Introduction:
- Source of content and meaning of the title: The title of "Zi Bu Yu" is taken from "Zi Bu Yu" in "The Analects of Confucius·Shu'er", which indicates that what is recorded is content that Confucius did not talk about. Most of the content in the book is dictated by the author's relatives and friends, or comes from official newspapers and official documents, or is taken from other books.
- Ideological content: Reflecting various thoughts through various anecdotes. Some expose Taoist priests' use of religious superstition to deceive the world, such as "Li Tongpan"; some oppose feudal ethics and asceticism in the form of ghosts, such as "Shamisi Thinks of the Tiger"; some use stories to criticize the shortcomings of imperial examinations, Neo-Confucianism and textual criticism, such as "Li Zhuo" and "Qilin Crying for Injustice"; some use weird stories to expose the corruption of officials and the weakening of social customs, such as "The City God's Alcoholic Drinking".
- Artistic features: No carvings, the narrative is natural and smooth, the composition is varied, and often a few words can mean something meaningful. Some chapters have twists and turns in their plots and interesting narratives, such as "Official Addiction" and "Wu Beard".
- Examples of the contents of the first volume: Contains part of the content from Volumes 1 to 18, such as "Li Tongpan", "Cai Shusheng", "Nanchang Scholars", etc. In Volume 1; "Zhang Yuan's Wife", "Butterfly Monster", "Bai Erguan", etc. Are included in Volume 2; and "Prince Liejie", "Qiu Xiucai", "Molong Atai", etc. Are included in Volume 3.
