Abstract: Xu Ying Lie Zhuan was written in the late Ming Dynasty. It is a historical romance novel about a power struggle in the imperial palace. There are many versions of Xu Ying Lie Zhuan (the Story of Heroes). This article compares the three versions of this book—thirty-four-chapter Liuyitang version, Liyuan Shushi Keben (Liyuan study engraved version), and the twenty-chapter Xinjuan Miben (newly engraved version) which is stored in Yenching Library of Harvard University, to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of the three versions. Through the portraits and circulation of the engravings, it is proved that the Liuyitang version should be from the Jiaqing to Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty, while the Liyuan Shushi Keben should be later, and the Xinjuan Miben should have been published during the Kangxi to Jiaqing periods. At the same time, it is inferred that the twentychapter version was written earlier and should be the source of the thirty-four-chapters version.It also plays a certain role in correcting and referring to the errors in the modern editions of Xu Ying Lie Zhuan.

Key words: portrait, five-pinhole binding, notes on the use of a book, Jianwen, Zhu Di