LIU ZONGYUAN: COMPLETE WORKS OF POETRY

MS 2664
MS Short Title LIU ZONGYUAN: COMPLETE WORKS OF POETRY
Text LIU ZONGYUAN: COMPLETE WORKS OF POETRY; ZENGUANG ZHUSHI YINBIAN TANG LIU XIANGSHENG JI
Description Blockprint in Chinese on paper, Fujian, China, 1264-1367, 10 vols. (complete), folded format, 24x15 cm, 13 columns, (20x13 cm), 23 characters in Chinese book script.
Binding China, 20th c., stitched on 4 Stations (Xian Zhuang), blue paper covers.
Provenance 1. Tao Bozi (1913); 2. Yuan Kewen, China (1913-1931); 3. Cheng Xuejia (1931-1949); 4. Søren Edgren collection, New England, U.S.A. (1950-1998); 5. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.
Commentary Liu Zongyuan (773-819) was a central poet and philosopher. Together with Han Yu (see MS 2663) he was known as one of the Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song dynasties. His conscientious and prudent writing style was adopted by Chinese and Japanese literati through the ages. This is one of the best and most complete editions of his works. A preface written by Lu Zhiyuan in 1167 at the beginning of the 1st volume implies that it is a reprint of an even earlier edition. The prominent collector Yuan Kewen (1890-1931) was the son of Yuan Shikai (1859-1916), the first president of the Republic of China. Yuan Kewen was a renowned artist and records in a colophon in vol. 10 how he exchanged this set with his friend Tao Bozi in 1913. He especially composed a painting to commemorate this event.
Place of origin China
Dates 1264 - 1367 AD