Yongle Encyclopedia

Long ago, a king loved to read.

He wanted to save many old books. He asked thousands of scholars to help. They wrote a very big set of books. The books were all written by hand. They used red ink for the names. The covers were wrapped in yellow silk. This set was the largest in the world. Most of it was lost a long time ago. Today, only a few books remain. They are very special to keep.

Long ago, a ruler named the Yongle Emperor wanted to save books.

He loved to read and do research. He wanted to keep rare books safe. He also wanted to make research easier for people.

In 1403, he started a huge project. He hired 2,169 scholars to help. These smart people traveled all over China. They looked for books to copy. They worked for four years to finish the task.

The result was the Yongle Encyclopedia. It was a massive set of handwritten books. It had 11,095 volumes. It was the largest encyclopedia in the world for a long time. It used 370 million Chinese characters.

The books looked very special. They used red ink for names and titles. This ink was only for the emperor. Each book had a hard cover. The covers were wrapped in yellow silk.

Sadly, much of the work was lost. Wars and fires destroyed many volumes. Today, only about 400 volumes still exist. You can find them in libraries around the world. They are still a great treasure of history.

The Yongle Encyclopedia was a massive collection of knowledge.

It was a type of book called a leishu. This means it was a reference book used to find information. The Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty wanted to preserve rare books. He also wanted to make research easier for scholars. This huge project was the largest general encyclopedia in the world. It held this title until Wikipedia became larger in late 2007. Today, we look at it as a priceless way to see old Chinese history.

Making the encyclopedia was a giant task.

First, the Emperor changed how the Hanlin Academy worked. He filled it with elite scholars instead of clerks. In 1405, the number of scholars grew to 2,169 people. These scholars traveled across China to find books. They gathered excerpts from history, philosophy, arts, and sciences. They did not use printing presses for this work. Instead, every single page was written by hand. This helped save many rare and delicate texts.

The work began in 1403 and finished in 1408.

The Emperor first tried a smaller work in 1404. He rejected it and asked for more volumes. He chose Yao Guangxiao to lead the editors. Other leaders included a monk named Dao Yan and Liu Jichi. The scholars worked for four years at the Guozijian in Nanjing. The final set was truly enormous in scale. It had 11,095 volumes and 22,937 manuscript rolls.

There are many amazing numbers in this history. The encyclopedia used 370 million Chinese characters. That is about a quarter of a billion English words. It was much larger than the famous Encyclopædia Britannica. Sadly, most of it was lost over the centuries. Only about 3.5% of the original work survives today. This means fewer than 400 volumes still exist. Much was lost during the Second Opium War and the Boxer Rebellion. Many volumes were even taken as souvenirs by soldiers.

Even though it is smaller now, it is still found in many places. The National Library of China in Beijing has 221 volumes. The National Palace Museum in Taipei holds 62 volumes. You can also find pieces in the United Kingdom and the United States. Some volumes are even in Germany. In 2020, two volumes sold at an auction in Paris. They sold for more than 9 million US dollars. These books connect us to the deep history of Chinese learning.

The Yongle Encyclopedia, also known as the Yongle Dadian, was a massive Chinese leishu. A leishu is a type of reference encyclopedia. This project was a monumental effort to organize and preserve Chinese knowledge. It was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1403. The Emperor was an intellectual who enjoyed reading and research. He wanted to categorize literary works into one place. This would help preserve rare books and make research easier for scholars. For nearly six centuries, it was the world's largest general encyclopedia. It held this record until Wikipedia surpassed it in late 2007.

Creating this work required a massive reorganization of scholars. Before the Yongle Emperor, the Hanlin Academy mostly performed clerical tasks. These tasks included drafting official proclamations and edicts. The Emperor changed this by elevating the academy's status. He selected only the highest-ranking recruits for the academy. These elite scholars focused on important literary projects instead of clerical work. In 1405, the number of scholars rose to 2,169 people. These scholars traveled all over China to find books. They worked under the leadership of general editor Yao Guangxiao. Other co-editors included the monk Dao Yan and Liu Jichi.

The development of the encyclopedia happened in distinct stages. In 1404, a team of 100 scholars finished a manuscript called A Complete Work of Literature. The Yongle Emperor rejected this work. He insisted that the team add many more volumes. The scholars then spent four years compiling the massive collection. They finished the work in 1408 at the Guozijian in Nanjing. The final result was a collection of 22,937 manuscript rolls. These rolls were organized into 11,095 volumes. The encyclopedia was not arranged by subject like modern books. Instead, it used a system called Hongwu zhengyun. This system ordered characters phonetically or rhythmically to help readers find entries.

The physical style of the encyclopedia was very unique. It was larger in size than other Chinese encyclopedias of that time. The volumes used special paper and a "wrapped back" binding style called bao bei zhuang. Each volume was protected by a hard cover wrapped in yellow silk. The Emperor also used red ink for titles and authors. This specific red ink was exclusively reserved for the Emperor. This helped confirm the volumes were of royal production. Unlike many other books of the Ming dynasty, this was not printed. The entire encyclopedia was exclusively handwritten. Each entry was a collection of excerpts from existing literature.

The sheer scale of the Yongle Dadian is difficult to imagine. It contained 370 million Chinese characters. This is roughly equivalent to a quarter of a billion English words. This amount is about six times larger than the Encyclopædia Britannica. The work was intended to include every commentary on Chinese classics. It also covered all history, philosophy, arts, and sciences. It was a massive collation of knowledge from across China. The Emperor was so pleased that he named the work after his own reign. He even wrote a long preface to highlight the importance of preserving these works.

Sadly, much of the original encyclopedia has been lost to history. The volumes were moved to the Forbidden City in 1421. In 1557, the encyclopedia narrowly escaped a fire in the Forbidden City. A manuscript copy was later made between 1562 and 1567. However, the original was still lost later. Some believe the original was destroyed during the late Ming dynasty. Others suggest it was lost when Li Zicheng burned the Forbidden City in 1644. Much of the 1567 manuscript survived until the Second Opium War. During the Anglo-French invasion of 1860, many volumes were burnt or looted. British and French soldiers even took parts of the manuscript as souvenirs.

Today, only a small fraction of the work remains. Only about 3.5% of the original work survives today. This means fewer than 400 volumes still exist from the original 11,095. The most complete collection is at the National Library of China in Beijing. It holds 221 volumes. The National Palace Museum in Taipei holds 62 volumes. Other volumes are scattered across the world. You can find them in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. In 2020, two volumes sold at a Paris auction for over 9 million US dollars. These surviving pieces remain vital connections to China's historic works.