Complete Ancient Chinese Literature; Complete Qin Literature

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-10-01
Features: This book is one of the collections of Complete Ancient and Medieval Chinese Literature (hereinafter referred to as Complete Literature). Complete Literature was compiled by Yan Kejun of the Qing Dynasty and is divided into fifteen volumes: Complete Ancient, Medieval, and Qin-Han-Six Dynasties Literature, Complete Qin Literature, Complete Han Literature, Complete Later Han Literature, Complete Three Kingdoms Literature, Complete Jin Literature, Complete Southern and Northern Dynasties Literature, Complete Qi Literature, Complete Liang Literature, Complete Chen Literature, Complete Northern Wei Literature, Complete Northern Qi Literature, Complete Northern Zhou Literature, Complete Sui Literature, and Pre-Tang Literature. It includes a total of 3,490 authors (or 3,502 individuals) before the Tang Dynasty, each accompanied by a brief biography. It is the most comprehensive collection of literature before the Tang Dynasty to date and holds extremely important academic value for the study of pre-Tang history, literature, religion, language, and other fields. It is also the longest literary collection in ancient Chinese literature in terms of time span.
The compilation of Complete Literature holds great significance. First, it gathers all written works from the time of written records until the Tang Dynasty, excluding historical records, philosophical treatises, poetry, and specialized books. It includes the long and short works of scholars, masters, Buddhist and Taoist monks, as well as the writings of noblewomen. This comprehensive collection is a monumental achievement in summarizing pre-Tang literature and has made significant contributions to academia and culture. It can be regarded as a grand masterpiece of extraordinary merit.
The texts compiled in Complete Literature are all annotated with their sources, facilitating re-examination and verification. In cases where multiple sources exist, they are all included, and variant readings are recorded. This differs greatly from earlier compilations such as Complete Tang Poetry and Complete Tang Literature, significantly enhancing the academic and practical value of Complete Literature. This also reflects the practice of textual research during the Qing Dynasty.
Additionally, Yan Kejun devoted considerable effort to collecting and organizing documents, distinguishing authentic from spurious texts, and arranging the content. For the academic standards of the time, he was adept at utilizing documents and had a broad scope of textual verification. Yan Kejun not only extracted the writings of pre-Tang authors from numerous historical records but also extensively examined inscriptions on stone and bronze artifacts, miscellaneous records, encyclopedias, personal notes, ancient annotations, commentaries on classics, and even Buddhist and Taoist texts. In particular, the use of these two major Buddhist and Taoist collections provided inspiration for the compilation of future literary anthologies.