宋人筆記多載人物軼事，在此基礎上，又有將多則軼事彙集一處，較為完整地呈現其人之始末者，此實具傳記之功能，但未如史傳、碑誌一般連綴成文，故稱為「筆記體傳記」。吾人可從選材、筆削兩個方面考察其特點。新出《宋人軼事彙編》集中了宋人筆記對特定人物的相關記錄，由於編者基本不取佛藏資料，故所錄僧人的總體面貌與佛教史的關注對象差異甚大，但據此正好可以考察藏外的筆記傾向於談論哪些僧人的何種軼事，體現出筆記記人的選材特點。而「筆記體傳記」則輯合軼事，再加以選擇、剪裁，其中朱熹所編《八朝名臣言行錄》最具影響，且多有將前人已經成文之傳記解散為筆記體的情形，據此可以考察其筆削之特點。

Miscellanies written by Song authors often record anecdotes about individuals, collecting relevant pieces together to form a general impression of the person. In spite of their biographical function, these anecdotes are not coherent, complete writings in the manner of historical biographies or grave inscriptions, and thus for the moment we have decided to label them “biographies in the miscellany genre.” We can investigate their characteristics in terms of two aspects: material selection and abridgment. The newly published Collection of Anecdotes of Song Individuals gathers together the relevant records of specific persons preserved in Song miscellanies. The compilers exclude most Buddhist resources, and thus the overall image of monks is in stark contrast to that found in Buddhist histories. This contrast enables us to investigate the principles informing the selection of materials, in particular the inclination of non- Buddhist miscellanies to record certain types of anecdotes that focused on individual monks. As for abridgment, the Records of the Words and Deeds of Eminent Ministers in Eight Reigns, complied by Zhu Xi 朱熹, is the most influential “biography in the miscellany genre,” within which the complete biographies were curtailed into pieces of the miscellany genre.