Qunshu zhiyao () ("Important matters of governance from all types of literature") is a political encyclopedia from the Tang dynasty, compiled on imperial order by Wei Zheng (580âÂÂ643), who is also known as the author of the official dynastic history Suishu (Book of Sui). The work is also called Qunshu zhengyao 群æ¸æ¿覠or Qunshu liyao 群æ¸çÂÂè¦Â.
The originally 50-juan-long Qunshu zhiyao was completed in 631 and approved by Emperor Taizong of Tang. It includes excerpts from:
The selection of texts focuses on the causes of the rise and fall of states and dynasties. Sources range from works of antiquity to texts from the Jin dynasty (265âÂÂ420).
The high textual quality of the sources makes the work an important tool for reconstructing the original wording of pre-Tang texts. The sections on the Jin dynasty preserve otherwise lost works, including the so-called Eighteen History Books of Jin (Shibajia jinshi Ã¥ÂÂ堫家æÂÂå²) â 18 older official histories of the Jin dynasty â as well as political treatises by Huan Tan æ¡ÂèÂÂ, Cui Shi å´Â實, Zhongchang Tong 仲é·統, Yuan Huai è¢Âæ·®, Jiang Ji è£æ¿Â, and Huan Fan æ¡ÂèÂÂ.
Zhang Yuanshan f.e. accounts the Qunshu zhiyao among the classical texts relevant to the Zhuangzi text.
The original work was lost during the Northern Song dynasty. A copy was imported from Japan in the 18th century for inclusion in the Siku quanshu Ã¥ÂÂ庫堨æ¸; in this version, juan 4, 13, and 20 were missing. Another Japanese edition was printed in 1787. In China, the work is also preserved in the collections Sibu congkan and Xuxiu Siku quanshu .
The Hanyu da zidian (HYDZD) f.e. uses the Sibu congkan Ã¥ÂÂé¨ä¸Âå photographic reproduction of a Japanese print of the 7th year of the Tenmei era (1787).
Liu Xicheng has recently completed the first full English translation of the work ("The Governing Principles of Ancient China").