PBA Galleries

8 fascicules in 1 chemise, closed with the traditional Chinese toggle. Stitched-binding, on double leaves. 33.5x22.3 cm. (13¼x8¾").

This is a work on the ancient geography of China, which is an annotated and much expanded version of an older text, the Shui Jing (The Waterways Classic), which is generally regarded as the first Chinese book on the waterways. The original version of The Waterways Classic only briefly described 137 rivers in China. The annotated edition, Shui Jin Zhu, compiled by Li Dao Yuan (d. 527) during the Northern Wei Dynasty, was a heavily expanded edition of the original, which consisted of 40 volumes, and described 1252 rivers. This 1935 edition printed and published by the Commercial Press is taken from the version of Li Dao Yuan's Shui Jin Zhu, which was included in the Young Le Da Dian (The Encyclopedia of the Yong Le Era), which was a Chinese compilation of information and data commissioned by the Ming Dynasty Chinese emperor Yong Le in 1403 and completed by 1408, when it was the world's largest known general encyclopedia to that date. The title and/or author in Chinese characters can be provided upon request.