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Shuo Yuan

Collection of anecdotes from Zhou Dynasty to Western Han by Liu Xiang

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ5522405 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Shuo Yuan (Chinese: 說苑; Jyutping: Syut3 Jyun2; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Soat-oán), variously translated as Garden of Stories, Garden of Persuasions, Garden of Talks, Garden of Eloquence, etc., is a collection of stories and anecdotes from the pre-Qin period (先秦) to the Western Han dynasty. The stories were compiled and annotated by the imperial librarian Liu Xiang (died 6 BCE). In many cases, multiple versions of the same story are included, making the book a valuable source for the study of early texts.

See also

Xinxu

Han shi waizhuan

Song of the Yue Boatman

References

Citations

Bibliography

Translation

Henry, Eric (2022). Garden of Eloquence / Shuoyuan 說苑. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295995199.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Shuo Yuan” as collection of anecdotes from Zhou Dynasty to Western Han by Liu Xiang. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shuo, Yuan and anecdotes.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2022—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Shuo, Yuan and anecdotes providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Shuo Yuan”, the useful work is to connect “collection of anecdotes from Zhou Dynasty to Western Han by Liu Xiang” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5522405. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2022.

Critical limits

Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Shuo Yuan”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Shuo Yuan primary sources, Shuo Yuan archive and Shuo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Shuo Yuan”?
  2. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Shuo Yuan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.