Gu xiaoshuo gouchen (; "Rediscovering lost ancient novellas" and other translations) is a collection of lost stories from before the Tang dynasty, compiled from various books. It was assembled by the Chinese writer Lu Xun é¯迠(1881âÂÂ1936), a leading figure of modern Chinese literature.
The collection is arranged chronologically and comprises a total of 36 books (with xiaoshuo), from Qingshizi éÂÂå²å of pre-Qin times to Jingyiji æÂÂç°訠by Hou Bai 侯ç½ of the Sui dynasty. The sources are primarily drawn from the Hanshu (Yiwenzhi), the Suishu (Jingjizhi), and the Xin Tangshu (Yiwenzhi), as well as from additional texts not preserved in official historical records. The collection is notable both for its wide range of sources and for its careful textual criticism. It was compiled in 1911 and included in the Complete Works of Lu Xun (Lu Xun quanji, ) in 1938. The material was also used for the first seven chapters of his book Zhongguo xiaoshuo shilüe (; A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, 1925).
Wu Baolin å´å®Âæ of the Chinese Department at Peking University remarks on the collection and the editing of lost works:
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In June 1938, the popular edition of the âÂÂCollected Works of Lu Xunâ was published, and on 1 August of the same year, the commemorative edition was officially released. On 16 October 1938, Zheng Zhenduo published in issue 52 of Wenyi zhendi the article âÂÂLu XunâÂÂs Work on the Collection and Restoration of Lost Texts â Written for the Second Anniversary of Lu XunâÂÂs Deathâ (Lu Xun de jiyi gongzuo â wei Lu Xun xiansheng shishi er zhounian jinian er zuo é²Âè¿ çÂÂè¾Âä½Âå·¥ä½ÂâÂÂ为é²Âè¿ å ÂçÂÂéÂÂä¸ÂäºÂå¨年纪念èÂÂä½Â), which appears to have been written sometime between September and October 1938. In it, he states: âÂÂThe periods Qian, Jia, Dao, and Xian (1736âÂÂ1861) were particularly the golden age of the collection and restoration of lost works.â Ma Guohan's Yuhan Shanfang suoji yishu, Wang Mo's Han-Wei yishu chao, the Han-Tang dili shuchao, and the Hanxuetang congshu of the Huang family from Ganquan are all splendid collections of considerable size.â </blockquote>
Included in the collection are: