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 Fan Zhongyan's Literary Collection, The Analects, Classified Draft 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 Catalogue of the Hsuan-ho Collection. Each of these documents offer a glimpse into the past and tell us about how people interacted with each other during this time period. Come take a look at these fascinating artifacts today!

1. Literary Collection of Fan Zhongyan

Fan Zhongyan was a native of Wuxian, Jiangsu province. Fan Zhongyan was a scholar of profundity and virtue that in his affairs sought to have a clear conscious before the virtuous and in his studies sought to aid the world. Fan Zhongyan's collected writings were originally entitled "Tan-yang chi" (Tan-yang Anthology), though after the author's death it was re-named as "Wenzheng."

2. The Analects

The "Lun-yu chi-chieh" (The Collected Exegeses of the Analects) is a volume of collected exegeses by He Yan (190-249), Wei dynasty Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) reprint from Hsu-chun after Liao's Song dynasty Shih-ts'ai Hall edition. The "Lun-yu chi-chieh" is an edited selection of Han and Wei commentaries to "Lun-yu".

3. Classified Draft of the Yuan-feng Era

Zeng Gong was a native of Nan-feng in Chien-ch'ang (modernday Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province). Zeng Gong was a lifelong collector of books. Zeng Gong's literary style was known for its simple elegance, earning him a place among the Eight Great Writers of the Tang and Song. Zeng Gong was a native of Nan-feng in Chien-ch'ang (modernday Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province) A lifelong collector of books, he assembled a library of rare works that he also collated himself, becoming noted at the time for his wide learning His literary style was known for its simple elegance, earning him a place among the Eight Great Writers of the Tang and Song His younger brother Tseng Chao wrote that even though Zeng Gong did not write books on his learning, he collected his discourses into manuscripts a 50-chuan chapter encyclopedia entitled "Yuan-feng (1078-1085) lei-kao,", a 40-chapter "Hsu Yuan-feng lei-kao" Continuation of Yuan-feng lei-kao and a 10-chapter "Wai-chi" Miscellanea "Hsu-kao" and "Wai-chi" were lost sometime during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) In the Kai Xi era (1205-1207), however, the Chien-ch'ang Prefect Chao Ju-li and others re-compiled the 40-chapter "Hsu-kao" from different sources Regrettably, the results of this endeavor were once again lost in the early Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), leaving only the 50-chapter "Yuan-feng lei-kao" extant

4. Essentials to the Collected Meaning of The Four Books

Liu Yin, a scholar of the Song dynasty, turned to a life of seclusion after the fall of the Song dynasty in 1279. In 1330, his "Essentials to the Collected Meaning of The Four Books" was printed with exceptional quality. This book was not reprinted in later periods, making this surviving example all the more precious.

5. Dynastic Regulations for Sagacious Rule of the Great Yuan

The Yuan dynasty imprint "Documents concerning the system of Yuan dynasty rule, with the exception of those mentioned in the official Yuan history and this book, have all been lost." This Yuan imprint is not only the earliest surviving example of this text, it is also an important source for the study of the Yuan government. The contents represent a collection of archives from the central government to the localities, with a terminal date of 1320.

6. Painting Catalogue of the Hsuan-ho Collection

This book is a catalogue describing the imperial collection of painting in the inner court under Emperor Huizong (r. 1101-1125) of Song and an important source of information on early Chinese painting. Divided into ten sections according to the subject matter of painting, it is composed of 20 chuan (chapters). The contents mention 231 artists from the Jin dynasty (265-317) to the Northern Song dynasty (960-1126) as well as 6396 hanging scrolls and even Japanese painting.