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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 (Zijian 字鑑五卷), a dictionary of Chinese characters arranged by rhyme, was originally compiled by Li Wenzhong 李文仲 during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). As a supplement to the earlier rhyming 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's copy is a later edition corrected by Xu Lian 許槤 (1787-1862), a renowned philologist, book collector, calligrapher, official, and publisher of the late Qing dynasty. It was beautifully engraved and printed by Xu's Yanjing shushu 揅經書塾, a major publisher during the Daoguang 道光 reign (1820-1850). USC's copy still retains his seals on the cover page (內封面) and at the end of the preface, which implies that it is a first impression (初印本), and therefore, a treasure in the Chinese rare book collection.

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

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This catalogue of antiquities was compiled by Wang Qiu 王俅 (active 1176) during the Southern Song dynasty. It contains inscriptions on bronze objects, mirrors, and seals dating from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Tang (618-907) dynasties. USC's copy is an excellent mid-Qing edition collated by Zhang Rongjing 張蓉鏡 (active 19th century) who also added two volumes of Investigation of Discrepancies (Kaoyi 考異) to the catalogue. The ex libris seal 南陵徐乃昌校勘經籍記 on the caption title page (卷端頁) of the book is from Xu Naichang 徐乃昌 (1869-1943), a well-known collector and scholar in the late Qing and Republican periods. The other ex libris seal here is from Zhou Guoyi 周國頤, a late Qing official, scholar, and physician.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/Edition: 1811 | 清嘉慶十七年鴛湖張氏醉經堂刻本.
Sanhuai Studio Collated Edition Twenty-two Masters' Books 三槐堂校栞廿二種子書 (1833?) 15
This collectanea comprises a collection of twenty-two masters' books written and annotated by lesser-known authors from the Warring States (475-221 BC) period to the Ming dynasty. It covers various subjects, such as divination, Daoism, Buddhism, agriculture, filiality, and loyalty. The displayed page comes from the book entitled Commentary to the Scripture of Embryonic Breathing (Taixijing shu 胎息經疏一卷) and written by Wang Wenlu 王文禄 possibly during the Jiajing 嘉靖 reign (1522-1566) of the Ming dynasty. Taixijing is a Daoist canon on alchemical breathing practices, completed probably before the Eastern Jin 東晉 dynasty (317-420). USC's copy lacks the relevant bibliographic information pages (such as preface and printer's colophon), and therefore, cannot be accurately dated. It may be plausibly the same edition as 廿二子全書 (清王纕堂編), 清道光十三年[1833]王氏棠蔭館刻本.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date: Uncertain (1833?).

Further Reading:
- Pregadio, Fabrizio. "Chinese Alchemy. An Annotated Bibliography of Works in Western Languages. 2. Studies of Alchemical Texts and Authors." Monumenta Serica 44 (1996): 454-65. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40727097.
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This Confucian evidential research study was written by Liu Wenqi 刘文淇 (1789-1854), a Classics scholar (經學家) of the late Qing dynasty. It includes a part of Liu's evidential scholarship on the Commentary of Zuo (Zuozhuan 左傳), as he did not complete his comprehensive research before his death. His work was continued by his son Liu Yusong 劉毓崧 (1818-1867), grandsons Liu Shouzeng 劉壽曾‎ (1838–1882) and Liu Guizeng 劉貴曾‎ (1845–1898), and finally, great-grandson Liu Shipei 劉師培‎ (1884–1919) who was a prominent Classics scholar, pioneer Chinese anarchist, and revolutionary activist during the late Qing and Republican periods.
Donated by Dr. Chow Tse-tsung. Cover date: 1838 (First month of spring of wuxu year 戊戌孟春).
Essentials of Medicine 醫學精要八卷 (1867) 11
This eight-volume set is a medical book focusing on pediatric symptoms, diseases, and prescriptions. It was written by Huang Yan 黃嚴 (c. 1751-1830; courtesy name 字 Junshou 峻壽), a doctor, poet, and writer of the Qing dynasty. Huang completed the medical book in 1800 and used it as a textbook for his disciples.
Date/edition: 1867 | 同治六年廣州永漢路登雲閣藏板.

Further Reading:
- Bretelle-Establet, Florence. "Learning and Teaching Medicine in Late Imperial China." In Scientific Sources and Teaching Contexts Throughout History: Problems and Perspectives, edited by Alain Bernard and Christine Proustrouse, 273-301. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://doi-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1007/978-94-007-5122-4_11.
- "Huang Yan 黄岩." In Hua shuo guo yi: Guangdong juan 话说国医: 广东卷, edited by Li Shuchun 李姝淳 and Liu Xiaobin 刘小斌主, 67-70. Zhengzhou: Henan ke xue ji shu chu ban she, 2017.
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Stone Classics (Shi Jing 石經) are stone engravings of the Confucian classics. The practice of carving ancient Confucian classics on stone started during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD), which was intended to establish and preserve standard editions. This book includes Shi Jing from the Eastern Han to Jin 金 (1115-1234) dynasties. It was written by Gui Fu 桂馥 (1736-1805), an eminent evidential research scholar, poet, calligrapher, and seal carver of the mid-Qing period.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1883 | 清光緒九年海豐吴氏陳州郡齋刻本.
Jade Chapters (Yupian 玉篇) is a dictionary of characters compiled in 543 by the noted philologist, historian, and painter Gu Yewang 顧野王 (519–581) during the Liang 梁 dynasty (502–557). It follows the Explaining single-component Graphs and Analyzing compound Characters (Shuowen jiezi 說文解字) tradition to arrange Chinese characters by radicals (部首). The original version of Yupian 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's 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 (Xiaojing 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 familial and social relationships in China. USC's copy was printed in great seal script (大篆體) around 1885 and is a first impression (初印本). It is arguably a unique edition of Xiaojing, 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 (Xiqing gujian 西清古鑑) is an illustrated catalogue of ancient bronze utensils and other objects from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Han (202 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-juan 卷 record of coins (錢錄) from ancient times to the Ming dynasty. The structure of the book follows Illustrated Catalogue of Antique Objects from the Xuanhe Hall (Xuanhe bogu tu 宣和博古圖) 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's copy is an exquisite, large copper-plate facsimile of the woodblock palace edition, printed in Japan in 1888. The original printer’s colophon (牌記) 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.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. 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 (內封面) of the first volume includes the book price (si jiao 四角) and an ex libris seal "真州吳氏有福讀書堂藏書" from the collector Wu Yinsun 吳引孫 (1848-1917) active during the late Qing and early Republican periods.
Cover date: 1889 (Jichou year of the Guangxu reign 光緒己丑).
Commentary and Corrections to the Sweated [Bamboo] Strips 汗簡箋正七卷 (1889) 12
Sweated [Bamboo] Strips (Hanjian 汗簡) is a paleographic dictionary compiled by Guo Zhongshu 郭忠恕 (d. 977), a well-known painter, calligrapher and paleographer of the Five Dynasties 五代 (907-960) and early Song dynasty. The compilation follows the Explaining single-component Graphs and Analyzing compound Characters (Shuowen jiezi 說文解字) tradition to arrange Chinese characters by radicals (部首), and it draws on a variety of seventy-one textual sources, such as Shuowen jiezi, Confucian classics like Ancient Book of Documents (Gu shangshu 古尚書) and Ancient Book of Changes (Gu zhouyi 古周易), and inscriptions from stone steles. Commentary and Corrections to the Sweated Strips (Hanjian jianzheng 汗簡箋正), the first in-depth evidential research on Hanjian , was written by Zheng Zhen 鄭珍, a scholar of late Qing dynasty. The ex libris seal "獨山莫繩孫字仲武印" on the displayed page comes from Mo Shengsun 莫繩孫 (c. 1844-1919; courtesy name 字 Zhongwu 仲武), second son of Mo Youzhi 莫友芝 (1811-1871) who was a prestigious late Qing scholar, book collector and bibliophile.
Donated by Dr. Chow Tse-tsung. Printer's colophon (牌記) date: 1889 (Jichou year of the Guangxu reign 光緒屠維赤奮若, i.e. 光緒己丑年). Edition: 影印石印本.

Further Reading:
- Hay, Jonathan. “Guo Zhongshu's Archaeology of Writing.” Journal of Chinese History 3, no. 2 (2019): 233–324. doi:10.1017/jch.2018.39.
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This collection of poems was written by Li Ciming 李慈銘 (1830-1894; literary name 號 Yueman 越縵; alternative name 別號 Master of the Baihua Jiangfu Pavilion 白華絳柎閣主), an influential official and scholar of the late Qing dynasty. USC's copy contains handwritten punctuation marks and commentaries from the donor Dr. Chow Tse-tsung 周策縱 (1916-2007), a world-famous scholar on the May Fourth Movement and The Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng 紅樓夢).
Donated by Dr. Chow Tse-tsung. Date/edition: 1890 | 光緒十六年石印本.
Illustrations and Explanations of Ancient Bricks from the Qianpi Pavilion 千甓亭古塼圖釋二十卷 (1891) 17
This catalogue consists of rubbings and commentaries of ancient brick inscriptions and motifs dated from the Han (202 BC to 220 AD) to Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. It was compiled and photolithographed in 1891 by Lu Xinyuan 陸心源 (1834-1894; courtesy name 字 Gangfu 剛甫), a renowned late Qing collector, bibliophile, scholar, and official. These ancient bricks were collected by Lu primarily from his hometown Gui'an 歸安 (present Huzhou 湖州 in Zhejiang 浙江 province) and surrounding areas and used to be kept in the Qianpi Pavilion 千甓亭, a pavilion dedicated to the brick collection in the front yard of his residence. Each commentary in the catalogue contains a detailed description of the dimension of the brick and an in-depth interpretation of the inscription(s). The ex libris seals 周振湘印 and 澹肰珍秘 on the caption title page (卷端頁) of the book come from Zhou Zhenxiang 周振湘 (literary name 號 Danweng 澹翁), a notable collector active during the Republican period.
Donated by Dr. Chow Tse-tsung. Date/edition: 1891 (Xinmao year of the Guangxu reign 光緒辛卯) | 石印影印本.

Further Reading:
- Ye, Keqin 叶克勤. “Lu Xinyuan and the Ancient Bricks Kept in Qianpi Pavilion 陆心源及其千甓亭藏砖.” Collections 收藏 no.7 (2016): 12-19.
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"Inscription for the Stone Gate Pillars (Shique ming 石闕銘)," a prose essay in praise for the establishment of new stone gate pillars by the Emperor, was written by Lu Chui 陸倕 (470–526), a noteworthy poet and writer of parallel prose (駢文) during the Liang 梁 dynasty (502-557). USC's copy is a lithographic edition of a late-Qing manuscript version of the prose.
Colophon date: 1900 (Gengzi year of the Guangxu reign 光緒庚子).
Enlightening Rhymed Phrases for Elementary Students 小學啟蒙韻語 (1900) 10
This book adopts easily-understood, rhymed phrases to promote essential life skills and moral values, such as reading, determination, family, nationalism, and equality, to elementary students. Zheng Guangong 鄭貫公 (1880-1906; original name Dao 道, courtesy name 字 Guanyi 貫一), a noted late Qing journalist and revolutionary newspaper publisher authored and self-published the book in 1900, while he was studying and working with the renowned reformer Liang Qichao 梁啟超 (1873-1929) in Yokohama, Japan. This book is a good example of wooden movable type printing (木版活字印刷) in the early twentieth century.
Preface date: 1900 | 光緒二十六年.

Further Reading:
- Feng, Ziyou 冯自由. "Zheng Guangong shi lue 郑贯公事略." In Ge ming yi shi: chu ji 革命逸史: 初集, 82-5. Beijing: Zhong hua shu ju, 1981.
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Practice Tutorial to the Complete Explanation of Algebra 代數備旨全草 (1905) 5
This book was compiled by Xu Xilin 徐錫麟 (1873-1907), a late Qing revolutionary. It was intended to serve as a practice tutorial to the textbook Complete Explanation of Algebra (Daishu beizhi 代數備旨) written by Calvin Wilson Mateer (1836-1908) and first published in 1891. Mateer was a pioneer American Presbyterian missionary in Shandong 山東 province and founder of the first Christian college in China.
Date/edition: 1905 | 清光緒三十一年石印本.

Further Reading:
- Martzloff, Jean-Claude. "Appendix 1: Chinese Adaptations of European Mathematical Works (from the 17th to the Beginning of the 20th century)." In A History of Chinese Mathematics, 371-89. New York: Springer, 1997.
media/algebra.jpg plain 2021-02-04T10:18:25-08:00 Link to the catalog record in the USC Libraries
This book consists of inscriptions from 364 ritual bronze objects dated from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Han (202 BCE-220 AD) dynasties. It was compiled by Zhu Shanqi 朱善旂 (courtesy name 字 Jianqing 建卿) during the Daoguang 道光 reign (1820-1850) of Qing dynasty. USC's copy is a large photolithographic edition printed by his nephew Zhu Zhizhen 朱之榛.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1908 | 清光緒三十四年照相石印本.
Talking about Stone [Inscriptions] 語石十卷 (1909) 12
This is the first comprehensive research on stone inscriptions with a wide coverage of historical periods, geographic locations, and subjects. Particularly, it includes steles from other countries and regions (such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Europe, and Africa) and expands the scope from steles to a wide variety of types of stone inscriptions, including bridges and pillars, well fences, stone figures, and lions. The author Ye Changchi 葉昌熾 (1849-1917) was a notable book collector and scholar of epigraphy (金石學) during the late Qing and Republican periods.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1909 | 清宣統元年自刻本.

Further Reading:
- Ma, Hongju 马洪菊. Ye Changchi yu Qing mo Min chu jin shi xue 葉昌熾与清末民初金石学. Beijing: Min zu chu ban she, 2014.
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This is an illustrated catalogue of bronzes from the imperial collection of the Qing dynasty, which was compiled in 1793 by order of the Qianlong 乾隆 emperor (1711-1799). It is the sequel to the more comprehensive Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities (Xiqing gujian 西清古鑑) completed in 1751. Printed in 1911, USC's copy is a fine lithographic facsimile of a manuscript version of the catalogue from the Palace of Tranquil Longevity (甯壽宮). It beautifully reproduced the imperial seals stamped on the contents page of the original manuscript.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1911 | 清宣統三年上海商務印書館石印本.

This page references:

Mirror of Characters 字鑑五卷 (1825) This dictionary of characters was originally compiled by Li Wenzhong 李文仲 during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). As a supplement to the rhyming 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 dictionary. USC's copy is a later edition corrected by Xu Lian 許槤 (1787-1862), a renowned philologist, book collector, calligrapher, official, and publisher of the late Qing dynasty. It was beautifully engraved and printed by Xu's Yanjing shushu 揅經書塾, a major publisher during the Daoguang 道光 reign (1820-1850). USC's copy still retains his seals on the cover page (內封面) and at the end of the preface, which implies that it is a first impression (初印本), and therefore, a treasure in the Chinese rare book collection.
Donated by Dr. Peter Marie Suski. Date/edition: 1825 | 清道光五年許槤揅經書塾刻本.