民国时期涌现了大量掌故家和掌故作品，“谈掌故”成为一种文化现象。一些具有旧学根底和广博见识的文化人，即民国时期的掌故家，出于学术、消闲和传播的目的创作了大量的掌故作品。其中，关于清末新政的掌故是较有代表性的一部分内容。

民国时期掌故家“治掌故”的过程及掌故作品具有一定的学术色彩。掌故家以个人回忆和文字记述作为掌故的资料来源，尤其重视运用笔记类文献，并经过细致的比对和考订，增加掌故的可信度。同时，掌故家从传统学术关注的“朝章国故”出发，融会传统文学叙事方法与文体特征于史学之中，并尝试继承和综合传统史学中的各种史裁，为掌故作品增加学术性。

民国掌故的具体内容涵盖大量人物和史事以及掌故家的评论，集中体现了掌故的写作特色。关于清末新政的掌故记载了清末新政的许多重要事件，在记录历史细节、营造情境和渲染戏剧冲突别具一格。这些掌故重点刻画了清流和亲贵的人物形象，注重人物私生活和人际关系的描写。掌故中的议论既有掌故家对史事本身的评论，也有他们对现实社会的关怀。

作为史料，民国掌故和其他史料类型相比生动、易于理解，涉及了一些有价值的内容。从现代学术的角度来看，民国掌故的史料价值体现在它对细节与情境的刻画较多，对部分专门领域的叙述更充分，也较为客观、可信。民国掌故处于学术边缘的亦文亦史的特点虽然使它有局限性，但也恰恰是它作为史料的特色所在。

During the period of the Republic of China, there were many people who focused on Zhanggu (a kind of anecdote manifests old stories, especially focus on celebrity, institution and litereture) and write Zhanggu, and "Tan Zhanggu", which was the practice by which some scholars and literati gathered their memories and materials to Zhanggu, became a cultural phenomenon. Some literati with a foundation in old studies and a broad range of knowledge, that is, the masters of Zhanggu of the Republic of China, created a large number of masterpieces for academic, leisure and dissemination purposes. Among them, the story about the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty is a more representative part of the content.

From the review of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty, it can be seen that the process of “Tan Zhanggu” and the works of it during the Republic of China were partially academic. The masters of Zhanggu used personal memories and literature as their sources of information. They paid particular attention to the use of note documents, and through careful comparison and review, the credibility of the stories was increased. At the same time, from the traditional academic focus of the "Chaozhang Guogu", they integrated traditional literary narrative methods and stylistic features into historiography, and tried to inherit and mix various historical censuses (Shicai) in traditional historiography to make their work more academic.

The specific content of Zhanggu in the Republic of China covers a large number of characters and historical events, as well as the commentary, which embodies the writing characteristics of Zhanggu. The story about the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty records many important events of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty. It has characteristics in recording historical details, creating situations and exaggerating dramatic conflicts. These anecdotes focus on portraying the characters of Qingliu and relatives, and pay attention to the description of the characters' private lives and interpersonal relationships. The discussion in the anecdote includes both the commentator's comment on historical events and their concern for the real society.

The history of Qing history writings in the history of the Republic of China are similar in the selection of historical materials, but as a field between the literature and history, and there is a certain distance between Zhanggu and modern academics. From the perspective of modern academics, the value of historical data of the Republic of China is reflected in its more detailed descriptions of details and situations, more adequate narratives of some specialized fields, and more objective and credible narratives. Although the characteristics of Zhanggu at the edge of modern academics in the Republic of China made it limited, it is precisely the characteristic of it as a historical source.