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Eastern Culture Nucleus: Chinese Rare Books in the USC Libraries

Qing Dynasty: Jiaqing-Xuantong Reigns
清嘉慶至宣統時期

Mirror of Characters 字鑑 , a dictionary of Chinese characters arranged by rhyme, was originally compiled by Li Wenzhong 李文仲 during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). As a supplement to the earlier rhyme dictionary Leiyun 類韻 compiled by his uncle Li Shiying 李世英, it was intended to provide a correct pronunciation, form and meaning for each character in the dictionary. Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski, USC copy was beautifully engraved and printed by Yanjing shushu 揅經書塾, the best publisher during the Daoguang 道光 reign (1820-1850). It is a first impression and treasure from the library.

Other Special and Rare Editions from the Jiaqing to Xuantong Reigns of Qing Dynasty:

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This catalogue of antiquities was originally compiled by Wang Qiu 王俅 (active 1176) during the Southern Song dynasty. It contains inscriptions of bronze objects, mirrors and seals from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Tang (618-907) dynasties. USC copy is a revised edition 校本 by Zhang Rongjing 張蓉鏡 (active 19th century) who also added two volumes of Kaoyi 考異 (Investigation of Discrepancies) to the catalgue. The ex libris seal 南陵徐乃昌校勘經籍記 on the first page of the book is from Xu Naichang 徐乃昌 (1869-1943), a famous connoisseur in the late Qing and Republican periods. The other ex libris seal here is from Zhou Guoyi 周國頤, a late Qing official and scholar.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Colophon date: 1811. Edition: 清嘉慶十七年鴛湖張氏醉經堂刻本.
Jade Chapters 玉篇 is a dictionary of characters compiled in 543 by Gu Yewang 顧野王 (519–581) during the Liang 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) while he served as Consul in Tokyo from 1881 to 1890.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1884 (Tenth year of the Guangxu reign 光緒十年) | 古逸叢書本.
The Classic of Filial Piety 孝經 is a Confucian classic focusing on the concept of filiality and its importance to family, community, morals and politics. It has far-reaching impacts on family and social relationships in China. USC copy was printed in great seal script 大篆體 around 1885 and is a first impression 初印本. It is argubly a unique eidtion of The Classic of Filial Piety, as it is not included in Zhongguo guji zong mu 中國古籍總目 (Beijing: Zhong hua shu ju, 2009-2013).
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Preface date: 1885 (Eleventh year of the Guangxu reign 光緒十一年). Edition: 清末刻本.
Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities 西清古鑑 is an illustrated catalogue of ancient bronze utensils and other objects from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Han (206 BCE-220 AD) dynasties in the imperial collection of the Qing dynasty. It was commissioned by the Qianlong 乾隆 emperor (1711-1799), compiled under the supervision of the Qing official and scholar Liang Shizheng 梁詩正 (1697-1763), and completed in 1751. Appended to the book is a sixteen-volume record of coins 錢錄 from the ancient times to the Ming dynasty. The structure of the book follows Xuanhe Bo gu tu 宣和博古圖 (Illustrated Catalogue of Antique Objects from the Xuanhe Hall) of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Each entry contains an illustration, a detailed description of the dimension and weight, and a discussion of the inscriptions. USC copy is an exquisite, large copper-plate facsimile of the woodblock palace edition, which was printed in Japan in 1888. The original printer’s colophon is missing from the copy, which reads 光緖十四年邁宋書館在日本銅鐫 (Engraved on the copper plate by Maisong Shuguan in the fourteenth year of Guangxu reign [1888]). The ex libris seal 陶齋 is from Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911; literary name 號 Taozhai 陶齋), a late Qing Manchu high-ranking official who was also a well-known collector of antiques.
Date/edition: 1888 | 清光緒十四年邁宋書館日本銅版影印本.
This four-volume set, published during the late Qing dynasty, is a rare historical travel guide to the West Lake in Hangzhou 杭州, China. It records the couplets of Qing emperors, officials and scholars in the temporary imperial palaces, historical sites, temples, academies, tombs and other places around the West Lake. At the end of the fourth volume, there are four itineraries of the West Lake and tide tables of the Qiantang 錢塘 River in the Qing dynasty, which are valuable sources for the study of the historical landscape and development of the West Lake and the surrounding areas. The cover page of the first volume includes the book price (si jiao 四角) and an ex libris seal from the collector Wu Yinsun 吳引孫 (1848-1917).
Cover date: 1889 (Jichou year of the Guangxu reign 光緒己丑).

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Mirror of Characters 字鑑 (1825) This dictionary of characters was originally compiled by Li Wenzhong 李文仲 during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). As a supplement to the rhyme dictionaryLeiyun 類韻 compiled by his uncle Li Shiying 李世英, it was intended to provide a correct pronunciation, form and meaning for each character in the dicitonary. USC copy was beautifully engraved and printed by Yanjing shushu 揅經書塾, the best publisher during the Daoguang 道光 reign (1820-1850). It is a first impression and treasure from the library.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1825 | 清道光五年許槤揅經書塾刻本.