Xieji Bianfang Shu: a source-checked guide to its dates and 36 juan
A revised introduction to the Qing compilation, its editors, complete 36-juan structure and criticism of earlier date-selection rules.
Contents · 4
Revised 2026-10-24: checked the prefatory documents and catalogue; separated commissioning, the imperial preface and later Siku copying, and removed unsupported generalizations. This LamjinLab introduction is not a critical edition.
*Xieji Bianfang Shu* (協紀辨方書), also titled *Qinding Xieji Bianfang Shu*, is a Qing court compilation on traditional date selection. The Siku version has 36 juan, textual divisions that should not be confused with the number of physical books. Its preface, memorials, staff list and contents explain both the project and disagreements with earlier almanacs.
Dating the compilation
The memorials record Jin'ai's request for revision in Qianlong 4 (1739), with work involving Yunlu, Mei Juecheng, He Guozong and others; Zhang Zhao joined the editorial leadership in Qianlong 5. The imperial preface is dated the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month of Qianlong 6. The Jilin rare-book catalogue, entry 1127 records a Wuyingdian edition under Qianlong 6, conventionally labelled 1741. The lunar preface date must not be rendered as Gregorian 15 December 1741.
The Siku note's Qianlong 45 copying/collation date is a later layer, not the first compilation date. The checked documents support a Qianlong revision; they do not establish that this book was newly compiled and completed under Yongzheng. The preface also looks back to the Kangxi-era *Xuanze Tongshu* and *Xingli Kaoyuan*: these are related earlier works, not interchangeable titles for the surviving compilation. Primary prefatory documents; Siku editorial note.
The complete structure
The original contents give the following 36 juan, excluding the prefatory documents:
| Juan | Section | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 本原: foundations | 2 |
| 3–8 | 義例: principles and explanations | 6 |
| 9 | 立成: ready-reference material | 1 |
| 10 | 宜忌: permitted and avoided activities | 1 |
| 11 | 用事: activities | 1 |
| 12–13 | 公規: general rules | 2 |
| 14–19 | 年表: annual tables | 6 |
| 20–31 | 月表: monthly tables | 12 |
| 32 | 日表: daily tables | 1 |
| 33–34 | 利用 | 2 |
| 35 | 附錄: appendix | 1 |
| 36 | 辨訛: correction of errors | 1 |
Electronic transcriptions may omit tables or illustrations. They are reading aids, not a substitute for checking the scanned edition when implementing a calculation.
A compilation that also rejected rules
The memorials propose corrections to earlier entries and criticize certain marriage-matching, marriage-month and *zhoutang* prohibitions. Rules found in other almanacs therefore cannot automatically be attributed to this book. Imperial authorization describes its institutional history; it does not establish predictive efficacy or justify calling it one of only a few official works on the numerical arts. Memorials and editorial note.
Choose an edition and record the juan, page, conditions and exceptions for each rule. LamjinLab's date-selection tool is a related learning resource; its page defines its actual coverage. Revising this introduction does not certify every implemented rule against the original. Historical auspiciousness claims do not replace practical, legal or professional considerations.
Sources checked
- Siku version: prefatory documents and full contents, public-domain primary text transcribed on Wikisource.
- Siku editorial note on Shidian Guji, cross-check for dates and structure.
- Second Jilin Provincial Rare Books List, entry 1127, for the Wuyingdian edition.
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