Wenzhou Literary Series: Dragon Gate Collection. Art of Wonders

Author: Hou Yilin (Ming)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The Dragon Gate Collection (), with one appendix, compiled by Hou Yilin of the Ming Dynasty. Hou Yilin, styled Shunzhao and known as the Four Valleys Mountain Man, was from Leqing, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. His birth and death years are not recorded in historical records. According to the line "Together with you were born in the spring of Dingchou, the two of us together were one hundred and sixty-six" in Wang Shuogao's Remains of Jade Pavilion (, ), Hou Yilin was born in the 12th year of the Zhengde era (1517). He was still alive at the age of 80 (in the 27th year of the Wanli era, 1599), maintaining poetic exchanges with Wang Shuogao.
The academic value of The Dragon Gate Collection lies in its preservation of a large amount of historical records from the Jiajing and Longqing periods, making it highly valuable as a historical source. The collection has a Ming Longqing-era edition, preceded by an introduction by Hou Yuyuan in the 6th year of the Longqing era (1572) and a preface by Xia Jing in the 23rd year of the Jiajing era (1544). At the end, there is a postscript by Dai Xiang in the 6th year of the Longqing era and a postface by Wang Zheng. This edition is recorded in The Wenruilou Catalogue (), The Thousand Ridge Catalogue (), and The Wenzhou Bibliography (). However, it is not included in The Art Section of the Ming History, The General Catalogue of the Four Treasuries, or The Catalogue of Fine Ancient Chinese Books.
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