Book/Printed Material Wensu Wang gong zou cao : er shi san juan 文肅王公奏草 : 二十三卷 / / Wang Wensu zou cao

Title

• Wensu Wang gong zou cao : er shi san juan

Other Title

• 文肅王公奏草 : 二十三卷 /
• Wang Wensu zou cao

Summary

• This collection of memorials written by Wang Xijue (1534-1610) was printed during the Wanli period (1573-1620). Wang, posthumously called Wang Wensu, became, in 1562, a successful candidate at the metropolitan civil examination, the second at the palace examination, and assumed high offices. Among them were Grand Academician, Head of Household Administration of the Heir Apparent, and, in 1607, the most prestigious position as Grand Secretary in the Grand Secretariat, an organ superimposed on the six ministries of the government. After his death, a temple was erected in his honor. Wang was also a prolific writer, a bibliophile, and calligrapher. Memorials were personal memoranda presented by officials to the emperor, with proposals for action, and played the most important role in facilitating communication between the emperor and his officials. A number of Wang Xijue's proposals were accepted by the emperor, most famously the one written in 1593, in which he reported that the reason grain was cheap was entirely due to the scarcity of silver. The government required silver for taxes, but disbursed little silver in its expenditures, which led to the decline in grain prices, lower returns for the peasants, and, as a result, less land was put into cultivation. The memorials in this edition were selected and compiled by his son Wang Heng, a Hanlin Academy member, and edited by his grandson Wang Shimin (1592-1680), a famed Chinese landscape artist. The memorials, dated between the 13th and 38th years of the Wanli reign (1585-1610), deal with a wide range of subjects, some of them also concerning his personal affairs, such as requesting leave and retirement. The two prefaces were written by Shen Shixing (1535-1614) and Fang Congze (died 1628), both of whom served as grand secretaries. Another preface, dated 1622, was added at the time of printing. It was written by He Qiaoyuan (1558-1632), a scholar of local histories. This work is of high historical value. World Digital Library.

Names

• Wang, Xijue, 1534-1610
• Fang, Congzhe, xu
• Shen, Shixing, 1535-1614, xu
• He, Qiaoyuan, 1558-1632, xu
• Chinese Rare Book Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

• [China : s.n.], Tianqi 2 nian [1622]

Notes

• -  In case.
• -  Also available in digital form.
• -  九行十八字. Nine lines, with eighteen characters per line.
• -  原題：「光祿大夫少保兼太子太保吏部尚書建極殿大學士王錫爵著，翰林院編修男衡彙輯，尚寶司司丞孫男時敏校梓」。錫爵字元糊，號荊石，太倉人，官至建極殿大學士，口文肅有文集五十二卷附錄二卷，四庫入存目，按此即全集中之奏草，此本後印; 原印本申序為宋體大字，此改為錫爵孫時敏所書。又何序署天啟二年，當即印刷時所加入。方從哲(序)，申時行(序)，何喬遠(序)天啟二年(1622).
• -  明萬曆間刻本. Ming Dynasty woodblock print, printed in 1622.

Medium

• 12 v.

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2012402094

Online Format

• image

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2012402094

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record

IIIF Presentation Manifest

• Manifest (JSON/LD)