"Shishuo Sutan" Author: Liu Bo Publisher: Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House

Introduction · · · · · ·
★Why did Sima Zhao only kill Ji Kang among the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove?

★How did the life of Kong Rong, the boy who gave up his pears, end?

★How did Wang Xizhi himself evaluate "Preface to the Lanting Poems"?

★What is Cao Cao’s image in “A New Account of Tales of the World”?

Liu Bo takes you to understand the elegance and desolation of the Wei and Jin Dynasties in one breath

Informative! Interesting! Useful!

【Content Introduction】

Shishuo Sutan is a historical essay by the literary and historical writer Liu Bo interpreting Shishuo Xinyu. Liu Bo interprets the behaviors and thoughts of various well-known figures in Shishuo Xinyu, such as Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Wang Xizhi, etc. in an interesting way in the form of telling jokes. The book is divided into five chapters: "The Change of Dynasties from Han to Wei and the Beginning of Xuanfeng", "Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove", "The Splendor and Fantasy of the Central Dynasty", "The Difference of Rivers and Lakes", and "The Old Thief Who Can't Be Avoided". Liu Bo uses the text of Shishuo Xinyu as the basis and refers to the relevant historical materials such as "Book of Jin" for precise textual research. He interprets many celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties in a specific historical background, and unfolds imagination and reasoning of multiple clues to interpret the elegance and desolation of the Wei and Jin Dynasties with a more diverse perspective.