On the History of the Book in China

Brokaw, Cynthia J.

doi:10.1525/california/9780520231269.003.0001

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…It is thus probable that oyster-associated activities could be underrepresented in historical records and accounts due to social biases (McCullagh, 2000). It should also be noted that few records are likely to have survived throughout dynasty regimes, wars and changes in governments; for example, the burning of books and loss of records to fire have been documented during imperial China across dynasties (Brokaw & Chow, 2005; Petersen, 1995; Wang & Zhang, 1988). Yet, we show here the value of historical documents in refining the global underestimation of biodiversity and human-ecosystem connection loss – perhaps even more so in regions where documentation is sparse, and no knowledge of ecological baselines exists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of a marine ecosystem

Lau,

Thomas,

Williams

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Degradation of marine ecosystems by human activities is a global problem, with only recent recognition that exploitation of ecosystems over millennia can result in their functional extinction and loss from human memory. To reconstruct the historical distribution of oyster reefs in China, and the context behind loss, we extracted information from archaeological records and historical documents (pre-modern Chinese literature, administration reports, art, maps, newspapers) spanning ~7600 years, then constrained records with past coastlines and habitable environmental conditions. Oyster reefs were extensively distributed along >750 km of coastline in the Pearl River Delta, and their exploitation underpinned the region's development into China's first economic hub in the 6th century. Millennial-scale overexploitation alongside societal shifts were central in their regional extirpation by the 19th century, but the enduring cultural importance of oysters is maintained by aquaculture expansion. Informed conservation practices can be developed from reconstructing the temporal interplay between human societies and the natural environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of a marine ecosystem

Lau,

Thomas,

Williams

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…On early woodblock printing in China see Brokaw 2005, 8-9, Dennis 2015, 6, Wu 1936, Wu 1940, Wu and Wu 1943, Chibbett 1977 This map is held in the China National Library in Beijing Zhongguo guojia tushuguan 中国国家图书馆 (no shelfmark) and reproduced in Yan et al 1998, 212-13. 73 One of these maps is kept in the China National Library in Beijing Zhongguo guojia tushuguan 中国国家图书馆 (no shelfmark) and reproduced in Yan et al 1998, 222-23. For a digital file of a copy held in the Library of Congress (shelfmark G7820 1816) see: https://lccn.loc.gov/gm71005060.…”

Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Colours on East Asian Maps

Lange¹,

Hahn²

2023

Colours on East Asian Maps

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“…The geographical expansion of printing was paralleled by the penetration of print culture into the lives of the lower-and middle-brow people living in China's tens of thousands of towns and hundreds of thousands of villages. 16 Woodblock printing reached its peak in technical sophistication in the mid-sixteenth century with the rise of scholar-printers in the Yangzi delta, but the scale of printing and the scope of the market were also controlled by the more commercially oriented printers in Fujian and Sichuan. During the late Ming, Nanjing, the Ming southern capital, and nearby Hangzhou and Suzhou (all in "Jiangnan," south of the Yangzi River) became the center for quality printing, and outstanding xylographers staffed the printing shops.…”

Section: Elite Printing During the Late Mingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collecting and Classifying : Ming Dynasty Compendia and Encyclopedias (Leishu)

Elman¹

2007

oroc

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The publication of reference encyclopedias (leishu) and daily-use compendia (riyong leishu) during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) drew on earlier book collections, which Chinese literati previously had valued as texts while preparing for civil examinations or for collecting source materials needed by officials to carry out their activities (see Hilde De Weerdt's paper in the issue). During the Song dynasty (960-1280), these traditional collections transmitted a specific epistemological approach for investigating things, events, and phenomena. Beginning in the Yuan period (1280-1368), new types of leishu developed, some of which, owing to the steady expansion of printing as well as literacy and the corresponding proliferation of a bookish print culture, reached a broader readership than ever before. 1 The actual production of such collections for both highbrow and low brow elites relied on reusing woodblocks previously carved to print books. On the one hand, these new types of leishu covered a wider range of knowledge. On the other hand, they represented a form of classicism that approached things/events/phenomena textually, i.e., in a lexicographic and etymological way. Using the encyclopedic form, compilers increasingly applied the ideals for "investigating things and extending knowledge" (gewu zhizhi) beyond the classical corpus. They had derived the term from the Great Learning (Daxue; one of the Four Books, Sishu) in the Record of Rites (Liji, one of the Five Classics, Wujing), which were canonical texts required for the civil examinations. The textual approach to natural studies and practical knowledge culminated in the creation of encyclopedias and collectanea (congshu, lit., "a collection of books") that served as textual repositories simulating "textual museums." 2 During the Southern Song (1127-1279), the philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200), who became the core interpreter of the late imperial Daoxue (lit., "Learning of the Way," often called "Neo-Confucianism") classical canon,

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On the History of the Book in China

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of a marine ecosystem

Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of a marine ecosystem

Colours on East Asian Maps

Collecting and Classifying : Ming Dynasty Compendia and Encyclopedias (Leishu)

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