Imperial Mirror with Annotations

Author: (Ming) Zhang Juzheng (original author), Chen Shengxi, Jia Naiqian (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-06-01
Features: The Imperial Mirror with Pictures, full title The Imperial Mirror with Pictures from the Ages of Emperors, named "Imperial Mirror" after Emperor Taizong of Tang used the past as a mirror. It was compiled by Zhang Juzheng, the first chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's Grand Secretariat (1525-1582), during the Longqing and Wanli eras for the ten-year-old Emperor Zhu Yijun (1563-1620) as a textbook. The content includes stories of emperors from various dynasties, selected concise biographies and notes. These are supplemented with in-depth yet accessible explanations and commentaries, each lesson preceded by an illustration reflecting the story's plot. After the Wanli era, emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties repeatedly studied this book, which was widely printed and copied. We have slightly organized it and introduced it to primary and secondary school teachers and students, university students, and readers with a secondary education level.