Gu xiaoshuo gouchen
Gu xiaoshuo gouchen is a collection of lost stories from before the Tang dynasty, compiled from various books. It was assembled by the Chinese writer Lu Xun 魯迅, a leading figure of modern Chinese literature.
Introduction
The collection is arranged chronologically and comprises a total of 36 books, from Qingshizi 青史子 of pre-Qin times to Jingyiji 旌異記 by Hou Bai 侯白 of the Sui dynasty. The sources are primarily drawn from the Hanshu, the Suishu, and the Xin Tangshu, 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 in 1938. The material was also used for the first seven chapters of his book Zhongguo xiaoshuo shilüe.Wu Baolin 吴宝林 of the Chinese Department at Peking University remarks on the collection and the editing of lost works:
1938年6月间，《鲁迅全集》普及本问世，同年8月1日纪念本也正式出版。而就在1938年10月16日，郑振铎在《文艺阵地》52上发表了《鲁迅的辑佚工作—为鲁迅先生逝世二周年纪念而作》（此文写作时间当在1938年9-10月间），其中提到：“乾、嘉、道、咸，尤为辑佚工作的全盛时期。马国翰的《玉函山房所辑佚书》，王谟的《汉魏遗书钞》，《汉唐地理书钞》和甘泉黄氏的《汉学堂丛书》均是洋洋大观，卷帙相当浩瀚的。
In June 1938, the popular edition of the “Collected Works of Lu Xun” 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 “Lu Xun’s Work on the Collection and Restoration of Lost Texts – Written for the Second Anniversary of Lu Xun’s Death”, which appears to have been written sometime between September and October 1938. In it, he states: “The periods Qian, Jia, Dao, and Xian were particularly the golden age of the collection and restoration of lost works.” 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.“