被譽為「清代輿地叢書之最」的《小方壺齋輿地叢鈔》，為清末王錫祺所輯錄之大型地理叢書。全套共收錄1500餘種地理著述，內容豐富，保存了許多珍貴資料與遊記文獻，為研究晚清所不可或缺的重要史料，但目前相關研究卻極為少見。 王錫祺的編纂動機除個人興趣外，還反映出晚清知識分子憂國憂民的經世思想；全書除《三補編》外，其他部分均由王錫祺自費交由上海著易堂排印出版。由於時代久遠，《叢鈔》流傳版本亦有差異，《三補編》所收錄之96種作品更湮沒近百年而不為人知。 《叢鈔》所收錄之域外遊記共有84種，範圍涵蓋歐亞美澳等各地。作者部分，以清廷所派遣之外交人員為最大宗；地域方面，以歐洲為最多，亞洲次之。這些作品反映了晚清中國人走向世界、認識世界的具體面向，也忠實呈現出晚清士人的世界觀與家國觀之轉折。 儘管《叢鈔》貢獻良多，但王氏為求完整，在輯錄時已針對原始資料加以增減，並於收錄時刪去序跋與凡例，且未註明資料來源及出處，此皆為其美中不足之處。

Wang Xi Qi ''s Hsiao-Fan-Hu Yu-Ti Tsung-Chao was the richest geography series in late Qing. The series had collected more than 1,500 kinds of geographical books, and it also preserved a lot of valuable data and travel notes. However, this is an indispensable data for studying late Qing, but it still lacks of relevant research. The motives of Wang Xi Qi included the codification of personal interest and reflected on the fate of the world thinking of the late Qing intellectuals. Except for "Third Supplement", he privately published the other part by the Shanghai Zhu-Yi-Tang. Since ancient times, these books have different versions. "Third Supplement," contains 96 works buried nearly 100 years. This series contains 84 kinds overseas travelogues, which covers various parts of Australia, Europe, Asia and the United States. Most of the authors were the late Qing diplomats. Europe is the most part of the description, and Asia is the second。These works reflected the Chinese in late Qing who were toward the world and the understanding of the world. It also truely showed their transition of world and national view . Although it had made significant contributions, there were still two shortcomings. Wang Xi Qi reedited the raw data. He deleted the preface and note, and he didn’t specify the source . Researchers must pay attention to these shortcomings.