Xiaoshuo as a Cataloguing Term in Traditional Chinese Bibliography
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Xiaoshuo has long been used as a Chinese equivalent for “fiction” by students and scholars of traditional Chinese literature since the early 20th century. In this paper, however, I will argue that xiaoshuo, which was never used in pre-modern China to designate the type of writings known today as “fiction”, was primarily used as a cataloguing term in traditional bibliography to refer to any writings which were considered to be worth preserving but were considered to be incongruous with any one of the mainstream schools of Masters’ writings. For this purpose, the author traces the use of the word “xiaoshuo” in early Chinese classics and bibliographical books of dynastic history, and explore the etymological rationale underlying “xiaoshuo” as a cataloguing term in classical Chinese.
Abstract
Xiaoshuo has long been used as a Chinese equivalent for “fiction” by students and scholars of traditional Chinese literature since the early 20th century. In this paper, however, I will argue that xiaoshuo, which was never used in pre-modern China to designate the type of writings known today as “fiction”, was primarily used as a cataloguing term in traditional bibliography to refer to any writings which were considered to be worth preserving but were considered to be incongruous with any one of the mainstream schools of Masters’ writings. For this purpose, the author traces the use of the word “xiaoshuo” in early Chinese classics and bibliographical books of dynastic history, and explore the etymological rationale underlying “xiaoshuo” as a cataloguing term in classical Chinese.