Shishuo Xinyu
世說新語 (A New Account of Tales of the World)
Character is best revealed not through formal biography or moral pronouncement but through a single sharp anecdote, a witty retort, an act of composure under threat, a breach of etiquette, so a collection of such fragments can capture a person's essential nature more precisely than a conventional life story could.
- anecdote as a vehicle for revealing character
- reflects the 'pure conversation' (qingtan) literati culture
- organized under 36 thematic headings
- founded a lasting genre of anecdotal character writing
A collection of over a thousand brief anecdotes and quips about the words and deeds of some 600 historical figures from the Eastern Han through the Eastern Jin, organized under 36 thematic headings such as 'Virtuous Conduct,' 'Free and Unrestrained,' and 'Ridicule and Teasing,' compiled under the patronage of Liu Yiqing, a Liu Song imperial prince, drawing on earlier written and oral sources now largely lost. Its brief, pointed anecdotal form, prizing wit, unconventional behavior, and aesthetic sensibility over formal moral instruction, reflects the values of the era's 'pure conversation' (qingtan) literati culture and established a genre of anecdotal character sketching later imitated for centuries.
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