Analysis of Song Dynasty Shuyuan Literatures as Seen in Local Records
Sorting and analysis of Song Dynasty shuyuan literatures are important foundations for Song Dynasty shuyuan research.Song Dynasty shuyuan literatures include many types such as shuyuan records,notes,poems,odes,memo to the emperor,and written complaints or statements to the throne.Besides historical materials such as traditional collections of essays,official history records,miscellaneous history records,and notes,local records are literatures worthy of further excavation and sorting,but many shuyuan records are not found due to loss of information such as anonymous authors.There are no Song Dynasty shuyuan records passed down over the generations.The author,through research of local records,found four sets of shuyuan records,from which we can get a general picture.Some take the view that among Song Dynasty shuyuan literatures,only those written by people from Song Dynasty can be seen as reliable historical references.But in fact there are instances of mistaken Song Dynasty historical references and accurate accounts in Ming Dynasty local records.Moreover,among local records over the generations,we can find features such as copied compilation of shuyuan literatures and evolutions of multiple paths,and cases in which later generation local records are more detailed than former generation.Therefore,the value of Song Dynasty shuyuan literatures in Yuan,Ming,and Qing Dynasty local records needs to be further revealed.