The Yongle Dadian: The Origin, Destruction, Dispersal and Reclamation of a Chinese Cultural Treasure 中國文化珍藏 ──永樂大典的起源、毀壞、分散與收復 Lauren Christos Biscayne Bay Library Florida International University, U.S.A. Email: [email protected] Keywords（關鍵詞）： Yongle Dadian（永樂大典）; Hanlin Academy（翰林書院）; Cultural Repository（文化貯藏）; Intellectual Repository（智識貯藏）; Library （圖書館）; Peking Siege（北京圍攻） 【Abstract】 relying on siege diaries and other primary source materials, the author will present what The history of the Yongle Dadian’s[1] crea- occurred on that fateful day of June 23, 1900 tion, near total destruction, its wanton dis- when the Hanlin Academy was reduced to persal, its promising reprinting and possible ashes and its contents looted. Lastly, the digitization, is but one example of a fasci- author will conclude with the recent reclama- nating cultural treasure worth studying. As tion efforts of the Yongle Dadian and touch this paper will show, even the partial recovery upon the role of libraries as repositories of of an artifact brings to light the significant intellectual heritage and cultural record. contribution of a culture, a time, and a people. 永樂大典的編作起源幾近毀壞，肆意分散的 The author will trace the course of the Yonele 歷史，以及翻印與數位化的可能性，使它成為 Dadian over 600 years. From the original 值得研究的文化寶藏。誠如本文之呈現，即使 compilation during the fifteenth century Ming 是部分古籍的修復，也能對文化、時代以及民 Dynasty to the burning and looting of the 族作出重要貢獻。作者將追溯永樂大典六百多 prestigious Hanlin Academy where it was 年的歷史，從十五世紀明朝時原典的編纂，到 held during the 1900 Siege of Peking. The 西元 1900 年間，北京被圍攻時，永樂大典的貯 function and rising importance of the Hanlin 藏地「翰林書院」被焚燒以及劫掠。本文也將 Academy as a cultural repository of Chinese 討論翰林書院作為貯藏中國學術成就的功用和 scholarship will be discussed. In addition, 重要性。此外，根據北京圍攻的紀錄和其他文 82 Journal of Library and Information Science 36（1）：82 – 91（April, 2010） 獻，作者也將陳述西元 1900 年 6 月 23 日當天 emperor, though considered a “warrior emperor,” was 翰林書院被焚燒與劫掠的過程。結論中，將討 also a man of education, writer, philosopher, calligra- 論近來為收復永樂大典所做的努力，以及探討 pher, and historian. As a patron of literature, he com- 圖書館在貯藏人文遺產和古蹟的角色。 missioned this mammoth undertaking with the thought “It is (as difficult) as sieving the sand for “...to boost the imperial library’s collection, making the gold, or scouting the sea for diamonds.” encyclopedia the only source for ancient books now long lost,” (Bray, 2002) however Goodrich and others Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (in state that the proposal “…for this undertaking was preface to Yongle Dadian, 1408) officially made by the Grand Secretariat[3] Xie Jin (1369 – 1415) of the Hanlin Academy on July 19, Part I: The Origin and History 1403” (Bray, 2002). Goodrich goes on to state that the of the Yonle Dadian Emperor approved Xie’s proposal, appointed him edi- The Yongle Dadian was a massive and unique colla- tor and gave him 147 assistants. Either way, the Grand tion of Chinese literature, culture, knowledge and ex- Secretariat was given the task of oversight and the perience; it remains a singular and remarkable project was underway. However after 17 months of achievement. The Yongle Dadian spans the equivalent conscientious devotion to the project, the emperor of 8,000 years worth of texts in one encyclopedia and rejected their first draft, titled “Wenxian Dacheng”[4] embraces four main topics: the Confucian canon, his- or Great Collection of Documents, citing it as incom- tory, philosophy, and the general literature of China. Dr. plete. W.T. Swingle[2] broadly describes the Yongle Dadian The Yongle Emperor added the imperial scholars as “a universal compendium of all existing Chinese Yao Guangxiao and many other scholars and imperial history, ethics, science, art, geography, religion, in a officials to the mission. During the following five word, of all human knowledge among the Chinese up years, these scholars persevered in collecting and to 1400 A.D.” (Wilcox, 1947, p.20). L. Carrington copying between 7,000 and 8,000 texts, documents, Goodrich specifies “thought, morals, poetry, frontier and other materials from the Pre-Qin Period (221 people (the Xiongnu and Hu for example), geography, B.C – 207 B.C), also known as the Spring and Autumn surnames, government, law, the spirits, biography, periods, up to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). Thou- divination, architecture (gates, bridges, halls, store- sands of scholars traversed China’s countryside houses, walls, offices), villages, capital cities, history, searching for texts that had not been previously re- burial customs, astronomy, botany, grain, military corded or seen since ancient times. Other Hanlin matters, Buddhism, Taoism, travels, bronzes, food and scholars worked on the compilation of the texts within drink, caves, dreams, scholars, drama, sacrifices, the Imperial Library at Nanjing. Finally, on December clothing, mathematics, carpentry, post stations, sha- 14, 1407, Yao re-submitted the Wenxian Dacheng to mans, literary collections (Goodrich, 1901, p.18). Two the Emperor. By now, the encyclopedia had grown to other prominent scholars in this field add “….as well 22,211 sections, or juan, bound as 11,095 handwritten as descriptions of unusual natural events” (Davis & folio volumes, “. 370 million characters on magnifi- Cheng, 2007, p. 436). The collection was commis- cent paper bordered with red silk, covered with perfect rd sioned by the 3 Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the script in black lacquer with punctuation and notes in Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (reigned 1402 - 1424), who vermilion, all bound in imperial yellow damask silk”[5] was also known as Ming Chengzu, his Yongle era (Polastron, 2007, p.102). This work was painstakingly means "Perpetual Happiness” (Tsai, 2001, p. 436). The copied character for character. Exact copies produced 圖書館學與資訊科學 36（1）：82 – 91（民九十九年四月） 83 not only a key dictionary, but more importantly an burning the palace and taking away many precious extraordinary, grand “lei-shu”[6] or encyclopedia, the artifacts now displayed in British, French, and U.S. earliest and largest one to date. Many of these traditional museums, eyewitness Robert Swinhoe, recorded in his characters originally copied from ancient texts are no memoir “Narrative of the North China Campaign of longer in use today. With the addition of 60 juan form- 1860,” “What they could not carry away, they smashed ing the index and the emperor contributing a preface in to atoms” (Sanello, 2004, p.6). A bibliophile and which he used the phrase “completed in the winter of British interpreter among the troops realized the his- our sixth year,”[7] the final encyclopedia contained torical importance of the Imperial Archive and man- 22,937 juan. At last, bearing the name of his reign pe- aged to save several wagon loads of books which he riod, the Yung le Emperor was satisfied and bestowed sent to the British Museum. At this time, the last re- upon it the title of Yongle Dadian, Vast Documents of the maining copy was held in the Hanlin Academy Li- Yongle Era or Grand Canon of Yongle. brary, “…nearly complete…but not cared for,” (Coul- ing, 1917, p. 256), and like its original was bound cov- Upon its completion, the original was kept in the ered with yellow silk, each volume being 1 foot by 8 Ming Dynasty capital of Nanjing. In 1409, a copy of inches in length by one foot in breadth, and averaging this extraordinary work was to have been printed, but 1 – 2 inches in thickness. Sadly, this, the only Yongle the expense of woodblock cutting was too great and Dadian manuscript copy, long revered by scholars and the work so large that the Yongle Dadian was never emperors, over time fell prey to poor preservation printed; it existed only in a simple manuscript copy in whether through theft, rodents or insects, warfare or Nanjing. In 1421, Yongle moved the capital from fire. Calculations indicate that of the 11,095 volumes Nanjing, along with the Yongle Dadian, to Bei- existing in 1407, only about 800 remained in 1900. It jing, Here it was kept in the emperor’s Old Summer was left to the Siege of Peking in 1900 to halve what Palace, in the Forbidden City[8] library called little remained of the once magnificent Yongle Dadian. Wenyuan Ge. A 1557 fire nearly burned the em- peror’s palace. In the 1560’s a second copy was made and housed in the Huang Shi Chen or Imperial Ar- Part II: The Hanlin Academy chives in Nanjing. A third manuscript copy was later The prestigious Hanlin Academy (Hanlin Yuan) was moved to the Hanlin Academy Library during the pe- founded in the 8th century during the Tang Dynasty riod of the Emperor Yong Zheng (1723 – 1736), the (618 – 907 AD) by Emperor Xuanzong. The Hanlin fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The original Yon- Academy originated as “. a society of gle Dadian in Nanjing possibly perished by fire in scholar-officials. when medieval emperors granted 1449. However, there is speculation that the Jiajing their personal favorites an honored place as special ad- th Emperor, the 11 emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had it visors within the palace.” (Elam, 1989, p. 383 ). The placed in his tomb and it may one day be found hidden Chinese term Hanlin has several interpretations, all in the tomb complex of Jiajing (Mote, 1986). equally appropriate descriptions explaining the institu- The first manuscript copy probably perished in the tion’s various functions. Professor of East Asian Lan- collapse of the Ming Dynasty (Zhang, 1986). Some guages at Harvard University, Stephen Owen, inter- volumes have long been scattered, but the largest preted Hanlin Yuan as “Forest of Writing Feathers,” number were destroyed when invading British and “Forest of Brushes” “Brush Wood Court,” "Forest of French troops sacked the Summer Palace and the Im- Scholars" or even “Forest of Quills.” Taizu, the first perial Archive in the autumn of 1860.