Gujin shuohai 古今說海

Gujin shuohai 古今說海 "Ocean of old and new tales" is a series of collectanea (congshu 叢書) of short stories compiled by the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) scholar Lu Ji 陸楫 (1515—1552), courtesy name Siyu 思豫, style Xiaoshan 小山, from Wujiang 松江 in the Southern Metropolitan Province Nanzhili 南直隸 (today part of Shanghai), and son of the calligrapher Lu Shen 陸深 (1477-1544).

The collection was finished in 1544 and has a total length of 142 juan. It contains 135 novels, arranged in four parts (bu 部) and seven different styles (jia 家). Because the selected stories cover a wide range of literary aspects and style, it can be called a kind of encyclopaedia of Tang- 唐 (618-907) and Song- 宋 (960-1279) period novellas.

The first part (Shuoxuan 說選 "Selection of tales") contains so-called "Petty records" (Xiaolu 小錄) and "Supplementary notes" (Pianji 偏記), the second part (Shuoyuan 說淵 "Profoundness of tales") covers "Alternative biographies" (Biezhuan 別傳), the third part (Shuolüe 說略 "Conciseness of tales") is dedicated to "Miscellaneous notes" (Zaji 雜記), and the fourth part (Shuozuan 說纂 "Assortment of tales") includes "Remnant affairs" (Yishi 逸事), "Dispersed records" (Sanlu 散錄) and "Miscellaneous compilations" (Zazuan 雜纂).

Some of the stories are extracted from the encyclopaedia Taiping guangji 太平廣記. Although the Gujin shuohai does not contain as many stories as similar collections, e. g. Zeng Zao's 曾慥 (early 12th cent.) Leishuo 類說, famous for the exclusiveness of the stories, or Tao Zongyi's 陶宗儀 (1329-1410) Shuofu 說郛, known for the wide range of the selection, the sources in the Gujin shuohai are quoted in full and have virtually not been abbreviated - which was a common method in such anthologies.

The oldest surviving print was produced in 1544 by Master Lu's 陸氏 Yanshan Academy 儼山書院 and is now stored in the Beijing Library 北京圖書館. There are furthermore a print from the Wanli reign-period 萬曆 (1573-1619), a print of the imperial Wenjin Hall 文津閣, a print from 1821 by Master Shao's 邵氏 Youshan Studio 酉山堂, a print by the Jicheng Tushu Press 集成圖書公司 in Shanghai from 1909, and a print from 1915 by the Jinbu Press 進步書局 in Shanghai.

The series Gujin shuohai itself is included in the huge imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, as part of the books on miscellaneous issues (zajia 雜家), sub-category "miscellaneous compilations" (zabian 雜編).