Encyclopedias (leishu 類書)

The history of the leishu 類書 genre can be traced back to the compilation of the Huanglan 皇覽 under the first ruler of Wei 魏 during the Three Kingdoms period in 220 CE. The term leishu, however, was only fixed in the Xin Tangshu 新唐書, completed circa 1060 CE, in which the category of leishu was placed at the beginning of the “monograph on arts and literature” yiwenzhi 藝文志.

Given the fact that leishu occupy almost 10% of the content in the Siku 四庫, the genre provides extraordinarily rich material for researchers then and now. Hu Daojing (Zhongguo gudai de leishu, Zhonghua, 2005) defines a leishu as a comprehensive compilation of all branches of knowledge about human society and natural world, but this differs from the modern idea of "encyclopedia" (baike quanshu 百科全書) in that entries in leishu generally consist of quotes and excerpts from primary material instead of a separately-composed essay. (First used to describe an alphabetically-arranged reference work by the eponymous Encyclopedists in the 17th c., the modern term encyclopedia derives from the Greek enkyklios paideia, meaning literally "encircled training" or "a cycle of study," i.e., "general education.") In a sense, leishu may be understood as being a hybrid of encyclopedia essays and compiled information.

The breadth of materials encompassed in leishu creates difficulty for bibliographers in deciding the place of this genre in the tree of knowledge. Since texts from all the traditional divisions of writing (jing 經 / shi 史 / zi 子 / ji 集 i.e., Classics/ Histories/ Philosophers/ Belles-lettres) could all be found within the pages of a leishu, where should leishu themselves go? The Siku compilers were aware of this problem, but nonetheless followed convention and kept leishu in the zi category.

When using a particular leishu, it is important to note its origin, its intended readership, and its scope of content. Aside from the imperially funded encyclopedia projects, there is also a considerable body of leishu titles compiled by individual literati and printing houses. Official leishu such as Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成 signified the imperial court's support of scholarly endeavor and its authority over knowledge production, while at the same time providing useful guidance for officials in composing memorials and reports.

The wide circulation of practical leishu among all literate social strata, however, merits closer attention. Scholars have noted that the booming market for phonology leishu in the early Tang was closely related to the widespread practice of poetry-writing at the time, and that leishu also figured prominently in helping aspiring civil service exam-takers to prepare. In the Ming and Qing, vernacular leishu titles were sold, bought, and re-issued by printing houses. They offered popular guidance in coping with everyday life.

Below is a small selection of some of the more notable Song, Ming and Qing leishu.

The Four Great Books of the Song 宋四大書：太平御覽，太平廣記，文苑英華，冊府元龜

Taiping yulan 太平御覽 Li Fang et al., comp. Beijing: Zhonghua Shujv (1960). 

This is a general encyclopedia. It can be used for information related to material culture, social history, etc. Li Fang 李昉 (925-996) served as the primary editor.

Taiping guangji 太平廣記 Li Fang et al., comp. Beijing:  Beijing Ai Ru Sheng Shuzihua Jishu Yanjiu Zhongxin (2009)

This is a collection of strange tales relevant to Chinese popular religion and the general development of literary genres (such as zhiguai 志怪 “accounts of anomalies” which were popular through the Ming and Qing). Li Fang 李昉 (925-996) served as the primary editor.

Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 Li Fang, Song Bai, comp. Fujian: Tu Zemin (1567).

This is a collection consisting of pre-Song poetry. 

Cefu yuangui 冊府元龜 Wang Qinruo et al., Comp. Jinling: Ding Xuxian (1754).

This is an encyclopedia of government affairs. It contains a large number of quotations from pre-Song official materials including memorials, edicts, and histories. Wang Qinruo 王欽若 (962-1025) and Yang Yi 楊億 (974-1020) were the primary editors. There is a separate index to this work, compiled by Utsunomiya Kiyoyoshi 宇都宮清吉, Sappu genki sakuyin 册府元龜索引 (Kyōtō: Rinsen shoten 臨川書店, 1988).

These four books were compiled during the early Northern Song (between 970 and 1018). The Yvlan, Guangji, and Wenyuan Yinghua were compiled during the reign of emperor Taizong (r. 976-997). The Cefu Yuangui was compiled under the emperor Zhenzong (r.997-1022). These leishu 類書 were the most important and comprehensive encyclopedia of the early Imperial period. Although they are not immediately relevant to late Imperial history, they can be a useful to track origins and political precedents.

All of these texts can be found in the Siku Quanshu.

For a good discussion of the emergence of these sources see: Johannes L. Kurz, Das Kompilationsprojekt Song Taizongs (reg. 976-996). (Bern: Peter Lang, 2003.) Also Kurz's earlier article in English: "The Politics of Collecting Knowledge: Song Taizong's Compilations Project," T'oung Pao 87.1 (2001):289-316. For more in depth scholarship on the nature of these, and other, Song works, see: Zhang Weidong 張圍東, Songdai leishu zhi yanjiu 宋代類書之研究 (Taipei: Hua mulan, 2005). For the many encyclopedia projects of the Qianlong period, see: Christoph Kaderas, Die Leishu der imperialen Bibliothek des Kaisers Qianlong (reg. 1736-1796) : Untersuchungen zur chinesische Enzyklopädie. (Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1998).

Yuhai 玉海 204v. Wang Yinglin. Beijing:  Beijing Ai Ru Sheng Shuzihua Jishu Yanjiu Zhongxin (2009)

Compiled by Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223-96), a Song dynasty writer and author of such works as Xiaoxue ganzhu 小學紺珠, this encyclopedia includes quotations from the lost Song Shilu 實錄 among other sources.

Yongle dadian 永樂大典 22,877 juan plus 60 juan index and preface; 11,095 ce, completed in 1408.

This is the largest leishu ever compiled in China. Seven to eight thousand works from the Spring and Autumn period to the early Ming were copied in this attempt to save to posterity the sum total of Chinese written knowledge up to the Ming. 2,169 scholars under the direction of Yao Guangxiao 姚廣孝 worked for four years to complete the project. But since there was no money in the treasury to print the work, only a second manuscript copy, from 1567, survived. The editors of the 四庫全書 took 385 works from the copy. Today, owing to multiple additional losses, only 60 ce of the original 11K+ are left. These were published as a set of 797 juan: Yongle dadian, Zhonghua, 1959. There is a separate index: Yongle dadian suoyin 永樂大典索引, Zuojia, 1997.

Yuan jian lei han 淵鑒類函 450 juan plus table of contents in 4 juan. Zhang Ying et al., comps. Compiled at the order of the Kangxi emperor and presented in 1701. 1967 reprint; photocopy of the palace edition in 6 vols with index attached. Beijing: Beijing Ai Ru Sheng Shuzihua Jishu Yanjiu Zhongxin (2009) T&B 94-95

Based upon the Tang lei han, it draws upon 17 other encyclopedias and the dynastic histories for additional material. This work is extremely comprehensive and ranks with the Gujin tushu jicheng as one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias in existence.

Peiwen yunfu 佩文韻府 18v. Zhang Yvshu, Chen Tingjing et al. Taibei: Taiwan Shangwu Yin Shu Guan (1985).

Compiled under the direction of Zhang Yushu 張玉書 (1642-1711), and completed in 1711, the Peiwen yunfu is an encyclopedic collection of definitions and references for two, three, and four character phrases from classical Chinese literature. In 212 juan, it contains over 480,000 quotations under more than 10,000 head characters. Entries are arranged by the rime 部 of the last character in the word/phrase. The rimes follow the 106 Pingshui 平水 arrangement. Quotations follow the sibu 四部 classification scheme. The online version is also accessible.

While many consider the Peiwen yunfu to be a dictionary, it is important to remember the purpose for which this work was originally designed--the composition of poetry and other literary writings. From this perspective, it is more appropriate that the practical, encyclopedic aspects of the Peiwen yunfu be acknowledged, and its classification as a leishu be fully recognized.

Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成 10,000 juan; table of contents, 40 juan; list of errata, 44 juan.. Chen Menglei, Jiang Tingxi, et al., eds. Beijing: Shu Mu Wen Xian Press (1996) W 31.2 / T&B 83-96.

Compiled during the Yongzheng reign, this is the largest extant encyclopedia from pre-modern times. There are 6,109 items classified under six major categories: heavenly phenomena, geography, human relationships, arts and sciences, literature, and political economy. It is a good source of pictures, maps, diagrams, etc., but beware of relying on the texts it contains as they are often not authoritative versions. There is a detailed table of contents at the beginning of the work and a bibliography and summary of the contents at the beginning of each juan: sources are clearly indicated. There are two indexes: an alphabetical index to the Chinese encyclopedia, Ch'in ting ku chin t'u shu chi ch'eng (compiled by Lionel Giles, British Museum, 1911, and reprinted Taibei: Chengwen Publishing Co., 1969), and Takizawa Toshisuke, Tosho shūsho bunrui sakuin (Dairen, 1933). The former is an alphabetical index to translated item headings, giving section heading and juan number. The latter is a classified index to the encyclopedia, giving section headings and the juan and ce numbers. A newer, even more detailed index is found with the 1985 reprint.

The Gujin tushu jicheng is available on CD-ROM and in digital form on the internet. One can access it at the commercial site to which HYL subscribes here or at the free site maintained by the NPM and Dongwu University here. However, to a great degree one must assume that the contents of the Scripta Sinica 漢籍電子文獻資料庫 database maintained by Academia Sinica and available to Harvard users offers much the same material, and in more reliable editions.

Handbooks for daily use (riyongshu 日用書 or riyong leishu 日用類書)

Handbooks for daily use comprise a variety of texts used by non-elites to navigate the social, economic, and moral worlds. Following the expansion of printing in the late Ming, it became possible to produce books in the style of the encyclopedias described above for a popular audience.

The first appearance of this kind of handbook is closely related to the booming of book culture, specifically the book printing culture, of the later Southern Song period. Among examples of the handbook of this period are Xie Weixin's 謝維新 Hebi-shilei 合璧事類 and Chen Yuanjing's 陳元靚 Shilin guangji 事林廣記. These handbooks had been continuously emended and expanded in later times, and became models for other handbooks compiled in the later periods. During the Yuan period, Qizha qingqian 啓剳青錢 and Jujia biyao shilei quanji 居家必用事類全集 were compiled as handbooks, and these became more inclined to common people’s uses in terms of their contents. Handbooks for daily use kept coming forth in the early Ming period, and Duoneng bishi 多能鄙事 and Bianmin tucan 便民圖参 appeared during this time.

The later Ming period experienced an upsurge of handbook publishing. These were well studied by some Japanese scholars(see Wilkinson 2000, p. 608), who also published a collection of facsimile version of the handbook (Chūgoku nichiyō ruisho shūsei 中國日用類書集成; for the list of the collection, click here). Sakaide Shōshin 坂出詳伸 lists eighteen handbooks published in the later Ming period, which he could locate in Japan, in the introduction to the collection series Chūgoku nichiyō ruisho shūsei (for this, click here).

First, the late Ming saw the appearance of many encyclopedic works of pedagogical or didactic purpose meant to acquaint the average reader with the Classics. Examples include simplified editions of the Sishu for commoners and children. Demand was fueled by the increased availability not just of formal education, which enabled more people to read more erudite works, but also by the sale of official positions. Now, a reasonably well-educated peasant or a member of the gentry could, potentially, purchase a degree candidacy and, by studying these books, learn all of the essential quotations and commentaries that he might need in order to pass the exams. The popularity of Wang Yangming's idea that everyone has the potential to become a sage also seems to have encouraged their production.

In addition to sections oriented toward classical knowledge and other things useful for the examination system, the Yuan and Ming saw the emergence of sections of standardized contracts for everything from land rental to marriage. In many cases, these contracts were published side-by-side with instructions on their use. Japanese scholars such as Niida Noboru have used these to research changes in common legal practice.

Wanbao quanshu_萬寶全書. Various editions from the Ming forward. W(2012) 73.1.3.2_

Roughly similar in content to the_Farmer’s Almanack, this work circulated extremely widely in the late imperial period. Among the practical matters it touches on are popular superstitions; trade routes; maps; local agrarian products; etiquette for social occasions; basic livelihood; farming advice; the “must-knows” for calligraphy and good penmanship; the tricks and skills of chess; common tea and wine knowledge; sexuality; how to cure sicknesses of farm animals; and childbirth. 萬寶全書 was the most popular of almanacks. It had various editions from 1597 to 1906. It was later supplanted by the 百科全書. Some editions are available online: "1612", "1628", "1739", "1747" ,"1823", "1871"

There is a 16-volume collection of Ming handbooks of daily use at the HYL.

There is also a similar collection of such handbooks published in Japan by Sakai Tadao 酒井忠夫, which includes: Santai wanyong zhengzhong 三台萬用正宗, Wanyong Zhengzong Buqiuren 萬用正宗不求人, Wanshu yuanhai 萬書淵海, Wuju wenbao quanshu 五車萬寶全書. 

Merchant Manuals (shangren shu 商人書)

Merchant manuals have their roots in the family instructions and in the route books (lucheng yilan). They serve as guides for the gentry and the merchants in the late Ming. They were designed to supply advice on geographical location of different cities, trade routes, as well as local produces found in different places. A detailed review of the scholarship on these manuals can be found in Richard John Lufrano’s introduction in Honorable Merchants: Commerce and Self-Cultivation in Late Imperial China and Chen Xuewen 陳學文, Ming Qing shiqi shangye shu ji shangren shu zhi yanjiu 明清時期商業書及商人書之研究.

Shishang leiyao 士商類要. By Cheng Chunyu 程春宇 (active 17th century), can be found in Mingdai yizhan kao 明代驛站考. Yang Zhengtai 楊正泰. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Press (2006).

This book begins with the history of maps and an introduction of 100 different trade routes. The author gives concrete advice to traveling merchants and lay out some guidelines these merchants should follow. It then provides the geographical and institutional information of each prefecture, and ends with some practical instructions on healthcare and treatises on self-cultivation. Cheng Chunyu is a native of Xin'an 新安 in Huizhou. An article was published by Masaaki Mizuno on the details of its publication.

Bibliography

• Bretelle-Estable, Florence and Karine Chemla, ed. Qu'écrire une encyclopédie en Chine? = What did it mean to write an encyclopedia in China? Saint-Denis: Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, 2007.
  • This volume contains essays on Chinese encyclopedias by Hilde De Weerdt and Benjamin Elman, among others, and covers the Tang through late imperial times.
• Brokaw, Cynthia Joanne. The ledgers of merit and demerit: Social change and moral order in late imperial China. Princeton University Press, 2014.
• Niida Noboru 仁井田陞, "Gen Min jidai no mura no kiyaku to kosaku shousho nado, nichiyou hyakka zensho no rui nijuushu no naka kara" 元明時代の村の規約と小作証書等日用百科全書の類二十種の中から in Chuugoku houseishi kenyuu 中国法制史研究, vol. 3, Toubunken, 1962.
• Sakai Tadao 酒井忠夫, “Confucianism and popular educational works,” in Wm. Theodore de Bary, ed.,_Self and society in Ming thought''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970. pp. 331-364.
• 王正華，2003，〈生活、知識與文化商品：晚明福建版「日用類書」與其書畫門〉，《中央研究院近代史研究所集刊》，第41期，頁1-85
• Jorge Luis Borges, 'El idioma analítico de John Wilkins' by Lilia Graciela Vázquez; edited by Jan Frederik Solem with assistance from Bjørn Are Davidsen and Rolf Andersen. A translation by Ruth L. C. Simms can be found in Jorge Luis Borges, 'Other inquisitions 1937-1952' (University of Texas Press, 1993)