A New Account of the Tales of the World

Part of the oldest extant transcription of A New Account of the Tales of the World, 7th-8th century, now located in the Tokyo National Museum.

A New Account of the Tales of the World (Chinese: 世说新语) is a book of anecdotes and character sketches, dates back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589 C.E.). The book was compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (劉義慶, 403-444) during the Liu Song Dynasty.

The original text of the book was divided into eight volumes, though current editions generally span ten volumes.

The book documents gentry and the life of literati, musicians, and painters and contains a great deal of historical value. The 20th century Chinese novelist Lu Xun also spoke highly of the book's aesthetic merits.

The text has been translated in full into English, with the Liang 梁 dynasty (502-557) commentary by Liu Xiaobiao (劉孝標), in Mather, Richard B, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World, by Liu I-ch'ing, with commentary by Liu Chün (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976).

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article: 世說新語