Excerpt: “The Library of Congress has completed a yearslong effort to digitize the Yongle Encyclopedia (Yongle dadian 永樂大典), the largest reference work created in pre-modern China, and possibly the world. Digital publication of the 41 volumes held in the Library’s collections provides open access to one of the most extensive attempts in world history to capture the entirety of human knowledge in book form. The massive work was compiled between 1403 and 1408 for use by Zhu Di — known as the Yongle emperor, after his reign era name — the third emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). … The encyclopedia represented an ambitious endeavor to record all forms of knowledge known to Chinese civilization at the time of the Yongle emperor’s reign. It was intended to be an easy-to-consult but comprehensive reference work.”
Share