Book summary
A New Account of the Tales of the World summary
- 8 min read
- 7 key ideas
- Audio soon
Cao Cao secretly orders a servant to carry a knife, and a monk invents a doctrine to earn his dinner.
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A New Account of the Tales of the World at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 5 h 45 min4 h 35 min fast, 6 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 82,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- about AD 430by Liu Yiqing
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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A New Account of the Tales of the World in short
The book is one great gallery of short scenes about people in a broken age. Its thirty-six chapters sort them by quality, from virtue and wit to rage, greed and grief. No single plot runs through it, yet the same figures return, and a listener begins to know Xie An, Wang Dao, Huan Wen and Zhi Daolin.
What A New Account of the Tales of the World is about
What would you do if a warlord drew a sword at your table? In A New Account of the Tales of the World, people meet such moments with a sentence or two, and the answer shows who they are. A boy of ten walks into a great man's house and claims to be his relative. A condemned poet asks for his zither.
The book was put together by Liu Yiqing, a prince of the Liu Song dynasty who died in 444. He gathered short scenes and remarks about men and women from the later Han dynasty down to the fourth century, and sorted them into thirty-six chapters by theme. You meet statesmen, monks, poets, generals, drinkers and children in an age of broken empires, when a ready answer could make a career or end one.
Who it’s for. You will love this book if you enjoy short, sharp stories, clever replies and portraits of character, or if you are curious about early China.
The 7 key ideas
Key idea 1 · free to read
A book of people, sorted by character
The book is not a chronicle. It does not follow one reign or one war from start to end. Instead, Liu Yiqing sorts his material by human quality, and each of the thirty-six chapters is a different measure of a person.
The early chapters are lofty, such as Virtue and Conduct, Words and Speech, Governance, and Literature. Later ones grow more playful and frank, with Banter and Teasing, Deceit, Extravagance, and Grudges and Feuds. One is called Regrets and Remorse. Another, Mistakes and Blunders, gathers the clumsy and the foolish. A reader sees the whole range of conduct, from saints to cheats.
The people come from roughly two centuries of turmoil. Some serve the Han court, some serve the warlord Cao Cao and his Wei successors, and many serve the Jin dynasty, which fled south across the Yangtze when the north fell. Names such as Xie An, Wang Dao and Huan Wen return again and again, so a reader grows familiar with them. A hero in one entry may be a fool in the next, and the book does not mind.
Entries are tiny. A scene often has one setting, one remark and one reaction. The author seldom says what to think. He sets the moment down and lets it stand.
You need no history in advance, because each entry tells you enough. The book is a portrait gallery sorted by temperament.
- 2Start free to read
Virtue is shown in small choices
The opening chapter sets a standard of goodness through scenes rather than rules.
- 3Start free to read
Children win arguments with a single sentence
The second chapter, Words and Speech, is full of sharp children.
- 4Start free to read
Good rulers govern with judgment and mercy
The chapter on Governance shows officials at work.
- 5Start free to read
Pure talk was a sport of the mind
The chapter on Literature is mostly about conversation.
- 6Start free to read
Calm under threat is the highest courage
The chapter Composure gathers people who stay still when the world shakes.
- 7Start free to read
Free spirits, excess and grief complete the picture
The chapters on Unrestrained Conduct and Aloofness gather those who ignored convention.
Read all 7 key ideas, then the whole book
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Check yourself
How does Liu Yiqing organize the collection?
Right. “Instead, Liu Yiqing sorts his material by human quality, and each of the thirty-six chapters is a different measure of a person.”Not quite. “Instead, Liu Yiqing sorts his material by human quality, and each of the thirty-six chapters is a different measure of a person.”
What makes the quick replies in these scenes admirable?
Right. “What these scenes admire is speed joined to truth.”Not quite. “What these scenes admire is speed joined to truth.”
What does composure mean for the people admired in the collection?
Right. “Its heroes feel danger, but they choose how to carry it.”Not quite. “Its heroes feel danger, but they choose how to carry it.”
Famous lines
I take heaven and earth as my house and my house as my clothing.
Liu Ling, in the chapter on unrestrained conduct. A drinker answers critics who see him undressed at home, claiming the whole world as his dwelling.
The nose is the mountain of the face, and the eyes are its abyss.
Kang Sengyuan, answering Chancellor Wang. A monk with deep-set eyes and a high nose turns a teasing remark into a compliment.
When grief comes, one weeps. What has custom got to do with it?
Emperor Xiaowu, in the chapter on words and speech. A boy emperor explains why he did not hurry to the mourning rites.
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Questions about A New Account of the Tales of the World
What is A New Account of the Tales of the World about?
It collects short anecdotes and sayings about real people from the later Han dynasty to the fourth century, sorted into thirty-six chapters by quality such as virtue, wit, composure, freedom, extravagance and grudges.
Who wrote A New Account of the Tales of the World and when?
Liu Yiqing, a prince of the Liu Song dynasty, who died in 444, put it together in the fifth century. He gathered stories about people from earlier generations, with the help of scholars around him.
Are the stories in the book true?
They are about real historical people, and many scenes are drawn from earlier records and talk. Some are likely polished or colored in retelling, so they are best read as portraits of character and reputation.
Who are the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove?
They are Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Shan Tao, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian, Xiang Xiu and Wang Rong. The book shows them drinking, talking and living freely beneath the bamboo, and many tales are about them.
Can I read the book in any order?
Yes, each entry stands alone, often in a few lines. You can open a chapter at random, start with Quick Wit for humor, or move through in order and watch familiar names return.
Cite this page
“Summary of A New Account of the Tales of the World: the key points in 8 minutes.” Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/pages/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world-summary.
Library of Alexandria. (2026). Summary of A New Account of the Tales of the World: the key points in 8 minutes. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world-summary
“Summary of A New Account of the Tales of the World: the key points in 8 minutes.” Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world-summary.
@misc{a_new_account_of_the_tales_of_the_world_summary_2026,
title = {Summary of A New Account of the Tales of the World: the key points in 8 minutes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world-summary}
}
Cite this edition
Liu Yiqing. A New Account of the Tales of the World. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world.
Liu Yiqing. (2026). A new account of the tales of the world. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world (Original work published ca. 430)
Liu Yiqing. A New Account of the Tales of the World. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world.
@book{liu2026new,
author = {Liu Yiqing},
title = {A New Account of the Tales of the World},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-new-account-of-the-tales-of-the-world},
note = {First published ca. 430}
}
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