JIYUN BUKAN; THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EARLY CHINESE RHYMING DICTIONARY

MS 2614
MS Short Title JIYUN BUKAN; THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EARLY CHINESE RHYMING DICTIONARY
Text JIYUN BUKAN; THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EARLY CHINESE RHYMING DICTIONARY, CONTAINING NO LESS THAN 53,525 CHARACTERS, ARRANGED BY THE SYSTEM OF FINAL SOUNDS. COMPILED BY DING DU AND OTHERS
Description Blockprint and MS in Chinese on paper, Nanjing?, China, 1814, 5 vols., 23x14 cm, 8 columns, (16x11 cm), 16 characters in Chinese book script, additions in black and red ink; MS: 4 pp. owner's notes (16x10 cm) 12 columns, 20 characters; titles on bottom edges.
Binding Nanjing?, China, 1814, stitched on 4 stations (xiangzhuang), grey paper covers.
Provenance 1. Scholar collector, China (1842): 2. Fan Xiangyong, China (1957); 3. Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia/Beverly Hills, California (-1997?); 4. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd.
Commentary This dictionary was compiled by imperial order in 1034. It probably took some years to complete the work, and possibly additional editorial changes were made before it was published. It was printed by copper movable type. These types, in the Qing dynasty, were often engraved by hand instead of cast into molds. The preface says that the copier was Gu Guangqi, and the engravers, from Nanjing, were 3 brothers, Liu Wenkuei, Liu Wenkai and Liu Wenmo. This work had been in the collections of several scholars who either commented on the history of Jiyun bukan or corrected the misprints in red ink throughout this edition. Concluding from their opinions, this edition was copied after the woodblock edition by Chao Dongting published in Kangxi reign (1662-1722), and was proved according to a manuscript copy of a Song edition by Ruoying. They also provide information about the original Song edition including its format, content and whereabouts. Two such comments are dated, one was written at the 22nd year (1842) of Daoguang reign and one in 1957 by Fan Xiangyong.
Place of origin China
Dates 1814