Bowuzhi

Bowuzhi
Chinese name
Chinese博物志
Literal meaningextensive things record
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBówùzhì
Wade–GilesPo-wu chih
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingBok3mat6zi3
Southern Min
Hokkien POJPhok-bu̍ttsì
Middle Chinese
Middle ChinesePakmjuttsyi
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)Pˤakmuttə-s
Korean name
Hangul박물지
Hanja博物志
Transcriptions
McCune–ReischauerPakmulchi
Japanese name
Kanji博物志
Hiraganaはくぶつし
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnHakubutsushi
The pages of a printed edition of Bowuzhi

Bowuzhi (博物志; "Records of Diverse Matters") by Zhang Hua (c. 290 CE) was a compendium of Chinese stories about natural wonders and marvelous phenomena. It quotes from many early Chinese classics, and diversely includes subject matter from Chinese mythology, history, geography, and folklore. The Bowuzhi, which is one of the first works in the literary genre of zhiguai "tales of anomalies; supernatural stories", records the earliest versions of several myths, such as the white yenü 野女 "wild women" living south of China in a society without men. Scholars have described the Bowuzhi as "a miscellany of scientific interest"[1] and "an important minor classic".[2]

  1. ^ Needham et al. 1980, p. 309.
  2. ^ Greatrex 1987, p. 158.