"Yu Jian" is a notebook-style work written by the Southern Song Dynasty scholar Shen Zuozhe (alias Mingyuan, nickname Yushan, Huzhou native).
The whole book is named "Abstracting Bamboo Slips" - the author said that "I live in the mountains, have no conversations with others, have memories, and often include slips and slips." It is not a history book in the strict sense, nor is it a gorgeous prose, but rather like a series of indifferent essays: experiences, thoughts, research, and anecdotes are intertwined.
In "Yu Jian", Shen Zuozhe disclosed his unique observations on historical figures, corruption of classics, social customs, philosophy of life, etc. For example, he once made a thank you note for Yue Fei but was displeased by Qin Hui, which gave him a keen understanding of the relationship between politics and figures at that time. The writing style is concise and has profound implications. Although it is mostly fragments, it shows the author's indifference to fame and fortune, his love for the landscape, and his interest in amusing himself and introspecting himself.
If you like the feeling of reading "late night in the study, under a lamp, flipping notes": you can not only read the gentle questioning of history, but also feel the pure and free mentality of a scholar in the Song Dynasty - then this "Yu Jian" is just right. It is not ostentatious, but allows people to appreciate the knowledge accumulated behind the "slips" and the calm yet sharp thinking between the lines.
