Aotou Tongshu: attribution, editions and the limits of a short title

Revised 2026-10-24: replaced a generic account of almanacs with identifiable library evidence and separated author attribution from edition dates.

*Aotou Tongshu* (鰲頭通書) is a shortened title applied to related traditional almanac texts. It does not identify a single unchanging edition.

Two different kinds of evidence

The Fujian Library's 2019 acquisition report, entries 7 and 8 describes a late Ming/early Qing printing preserving juan 20–25 of *Xinjuan Lifa Zonglan Hejie Aotou Daquan Tongshu*, and a Wanli-period printing preserving juan 15–16 of a related title. Their inscriptions name Xiong Zongli and later revision by his descendant. These are surviving portions; they are not complete copies with a demonstrated uniform juan count.

A Zhejiang Library scan mirrored on Wikimedia Commons has a different, explicitly ten-juan title: *Xinjuan Lifa Zonglan Hejie Aotou Tongshu Daquan*. Its attribution is “compiled by Xiong Zongli of the Ming,” while its edition is described as a late Qing lithograph from Shanghai's Guangyi Shuju. A Ming attribution does not turn that later printing into a Ming original. Nor does its ten-juan title establish that every related edition has ten juan.

How to read it responsibly

The evidence establishes printed attributions and later revision, not personal authorship of every passage or a single first-composition date. Likewise, the auspicious associations of “aotou” do not establish the author's naming intention or a ranking of the book's accuracy.

For an almanac rule, record the full title, printer, edition, juan and page. Check that edition's contents rather than constructing a universal chapter list from material common to other almanacs. Preserve differences between witnesses and between this tradition and *Xieji Bianfang Shu*.

These texts are useful for studying calendars and historical beliefs about choosing times and directions. Their auspiciousness claims are not demonstrated guarantees. LamjinLab's date-selection tool provides a related learning entry point; this article does not certify it as a complete reproduction of any particular *Aotou Tongshu* edition.

Sources checked

• Fujian Library acquisition report, 2019-12-24, entries 7–8: early printings, surviving juan and revision inscriptions.
• Zhejiang Library scan, first physical volume and edition description: later ten-juan printing. Mirror metadata should be read alongside the scanned book.