| Abstract |
The utilization of Bie-shi (alternative histories) as a class in traditional historical classification began in Sung Dynasty. Bie-shi is usually defined as “a category which is not as formal as Zheng-shi (Official Dynastic Histories), but not as casual as Za-shi (Miscellaneous histories).” Still, the meaning and coverage of Bie-shi is not quite clear and well-established. It was not a common category employed in traditional historical classification schemes either. Shu-mu Da-wen (Answers to Inquiries into Bibliography) and Si-ku Quan-shu Zong-mu (Annotated Catalog of the Si-ku Collection) are two important bibliographies in Qing Dynasty. They both employed Bie-shi as a category to classify related works. This study attempts to compare and analyze the historical works that were classified in Bie-shi category of these two bibliographies. The goal is to provide a clearer picture about the characteristics of Bie-shi.
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