Duyizhi (Chinese: 獨異志, also known as Tu yi chih), a book in the genre of "transmissions of strange tales" (chuanqi), is now known only in partial form. The author has been identified as Li Rong. The book is a very important source for the modern study of Chinese mythology, containing many versions of otherwise lost narratives; such as the traditional story of Nüwa who mends the Heavens. The title (Duyizhi) has various translations into English, including Treatise on Extraordinary and Strange Things (Birrell 1993, 34); and, in Chinese transliteration as Tu yi chih (Birrell 1993, 272). Of the original ten volumes of the Duyizhi, only three volumes survive.

Author

Although sometimes known as Li Rong (Chinese: 李冗; Wade–Giles: Li Jung), due to lack of biographic data, there are various versions of his name or names, the truth of which is unclear.^[1] Other names given are Li Yin (李尢), Li Yuan (李元), and Li Kang (李亢).^[2] He flourished around 846 to 874 CE (Birrell 1993, 34), or the regnal periods of the two late Tang emperors Xuānzōng (846 – 859) and Yìzōng (859 to 873).