Random Talks from the Garden of Ease (Two Volumes)

Collected Talks from the Liyuan Garden was written by Qian Yong of the Qing dynasty and edited and punctuated by Meng Fei. The work consists of twenty-four volumes, generally one volume per subject, covering old stories, antiquities, textual research, water management, worthy figures, elders of former times, personal opinions, poetry, steles and rubbings, collecting, calligraphy and painting, skills and crafts, the civil service examinations, omens and anomalies, ghosts and spirits, strange creatures, retribution, historic sites, tombs, gardens, comic anecdotes, dreams and illusions, and miscellaneous notes. The contents are broad and varied. Most of the accounts are drawn from the author's own experience; even when they come from hearsay, he identifies the source, giving the work considerable value as a reference. The only known edition of Collected Talks from the Liyuan Garden was printed by Shudetang in the eighteenth year of the Daoguang reign. In preparing this edition, the editors added punctuation and paragraph breaks and corrected some printing errors. Obvious mistakes were corrected directly without editorial notes.