Gujin tushu jicheng

The Gujin tushu jicheng (古今圖書集成, "Complete Collection of Illustrations and Writings from the Earliest to Current Times") is a vast encyclopaedic work written in China during the reigns of Qing emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng, completed in 1725. The work was headed by scholar Chen Menglei (陳夢雷). It contained 800,000 pages and over 100 million Chinese characters. Topics covered included natural phenomena, geography, history, literature and government.

The work was printed in 1726 using movable copper type. It spanned around 10 thousand rolls (卷). About 60 copies were made.

One of Yongzheng's brothers patronised the project for a while, although Yongzheng contrived to give exclusive credit to his father Kangxi instead.

References

• Search for Modern China, Jonathan Spence, 1990