Yungu zaji 雲谷雜記

Yungu zaji 雲谷雜記 "Miscellaneous records from the Clouded Valley" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zhang Hao 張淏 (jinshi degree 1157), courtesy name Qingyuan 清源. His family hailed from the capital Kaifeng 開封 (modern Kaifeng, Henan) but moved to Wuzhou 婺州 (modern Jinhua 金華, Zhejiang) when northern China was conquered by the Jurchens. Zhang Hao was court gentleman consultant (fengyilang 奉議郎). He had an excellent education and has compiled a number of books, among these the local gazetteers Guiji xuzhi 會稽續志 and Genyueji 艮岳記.

The Yungu zaji is not mentioned in Chen Zhensun's 陳振孫 (c. 1183-1262) bibliography Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄解題 and the imperial bibliography in the official dynastic history Songshi 宋史, but only in the bibliography Wenyuange shumu 文淵閣書目. This means that it was lost at an early point of time, but has at least partially survived as quotations in the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) encyclopaedia Yongle dadian 永樂大典.

The 110 fragments constitute a reconstructed text with a length of 4 juan or fascicles. The text is mainly concerned with an analysis of old books and comments on the Confucian Classics, histories, the "masters and philosophers" and belles-lettres. It is very helpful concerning errors that were to be found in contemporary writings like Shao Bo's 邵博 (d. 1158) Wenjian houlu 聞見后錄 or Cai Tiao's 蔡絛 (b. 1097) Xiqing shihua 西清詩話.

The Yungu zaji is to be found in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Wuyingding juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書, Haishanxianguan congshu 海山仙館叢書, Qingfentang congshu 清芬堂叢書, Shuofu 說郛, Wuchao xiaoshuo 五朝小說 and Wuchao xiaoshuo daguan 五朝小說大觀. In 1958 the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 published a modern edition with annotations by Zhang Zongxiang 張宗祥.