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Eastern Culture Nucleus: Chinese Rare Books in the USC Libraries

Classics 經部

Chunqiu 春秋 (Spring and Autumn Annals), one of the Wujing 五經 (Five Classics) of Confucianism, is the first Chinese chronological history which covers the years from 722 BC to 479 BC. Zuozhuan 左傳 (The Commentary of Zuo) contains more complete and rich accounts than the Chunqiu and thus has been regarded as the prime source on the ancient history of China. The Chunqiu and Zuozhuan were often edited together during the later years of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). USC copy bears a preface date of 1616 (Bingchen year of the Wanli reign 萬曆丙辰) and includes annotations by the Ming official and scholar, Sun Kuang 孫鑛 (1543-1613; courtesy name 字 Yuefeng 月峰). It is an excellent example of two color printing in black and red 朱墨套印 in the late Ming dynasty.

Other Special and Rare Editions in the Classics Branch:

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Guangyun 廣韻 (Extended Rhymes) is a rhyming dictionary originally published in 1008 by order of Emperor Zhenzong 真宗 (968-1022) of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). It is a revised and expanded edition of earlier rhyming dictionaries, including Qieyun 切韻 (Cut Rhymes) and Tangyun 唐韻 (Rhymes from the Tang dynasty) published during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) periods.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Preface date: 1704 | 康熙四十三年.
This book analyzed the phonetic use of characters in the two well-known history books, namely Shiji 史記 (The Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian 司馬遷 (145-c. 86 BC) and Hanshu 漢書 (Book of Han) by Ban Gu 班固 (32-92 BC). It was authored by Lou Ji 婁機 (1133-1211) during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279).
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/Edition: Qianlong Period (1736-1795) | 清馬氏叢書樓刻本.
Originally a chapter in the Confucian classic Zhouli 周禮 (Rites of Zhou), Kao Gong Ji 考工記 (Artificers' Record) is the earliest treatise on science and technology in ancient China, compiled approximately around the fifth century BC. It contains descriptions of techniques and technologies used by various craftsmen and artificers in ancient China, such as the manufacture of chariots and weapons, the making of pottery and musical instruments, the planning of cities, etc.
This illustrated commentary on Kao Gong Ji was compiled by Dai Zhen 戴震 (1724-1777), a most prominent scholar and philosopher in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). USC copy is part of the Daishi yishu 戴氏遺書 (A Posthumous Collection of Works by Dai Zhen), which was printed in the Jihai year of the Qianlong reign 乾隆己亥 (1779).
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1779 | 清乾隆己亥微波榭叢書本.
Jade Chapters 玉篇 is a dictionary of characters compiled in 543 by Gu Yewang 顧野王(519–581; courtesy name 字 Xifeng 希馮) during the Liang 梁 dynasty (502–557). It follows the Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 (Explaining single-component Graphs and Analyzing compound Characters) tradition to arrange Chinese characters by radicals 部首. The original version of Jade Chapters was hand-copied during the Tang dynasty (618-907), but only a fragment is preserved and kept in Japan. Printed on traditional Japanese kozo paper, USC copy is an exquisite facsimile edition of the Yan 言 radical section from the surviving fragment of the Tang manuscript. It was published by the diplomat Li Shuchang 黎庶昌 (1837-1897; courtesy name 字 Chunzhai 莼齋) while he served as Consul in Tokyo from 1881 to 1890.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1884 | 古逸叢書本.

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Spring and Autumn Annals - Commentary of Zuo 春秋左傳 (1616) Chunqiu 春秋 (Spring and Autumn Annals), one of the Wujing 五經 (Five Classics) of Confucianism, is the first Chinese chronological history which covers the years from 722 BC to 479 BC. Zuozhuan 左傳 (The Commentary of Zuo) contains more complete and rich accounts than the Chunqiu and thus has been regarded as the prime source on the ancient history of China. The Chunqiu and Zuozhuan were often edited together during the later years of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). This USC edition includes annotations by the Ming official and scholar, Sun Kuang 孫鑛 (1543-1613; courtesy name 字 Yuefeng 月峰) and is an excellent example of two color printing in black and red 朱墨套印 in the late Ming dynasty.
Preface date: 1616 (Bingchen year of the Wanli reign 萬曆丙辰) . Edition: 朱墨套印本.