Taiping Imperial Compendium (Complete 4 Volumes)

Author: Li Fang et al. [Song Dynasty]
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1960-02-01
Features: After Emperor Taizong of Song (Zhao Guangyi) unified the nation, he was determined to promote traditional culture. He ordered the compilation of ancient texts and the collection of materials, resulting in three major encyclopedias: Taiping Guangji (Extensive Records of the Great Peace), Taiping Yulian (Imperial Readings of the Great Peace), and Wenyuan Yinghua (Glorious Collection of Literary Masters). Among these, Taiping Yulian cites ancient books, about seventy-eight percent of which are now lost. It can be said that it is a comprehensive collection of cultural knowledge before the Northern Song Dynasty. The original name of this book was Taiping Bianlan (Compendium of the Great Peace). After its completion, Emperor Taizong highly valued it and ordered himself to read three volumes daily, finishing the entire work within a year. Thus, it was renamed Taiping Yulian, meaning "books personally read by the emperor during the Taiping Xingguo era (976–983)." During the Taiping Xingguo period of the Song Dynasty, the empire had obtained books from various states, and the conquered rulers and ministers were all renowned scholars. Some expressed grievances, and all their works were collected and used. They were placed in the imperial academy, provided with generous stipends, and tasked with compiling numerous books. From 1,690 species of literature, including Wenwen Yulian (Imperial Readings of Literature), Yiwen Laju (Classification of Literary Works), Wenshi Boxiao (Comprehensive Literary Essentials), and Jingshi Ziji (Classics, Histories, Philosophies, and Collections), they compiled 1,000 volumes, naming it Taiping Yulian. There are over ten versions of Taiping Yulian. After the Commercial Press published a facsimile of the Song edition in 1935, it became the most popular version for over two decades. To meet the needs of researchers, the Zhonghua Book Company decided to reduce the size of the Commercial Press facsimile of Taiping Yulian. They combined two pages of the facsimile into one, creating two columns per page. Originally, it was planned to be published in 136 volumes, but now it is condensed into four large volumes, with the font size not reduced too much. This significantly increases convenience in both purchasing, collecting, and in research and reference.