer Zhang Hua 張華. It mainly records stories of strange events and supernatural phenomena. It can thus be called the ancestor of the large Song period 宋 (960-1279) encyclopedia Taiping guangji 太平廣記. The stories include reports about geography, historical persons, strange plants and animals, as well as tales of fairies, gods and immortals. Most stories are quoted from ancient sources of very different literary types, including geographical treatises, historical persons, or reports of abnormous plants and animals, as well as biographies of Daoist immortals, or fairy tales. The most famous story is probably the tale of Zhinü 織女 and Niulang 牛郎, the Weaving Maid and the Cowherd. The content of the Bowuzhi is very heterogenous and is arranged in a very accidental manner.
One source, the book Shiyiji 拾遺記, says that an original version was 400 juan "scrolls" long, but Emperor Jin Wudi 晉武帝 (r. 265-289) ordered to shorten it to 10 juan of length, like the reveiced version. If the original was really this long, can not be known, but there are many quotations in later literature which are not included in the received version of the Bowuzhi.
There is a commentary and text-critical edition of the Bowuzhi by Fan Ning 范寧, the Bowuzhi jiaozheng 博物志校證.
Source: Bai Huawen 白化文 (1986). "Bowuzhi 博物志", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo wenxue 中國文學, vol. 1, pp. 46-47. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
The Xu bowuzhi 續博物志 is an encyclopedia compiled by the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) scholar Li Shi 李石. It was traditionally attributed to a certain Li Shi from the Jin period 晉 (265-420). The 10 juan "scrolls" long Xu bowuzhi is a supplement to the loose encyclopedia Bowuzhi 博物志 written by the Jin period scholar Zhang Hua 張華. The general composition of Li's supplement follows the paradigm of the Bowuzhi, that means that the book is not clearly divided into chapters, but goes through different themes in the course of the text. While the Bowuzhi focuses on geography, Li Shi was more interested in astronomy. Li Shi copies the original text of his sources, without undergoing a textual critique. For this reason, he indicates his sources, which are in many cases not taken from old original books, but from quotations in contemporary collections of various stories and informations.
There is a Ming period 明 (1368-1644) print by He Zhitong 賀志同, and one by Wang Shihan 汪士漢. The Xu bowuzhi is included in the collectanea Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Gujin yishi 古今逸史, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Baihai 稗海, Bishu ershiyi zhong 秘書二十一種, Zishu baijia 子書百家, Tang-Song congshu 唐宋叢書, Zhishu ershi zhong 致書二十種 and Congshu jicheng 叢書集成.
Source: Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰 (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典, vol. 2, p. 2167. Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe.
Bowuzhi bu 博物志補
The Bowuzhi bu 博物志補 is an encyclopedia compiled by the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) scholar You Qian 游潛 (fl. 1515). The 2 juan "scrolls" long book is a supplement to the Bowuzhi 博物志 of the Jin period 晉 (265-420) scholar Zhang Hua 張華. Compared to another supplement to that book, Li Shi’s 李石 Xu bowuzhi 續博物志 from the Song period 宋 (960-1279), the Bowuzhi bu is much more a piecemeal collection of miscellaneous informations.
There is a print from the Wanli reign 萬厲 (1573-1619), and another Ming period print included in a collection of You Qian's writings, the Mengjiao sanzhong 夢焦三種.
Source: Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰 (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典, vol. 2, p. 2156. Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe.
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