Book/Printed Material He gong shu : yi juan Juan 1
About this Item
Title
- He gong shu : yi juan
Other Title
- 河工書 : 一卷
- Wanli yi si dong Ningling Xian gong ke
Summary
- According to the end note, this book was printed in winter of 1605 in Ningling County; the contents imply that the author was Lü Kun, a contemporary scholar; not cited in the county history, but mentioned in 'Lü si kou song de bei ji' by Meng Yanghao.
- The title of this work, He gong shu (Book on regulating rivers), is taken from the central column of the page. The inscription at the end of the volume says that the work was printed in the winter of the Yisi year (the 33rd year, 1605) of the Wanli reign in Ningling Xian. The author of the book is not known definitively, but judging by the contents, the work was undoubtedly by the hand of a very respectable author, possibly Lü Kun, though no records could be found in the local gazetteer of Ningling. Lü Kun (1536-1618), courtesy names Shujian and Xinwu, style name Baodu Jushi (Retired Scholar Who Embraces Solitude), a native of Ningling, Henan, was a Ming literary author and philosopher. He was known as an upright and incorruptible official and was considered one of the three great sages during the Wanli reign. He served as an assistant minister at the Bureau of Justice and was posthumously bestowed the rank of minister of the bureau. He was the author of at least ten main works, including Shi zheng lu (Records on statecraft) and Quweizhai ji (Collected works from the Studio of Removing Untruth), on a wide range of topics, from politics, economy, laws and codes, military affairs, river regulation, education, and phonology to medicine, and other subjects. In Lü si kou song de bei ji (The stele eulogizing the merits of Minister Lü), the writer Meng Yanghao described Lü Kun as the messenger of river protection, who petitioned to spare compulsory river-dredging service; a similar theme is expressed in this work. Also, in Quweizhai ji, on page 25 of juan 5, under the heading "With the director of waterways Liu Jinchuan" there is a note, which reads: "Juan 5 contains juan 4 as an addendum entitled He gong shu, which was originally printed separately. It constitutes the first essay of the work presented here. This copy is bound in the traditional Chinese binding technique, called "gold inlaid with jade," in which an extra sheet of paper is inserted in the fold of the double-page spread to strengthen and preserve the pages of the book. It is in good condition but lacks the title page. World Digital Library.
Names
- Lü, Kun, 1536-1618
- Chinese Rare Book Collection (Library of Congress)
Created / Published
- Ningling Xian : [publisher not identified], Ming Wanli yi si [33 nian, 1605]
Notes
- - In case.
- - Running title.
- - Also available in digital form.
- - 八行二十字. Eight lines, with twenty characters per line.
- - 原書不著撰人姓氏，卷末題：「萬曆乙巳冬寧陵縣公刻」。閱其內容，知必出於一極負重望人之手，檢寧陵縣志又知非呂坤莫屬。然縣志無明文，惟孟養浩撰呂司寇頌德碑記，稱「上書防河使者，請免濬河夫役」，與是書所載相合。因檢去偽齋集乃全在集中。卷五頁二十五下與總河劉晉川，即河工書第一篇，集文下有註云：「書五附書四，舊題河工書，集分別刻，今補錄」。「集外別刻」者，即指此本也.
- - 原書不著撰人姓氏. Original book; anonymous.
Medium
- 1 volume
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2012402413
Online Format
- image