Book/Printed Material Xi cha hui cao : er juan 西槎彙草 : 二卷
About this Item
Title
- Xi cha hui cao : er juan
Other Title
- 西槎彙草 : 二卷
Summary
- Purportedly taken from the collections of Tian Yi Pavilion by a person from the Han lin yuan. The collection seal on the right side of the bottom of the cover has been removed. The book was used to compile the collection Si ku quan shu. It includes text and paintings about lumbering methods, tools, equipment, and craftsmen.
- This Ming dynasty work in two juan, in one volume, was printed in black and blue inks during the Jiajing reign (1522-66). It is the only known copy. The author was Gong Hui, who received his jin shi degree in 1523 and then held various official posts. As vice president of the Bureau of Public Works, he supervised the water conservancy work at the Huai River. When he was military governor-general in south Jiangxi, he suppressed the powerful bandits operating in the region. He was dispatched to Sichuan to supervise the felling of timber for building the Palace of Benevolence and Longevity in the Forbidden City, in Beijing. This book, with its 15 illustrations and descriptions of the methods and tools used in timber cutting, is a rare source for studying the techniques and craftsmanship of its time. Also included are several poems and essays and a memorial to the emperor describing the hardships endured in transporting timber to the capital. As a result of Gong Hui's memorial, the emperor discontinued the tree-felling project. The work also includes an essay entitled Shuo mu (Discourse on trees) by Zeng Yu (1480-1558), and a postscript, written by Jia Ding, a fellow official. On the first page of the book is a large square seal impression of the imperial Hanlin Academy in Chinese and Manchu scripts, an indication that it was a master copy for the compilation of Si ku quan shu (The complete collection of the four treasuries). It was originally in the collection of Tian yi ge (The Tianyi Pavilion Library), but after the completion of the Siku Collection the book apparently was not returned. The seal impression of Tian yi ge later was cut out and the book was taken out of the imperial academy and sold. World Digital Library.
Names
- Gong, Hui, jin shi 1523
- Chinese Rare Book Collection (Library of Congress)
Created / Published
- [China : s.n., Ming Jiajing 12 nian, 1533]
Headings
- - Painting, Chinese
Notes
- - In case.
- - Sheet inserted in volume reads: "Lumber industry in Szechuan in the 16th century. The Hsi-ch'a hui-ts'ao was written by Kung Hui, a member of the Imperial Board of Works, and printed in 1533. This work illustrates the methods of securing large timbers from the mountains of western China to be used in the construction of the imperial palaces in Peking. The volume contains information on the felling of trees and the hauling of lumber. Shown here is an illustration depicting the moving of lumber across a stream on a trestle with the aid of a capstan."
- - Also available in digital form.
- - 九行二十字. Nine lines, with twenty characters per line.
- - 明龔輝撰。是書首葉鈐：「翰林院印」滿漢文大方印，四庫館底本也。按總目知為天一閣舊藏，蓋原書未發回，後為人從翰林院中竊出；右下角收藏印記已剜去，殆出賣時不欲留惡名於人間世耳。輝奉使督木四川事，提要已言之，蓋據呂本所撰龔輝墓誌銘為說。本稱：「西槎彙草二卷，其疏若圖，采入經濟錄」；五本為原刻藍印，殊為〓目。館臣頗斥其詩，然謂：「仍著錄政書中，從所重也」。是已能認識是書價值。於採辦林木方法，圖繪極為明晰，所用各種工具，有助於研究我國古代工藝者不少，此為尤足珍者。末有曾璵說木一篇，蓋為本書所作跋。曾璵說木 嘉靖十三年 (1533) 郟鼎書後 嘉靖十二年 (1533).
- - 藍印本，須特別調理顔色.
Medium
- 1 v. : ill.
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2012402100
Online Format
- image