Great Encyclopedia of China: Biology (Volumes I-III)

Author: Editorial Department of the China Encyclopedia Press
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The China Encyclopedia is a large-scale comprehensive encyclopedia in China. China has a long tradition of compiling reference books. Over two thousand years, more than four hundred types of reference books have been published. These books are treasures of China's cultural heritage, collecting, organizing, and preserving important materials from the scientific and cultural classics of various dynasties. Some earlier reference books have been lost, but many have been passed down or partially preserved to this day, cherished by scholars in China and the world. While various reference books differ in structure, some are close to the type of encyclopedia, yet they are not modern encyclopedias. In the mid-18th century, as China was compiling the massive Siku Quanshu, encyclopedias of modern type were published successively in France, Germany, England, Italy, and other Western European countries. Later, the United States, Russia, Japan, and other countries also followed suit. Modern encyclopedias concisely summarize past human knowledge and history while emphasizing the latest achievements in contemporary science and culture. Over the past two centuries, the experience of compiling encyclopedias has been accumulated, with improvements in knowledge classification, editing methods, illustration, and indexing systems, making them increasingly complete and scientific. Today, encyclopedias play a vital role in cultural activities, and various types of encyclopedias have become essential tools for daily life, much like dictionaries. The Chinese intellectual community, with a long tradition of compiling reference books, has long set the goal of editing modern encyclopedias. In the early 20th century, several small, practical encyclopedias were attempted, including the Ci Hai, which was similar to an encyclopedia-style dictionary. However, none of these met the requirements of modern encyclopedias.
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the State Publishing Administration considered compiling a Chinese encyclopedia, and the subsequent 12-year plan for scientific and cultural development also included the compilation of encyclopedias. In 1958, a plan to carry out this work was proposed, but it was never realized. It was not until 1978 that the State Council decided to compile and publish the China Encyclopedia and established the China Encyclopedia Press to oversee the project. As China's first encyclopedia, the compilation work was inevitably challenging. However, due to the urgent demand from scholars, it was impossible to wait for the collection of materials from all disciplines to be relatively complete before proceeding. Nor could it wait for all entries to be written before compiling the entire book in alphabetical order by Chinese pinyin. Instead, experts and scholars across the country were invited to write entries for different subjects, which were published in separate volumes, with one subject (one or several volumes) being released as it was completed. This approach inevitably introduced many shortcomings, but under the circumstances, it was the only viable solution. We plan to adopt the common practice of modern encyclopedias in the second edition, arranging all entries in alphabetical order rather than by subject, making it easier for readers to find and check information.
The China Encyclopedia first edition is published in subject-based volumes, with entries within each subject arranged in alphabetical order, supplemented by a stroke index and other indexes for reference. The content of the China Encyclopedia covers various disciplines and fields, including philosophy, social sciences, literature and art, culture and education, natural sciences, and engineering technology. It is preliminarily planned to have a total of 80 volumes, with each volume containing approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million words (including illustrations and indexes), and the entire set is scheduled to be completed in about ten years. The first edition will have more volumes and words than most foreign general encyclopedias but will be comparable in length to the first editions of some foreign encyclopedias. We plan to adjust and condense the content in the second edition.
The China Encyclopedia is published in subject-based volumes without numbered volumes. Each volume is labeled with the subject name, such as Philosophy, Law, Mechanics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and so on. The content of each subject is written in the form of entries, following the system and hierarchy of the discipline, with a planned total of about 100,000 entries. The entries in each subject provide a detailed account and introduction to the fundamental knowledge of that discipline, making it suitable for readers with high school education or above, equivalent to university-level knowledge. This encyclopedic reference tool serves as a bridge and stepping stone for readers to enter and explore each discipline in depth.