Sections & Selections
All in the Confucian Family: Printed Books by Scholars
In the Sung dynasty, scholars were selected as officials on the basis of their writing. Scholars valued writings by sages of the past, but Sung authors apparently treasured their own writings even more so. Therefore, when the woodblock printing for texts rose in popularity, scholars utilized this new art form in the hopes of leaving their name to posterity. Documentary evidence indicates that the phenomenon of scholars having their own writings printed as well as those of previous authors already existed in the Northern Sung, and these became known as “private print editions”. By the Southern Sung, the printing of books by scholars became further widespread, some even using their personal or a family member’s term in office to provide funding for the woodblock carving and printing. Based on the attention in the trade and the ability to follow carefully in the footsteps of previous generations, the selection and proofreading of master copies for books was quite meticulous in the Sung dynasty, and the quality of printing extremely refined. For example, on display here is the sole surviving copy of “Illustrated Text of the Hsüan-ho Emissary to Korea”. Hsü Ch’an, nephew of the author Hsü Ching, feared that his uncle’s record of a diplomatic journey to Korea would be lost to posterity, so during his term in office had the text re-carved. In another example, “Principal Meaning to the Book of Etiquette and Ceremony” was printed by Wei K’o-yü when he served as Administrator of Hui-chou in order to publicize the lifetime of effort in writing by his father, Wei Liao-weng. Though such official imprints may appear somewhat regional on the surface, they brim with the Confucian notion of venerating the efforts and knowledge of one’s predecessors, and what better way than with books?
Written by Hsü Ching (Sung Dynasty)
1167 Sung imprint by Hsü Ch’an of the Chiang-yin District School
This is one of the few Sung dynasty imprints describing the customs of peoples outside of China proper. Two years after the author Hsü Ching was sent to Korea (then known as Koryo) as an emissary, and following the fall of the Northern Sung, only the text of his illustrated account survived. Afterwards, his nephew Hsü Ch’an had the text reprinted into a book, and this is the only surviving copy of the imprint.
Written by Wang An-shih (Sung Dynasty)
Annotated by Li Pi (Sung Dynasty)
Southern Sung imprint
Li Pi was the first scholar to provide annotations to Wang An-shih’s poetry. Because he had been banished to Fu-chou, Kiangsi, he became particularly fond of the poetry of Wang An-shih, who also came from Fu-chou. His student Li Hsi-mei then had woodblocks carved for an imprint, this being the only surviving edition.
Written by Wei Liao-weng (Sung Dynasty)
1252 Sung imprint by Wei K’o-yü of Hui-chou as part of “Principal Meanings of the Nine Classics”
When Wei Liao-weng was living in banishment in Ching-chou, he acquired the annotated commentaries by Cheng and Chia on the principal meanings of the Classics. Before his book could be printed, however, it was lost, but his son K’o-yü had it printed at the prefecture study hall when he was Administrator of Hui-chou. Twenty years later, the woodblocks were destroyed in war and not reprinted thereafter. Hence, this book is the sole surviving copy, making it all the more precious.