RareBooks in National Palace Museum, Yuan dynasty

Welcome to the National Palace Museum's collection of rare books from the Yuan dynasty! These texts were written by some of China's most influential scholars, and they provide us with a unique insight into Chinese culture during this period. You will find literary collections from Fan Zhongyan, exegeses on the Analects, Classified Drafts of the Yuan-feng Era, Essentials to the Collected Meaning of The Four Books, Dynastic Regulations for Sagacious Rule of the Great Yuan and Painting Catalogues of the Hsuan-ho Collection. These documents offer an incredible glimpse into the past and are sure to captivate and inspire you. Come explore these amazing artifacts today!

1. Literary Collection of Fan Zhongyan

Fan Zhongyan was born in 989. He was a diligent student who was very ambitious and talented. He believed in justice and promoting talented people. He also wanted to help the poor.

2. The Analects

This book is called "The Analects" but it is really a collection of exegeses on the Analects. He Yan was not the only author, there were four others. Scholars in the past only mentioned He Yan because he was the leader of the project.

3. Classified Draft of the Yuan-feng Era

Zeng Gong was a Chinese writer from Nan-feng in Chien-ch'ang (modernday Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province). He was known for his wide learning and for his simple, elegant literary style.

4. Essentials to the Collected Meaning of The Four Books

Liu Yin (1249-1293) was a scholar of the Song dynasty. After the fall of the dynasty in 1279, he turned to a life of seclusion.

5. Dynastic Regulations for Sagacious Rule of the Great Yuan

This is the earliest surviving example of this text and it is also an important source for the study of the Yuan government. However, we do not know who the editor is or when it was printed because there are no prefatory inscriptions or end colophons.

6. Painting Catalogue of the Hsuan-ho Collection

This book is a catalogue of the paintings in the imperial collection of the Song dynasty emperor Huizong (r. 1101-1125). It is divided into ten sections by subject matter, and contains 20 chapters. The book mentions 231 artists from the Jin dynasty (265-317) to the Northern Song dynasty (