RareBooks in National Palace Museum, Song dynasty part2

Welcome to the National Palace Museum's collection of rare books from the Song dynasty! Here, you can explore the Literary Collection of Liu Ping-k'o, which was compiled into 40 chuan (chapters) during the Tang dynasty. You can also find the Literary Collection of Nan-hsuan, which was recorded by Ch'en Chen-sun and Chao Hsi-pien of the Song dynasty. This book is only mentioned once in a collection from the early Qing dynasty, making this copy in the National Palace Museum the only surviving Song dynasty edition. We hope you enjoy exploring these incredible artifacts!

1. Literary Collection of Liu Ping-k'o

Liu Yuxi (772-842) was a poet of the Tang dynasty (618-907) whose literary collection was compiled into 40 chuan (chapters) in "Hsin T'ang shu i-wen chih" (New Arts Section of the Tang History). In the early Sung (960-1279), ten chapters were lost, leaving only 30. During the Song dynasty, Sung Tz'u-tao collected Liu's other works to come up with 470 poems and 23 prose writings compiled into ten chapters The contents of his ten chapters, however, did not completely match the contents of the ten lost chapters.

2. Literary Collection of Nan-hsüan

Zhang Chi was a native of Sichuan. Zhu Xi praised Zhang Chi in his eulogy for his character and erudition, making him an important figure in the philosophy of the period and a role model for later generations. The book was originally entitled "Nan-hsuan hsien-sheng wen-chi" (The Literary Collection of Nan-hsuan) and survived in two editions. One was in 30 chuan (chapters) and recorded by Ch'en Chen-sun of the Song dynasty (960-1279) The other was a 44-chapter edition recorded by Chao Hsi-pien, also of the Song dynasty The book was originally entitled "Nan-hsuan hsien-sheng wen-chi" (The Literary Collection of Nan-hsuan) and survived in two editions One was in 30 chuan (chapters) and recorded by Ch'en Chen-sun of the Song dynasty (960-1279) The other was a 44-chapter edition recorded by Chao Hsi-pien, also of the Song dynasty The former was not recorded in any collections, except for the catalogues of two private collections in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties The 44-chapter edition was arranged by Zhu Xi and, after being reprinted in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), enjoyed great circulation However, the original Song imprint is mentioned only once--in the collection of Chi Chen-i during the early Qing dynasty It is unknown whether this copy still exists, making this copy in the collection of the National Palace Museum apparently the only surviving Song dynasty edition of this book Unfortunately, with 28 chapters, the Museum copy is not complete