Liu Zhilin shenlu 劉之遴神錄

Liu Zhilin shenlu 劉之遴神錄 "Liu Zhilin's notes on spirits", briefly Shenlu 神錄 or Shenyilu 神異錄, was a collection of stories written during the Liang period 梁 (502-557) by Liu Zhilin 劉之遴 (478-549), courtesy name Sizhen 思貞, from Nieyang 涅陽 in the commandery of Nanyang 南陽.

The bibliographical chapter Jingji zhi 經籍志 in the official dynastic history Suishu 隋書 categorises it as a "miscellaneous biography" (zazhuan 雜傳) among the historiographical writings. From the book catalogues in the Xintangshu 新唐書 on, it is categorised as a novella (xiaoshuo 小說). The bibliography chapter in the Jiutangshu 舊唐書 calls the author erroneously Liu Zhidao 劉之道.

The original text of 5 juan length is lost, but Lu Xun 魯迅 (1881-1936) assembled three fragments of the book (quoted in the Huanyuji 寰宇記 and Yudi jisheng 輿地紀勝) in his series Gu xiaoshuo gouchen 古小說鉤沉. These fragments prove that the story dealt with the temple of a female deity. The story of The Temple of the Holy Mother (Shengmu Miao 聖母廟) recounts the tale of Du Mei 杜美, a woman from Guangling 廣陵 district who possessed supernatural abilities. The local authorities accused her of witchcraft and imprisoned her. However, she transformed and escaped. A Temple of the Holy Mother from East Mound (Dongling Shengmu Miao 東陵圣母廟) was later established at the site in her honour.

In the district of Youquan 由拳, during the time of the First Emperor 秦始皇帝 (r. 246-210 BCE), an elderly woman known as the Old Mother of Changshui (Changshuo Laomu 長水老母) used a children's rhyme to warn that there would be bloodshed at the city gate and that the city would sink into a lake. Her warning was ignored, but events unfolded just as she had predicted. She fled in time and survived, and a temple was built to commemorate her. The account of Holy Hero Temple 聖英廟 (Shengying Miao) relates to a temple dedicated to a woman named Yu Ziying 魚子英, but the text is incomplete.

These temple stories praise the extraordinary wisdom and abilities of the female deities while also expressing a sense of sorrow over the gap between humans and the divine. The narratives are written with smooth, engaging prose that draws the reader in, ultimately creating a rather somber and poignant atmosphere.