Editorial Principles / Fanli
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The fanli is the section at the front of a book that explains its editorial conventions: how terms are defined, how references are formatted, and what the reader should expect from the structure. It puts the rules first, so a reader who reads it avoids misunderstanding the author's intent, and a writer who writes it keeps the whole work consistent.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Read the rules first: absorb the stated conventions before the first page of content - Write the rules first: fix the terminology and the format before drafting the body - Keep them current: revise the conventions whenever the work itself changes direction
Anchor fast decisions
Stating the conventions up front establishes one shared interpretive frame for every page that follows, so terminology and format resolve the same way each time they appear. Ambiguity is removed at the source rather than argued case by case, which lowers the reader's interpretive cost and the writer's drift.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
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