What the Master Would Not Discuss
What the Master Would Not Discuss
What the Master Would Not Discuss (Zi bu yu), also known as Xin Qixie, is a Qing dynasty collection of supernatural stories written by Yuan Mei. The original collection has over 700 stories, and later editions expand to more than 1,000 tales across 34 volumes (the initial 24 volumes plus a 10-volume sequel called Xu xin Qi xie).
Origin and themes
The work first appeared in print in 1788. Unlike the official Confucian views of the time, its stories portray a wide range of life, including ghosts, sex, betrayal, revenge, cross-dressing, homosexuality, and corruption. Yuan Mei defended the collection as a reflection of life's later days and his personal perspective on the world, even though its content challenged some established norms.
Title and language
The title Zi bu yu comes from a line in Confucius’s Analects referring to topics the Master did not speak of (such as prodigies, force, disorder, and gods). Yuan Mei later changed the title to Xin Qixie after discovering a Yuan-dynasty text with the same name, but the book is still commonly known by its original title.
Sources and scope
The stories were gathered from various sources—oral accounts from friends and relatives, official gazettes, and other collections—and were collected over a long period.
Reception and influence
The work became very popular, but in 1836 the government censored it as part of efforts to curb anti-establishment sentiment.
Translations and alternate titles
It has been translated under several names, including What the Master Does not Speak of and Censored by Confucius. Notable English editions include Kam and Edwards’s Censored by Confucius (1996) and Santangelo and Yan’s Zibuyu: What the Master Would Not Discuss (2013).
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 21:39 (CET).