Forum in Beijing sheds light on a late 12th-century book
2021-05-17
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) produced brilliant cultures and influential technological advancements.
The printing industry of the empire, for example, saw maturity of the woodblock printing and invention of moveable type printing. Song books which feature fine printing, neat layout and elegant writing are thereafter sought after among collectors today.
A forum held recently in Beijing zoomed in on the artistic and historical values of a book believed to be published between 1174 and 1189, during the later years of Emperor Xiaozong.
At the center of discussions were four volumes of the book, an abridged version of Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid of Governance). It is a general chronicle of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, which took Song politician Sima Guang (1019-86) nearly 20 years to finish compiling.
The masterpiece consists of some 294 volumes. It was so famous in later years that people selected different sections of it and published shortened versions, added comments and annotations of rarely used characters.
The four volumes being reviewed by several scholars of ancient books attending the forum show the book, said to be published in Zhejiang province, a fine example of Song's accomplishments in printing and also, one of the best abridged versions of Zizhi Tongjian found to be in existence.
The four volumes will go under the hammer at Yongle Auction in Beijing late this month.
Beijing Yongle International Auction Co.,Ltd
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