What is "bowuzhi"

Zhang Hua's (c. 290 CE) Bowuzhi 博物志 "Records of Diverse Matters" was a compendium of Chinese stories about natural wonders and marvelous phenomena. It quotes from many early Chinese classics, and diversely includes subject matter from Chinese mythology, history, geography, and folklore. The Bowuzhi, which is one of the first works in the literary genre of zhiguai "tales of anomalies; supernatural stories", records the earliest versions of several myths, such as the white yenü 野女 "wild women" living south of China in a society without men. Scholars have described the Bowuzhi as "a miscellany of scientific interest" (Needham et al. 1980: 309) and "an important minor classic" (Greatrex 1987: 158).