''Duyizhi'' (, also known as ''Tu yi chih''), a book in the genre of "transmissions of strange tales" (''

chuanqi Chuanqi ("strange tale", "legend", or "romance", depending on context) may refer to two related but distinct forms of Chinese fiction: *Chuanqi (short story) ''Chuanqi'' is a form of fictional short story in Classical Chinese first formed in the ...

''), is now known only in partial form. The author has been identified as Li Rong. The book is a very important source for the modern study of

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of ...

, containing many versions of otherwise lost narratives; such as the traditional story of

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huainanz ...

who mends the Heavens. The title (''Duyizhi'') has various translations into English, including ''Treatise on Extraordinary and Strange Things'' (Birrell 1993, 34); and, in Chinese transliteration as ''Tu yi chih'' (Birrell 1993, 272). Of the original ten volumes of the ''Duyizhi'', only three volumes survive.

Author

Although sometimes known as Li Rong (), due to lack of biographic data, there are various versions of his name or names, the truth of which is unclear. Other names given are Li Yin (李尢), Li Yuan (李元), and Li Kang (李亢).Theobald 2010, ChinaKnowledge.d

There is no apparent controversy about his family name: it is Lǐ. Whether the other attributed names represent a given name, a

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China China, officially the People's R ...

, or something else is not clear. Especially if hand-written, the similar appearance and strokes of the Chinese characters in this case (冗, 亢, 冘, 元) suggest a possible source of confusion. He flourished around 846 to 874 CE (Birrell 1993, 34), or the regnal periods of the two late Tang emperors Xuānzōng (846 – 859) and Yìzōng (859 to 873).

Author

See also

References

Further reading