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Bowuzhi 博物志 "Vast records about different topics" is a collection of short stories arranged in an encyclopaedical manner. It was written during the Western Jin period 西晉 (265-316) by Zhang Hua 張華 (232-300), courtesy name Maoxian 茂先. He hailed from Fangcheng 方城 in the commandery of Fanyang 范陽 (modern Gu'an 固安, Hebei) and is said to have made his living as a shepherd in his younger years. In the last decade of the Wei period 曹魏 (220-265), he obtained the post of assistant editorial director (zuo zhuzuolang 佐著作郎) and then section director in the Imperial Secretariat (zhongshu lang 中書郎).
When the Jin dynasty was founded, he was appointed a gentleman attendant at the palace gate (huangmen shilang黃門侍郎). In the court dispute about the military campaign against the empire of Wu 吳 (222-280) in south China, Zhang Hua took the side with Emperor Wu's 晉武帝 (r. 265-289) advisor Yang You 羊祐 (221-278) and took part in the war of unification. After the victory, he was rewarded with the title of Marquis of Guangwu 廣武侯. During the reign of Emperor Hui 晉惠帝 (r. 290-306), Zhang Hua was appointed Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent (taizi shaofu 太子少傅) and then Minister of Works (sikong 司空). He refused to participate in Prince Sima Lun's 司馬倫 (Prince of Zhao 趙) rebellion (see Rebellion of the Eight Princes) and was therefore killed.
Zhang Hua was renowned for his extensive knowledge and expertise in various types of writing. After his death, his family had nothing to sustain themselves except a large collection of books that Zhang had accumulated. He was an excellent poet, akin to his early rhapsody Jiaoliao fu 鷦鷯賦, and more than 30 of his poems have survived, found in a fragmentary collection of his works, the Zhang Sikong ji 張司空集.
The Bowuzhi mainly records stories of strange events and supernatural phenomena. It can thus be called an ancestor of the large Song-period 宋 (960-1279) encyclopaedia Taiping guangji 太平廣記. The stories include reports on geography, historical figures, 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. Many stories can also be found in other books like Liezi 列子, Soushenji 搜神記, Baopuzi 抱樸子 or Xu qixie ji 續齊諧記. It might be that some of the tales in the Bowuzhi were inserted later. What makes out the individual character of the Bowuzhi is the large number of accounts on mountains, rivers, animals, plants and human affairs. It stands, therefore, out among the many collections of fantastic stories and has a more "scholarly" or even "scientific" character than these. In some stories like Bayue fucha 八月浮槎 or Dongfagn Shuo tou tao 東方朔偷桃, the author explicitly points out their fictional character. The Republican scholar Lu Xun 魯迅 (1881-1936) therefore stressed the "new spirit" (xinyi 新意) of the Bowuzhi, although it was always characterised as a collection of stories (xiaoshuo jia 小說家).
One source, the book Shiyiji 拾遺記, says that an original version of the Bowuzhi was 400 juan long, but Emperor Wu 晉武帝 (r. 265-289) ordered to shorten it to 10 juan in length. This size corresponds to the received version. Whether the original was really this long is unknown, but there are many quotations in later literature which are not included in the transmitted version of the Bowuzhi.
The earliest commentary on the Bowuzhi was written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Zhou Riyong 周日用 and a certain Master Lu 盧氏. The Bowuzhi is included in the series Shiliju congshu 士禮居叢書, Longxi jingshe congshu 龍溪精舍叢書, Sibu beiyao 四部備要, Gujin yishi 古今逸史, Guang Han-Wei congshu 廣漢魏叢書, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Baihai 稗海, Kuaige cangshu 快閣藏書, Zengding Han-Wei congshu 增訂漢魏叢書, Zishu baijia 子書百家, Fenxinge congshu 紛欣閣叢書 (with a supplement written by Zhou Xinru 周心如), Zhihai 指海 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 (with a collection of fragments compiled by Qian Xizuo 錢熙祚). There is a commentary and text-critical edition of the Bowuzhi by Fan Ning 范寧, the Bowuzhi jiaozheng 博物志校證, published in 1980 by the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局 in the series Gu xiaoshuo congkan 古小說叢刊.
The whole text was translated by Roger Greatrex. 1987. The Bowu Zhi: An Annotated Translation. Stockholm: Föreningen för Orientaliska Studier, Stockholm University.
Xu bowuzhi 續博物志 is an encyclopaedia compiled during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Li Shi 李石, who was initially believed to have lived during the Jin period 晉 (265-420).
The 10-juan-long Xu bowuzhi is a supplement to the Bowuzhi 博物志, written during the Jin period by Zhang Hua 張華 (232-300). The general composition of Li's supplement follows the paradigm of the Bowuzhi, meaning the book is not clearly divided into chapters, but rather explores different themes throughout the text. While the Bowuzhi focuses on geography, Li Shi was more interested in astronomy. Li Shi copied the original texts of his sources, without undergoing 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 information.
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 series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Gujin yishi 古今逸史, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Baihai 稗海, Mishu 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.
Bowuzhi bu 博物志補 is an encyclopaedia compiled during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by You Qian 游潛 (fl. 1515). The 2-juan-long book is a supplement to the Bowuzhi 博物志 of the Jin-period 晉 (265-420) scholar Zhang Hua 張華 (232-300). 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 information.
There is a print from the Wanli reign-era 萬曆 (1573-1619), and another Ming-period print included in a collection of You Qian's writings, Mengjiao sanzhong 夢焦三種.
Guang bowuzhi 廣博物志 is a kind of encyclopaedia compiled during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Dong Sizhang 董斯張 (1586-1628), courtesy name Xiazhou 遐周, from Wucheng 烏程 (today's Wuxing 吳興, Zhejiang). He also wrote the poetry collection Jingxiaozhai ci 靜嘯齋詞 and the local gazetteer Wuxing beizhi 吳興備志.
The book of 50 juan was inspired by Zhang Hua's 張華 (232-300) Bowuzhi 博物志 from the Jin-period 晉 (265-420). Although versions of Zhang's text have been transmitted, the authenticity of some passages is doubtful, and the work is likely significantly abridged. During the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279), Li Shi 李石 attempted to continue Zhang‘s work, adding many new materials while still adhering to Zhang Hua’s original table of contents. Dong Sizhang not only expanded its content but also completely restructured the organisation, turning it into a work arranged by categories. He compiled materials from pre-Tang 唐 (618-907) texts and records concerning the origins of various phenomena and objects.
The work is divided into twenty-two sections, resembling those found in widespread encyclopaedias (leishu 類書), with the 22 chapter titles including Heavenly Principles (Tiandao 天道), Seasons and Times (Shixu 時序), Topography (Dixing 地形), Palatial Matters (Fuyi 斧扆), the Supernatural (Lingyi 靈異), Official Ranks (Zhiguan 職官), Human Relations (Renlun 人倫), Lofty and Unworldly Persons (Gaoyi 高逸),
The author directly transcribed his original sources, copying the full text without abridgement and indicating the original sources. The collection is extensive, and many of the texts they rely on are different editions, with information gathered freely. Much of it approaches the standard of light popular literature. Fabrications and spurious works are also mixed in, which further damages the work with excessive and tangled materials.
The book was first printed in 1607. The imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 used the edition of Master Jiang's 蔣氏 Gaohuitang 高暉堂 from 1761. In 1879, the Xuehai Studio 學海堂 in Guangzhou published a further edition. The latest edition was published in 1991 by the Yue-Lu Shushe 岳麓書社.