Project Details
Description
"Tu Yuan Ce Zi兔園冊子" originally referred to an encyclopaedia-type book “leishu類書
”called "Rabbit Garden Imperial Book Repository兔園策府", which was first compiled in
the Tang Dynasty and served as a children textbook in private schools. Its content was
easy to understand. However, the name was later used to refer to the preparatory books
for the imperial examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties to satirize the mentality of
scholars who were more interested in pursuing high scores and passing the exam than
studying the classics.
In fact, these exam preparation books are not entirely bad. From a modern academic
point of view, they do have some value. Firstly, there are many types of preparation
books. Through the question-types in these books, one can understand the direction and
content scholars focused on when they were preparing for the exam. From a commodity
economy perspective, these books led to the development of the publishing industry in
the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and a small number of them were indeed excellent works
and received good reviews from the Siku treasury officials. These encyclopaedia-type
reference books can also contribute to the collection of lost documents, so their academic
value cannot be completely wiped out.
The applicant noticed that in libraries in South Korea and Japan, there are some
examination preparation books that have been lost in China. They can be said to be the
only existing copies overseas. These books were very likely banned by the imperial court
and despised by scholars at that time, so they were not preserved and handed down.
They were, however, indirectly brought to foreign countries due to wars or exchanges
with diplomatic envoys and were well preserved in foreign lands. This research project
aims to explore what ancient Chinese examination preparation books are currently
collected in Korea and how they spread to Korea. Did they impact the imperial
examination and the interpretation of classics by literati in the Joseon Dynasty? Was
there any continuation and imitation of these books in the Joseon Dynasty? If so, what
was the purpose of their compilation? Were they written to make a living? Or were they
published for profits? Or was it the intention of the successful candidates of the Imperial
examination to pass down the experience to future generations? Was there any sequel in
the Joseon Dynasty?
”called "Rabbit Garden Imperial Book Repository兔園策府", which was first compiled in
the Tang Dynasty and served as a children textbook in private schools. Its content was
easy to understand. However, the name was later used to refer to the preparatory books
for the imperial examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties to satirize the mentality of
scholars who were more interested in pursuing high scores and passing the exam than
studying the classics.
In fact, these exam preparation books are not entirely bad. From a modern academic
point of view, they do have some value. Firstly, there are many types of preparation
books. Through the question-types in these books, one can understand the direction and
content scholars focused on when they were preparing for the exam. From a commodity
economy perspective, these books led to the development of the publishing industry in
the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and a small number of them were indeed excellent works
and received good reviews from the Siku treasury officials. These encyclopaedia-type
reference books can also contribute to the collection of lost documents, so their academic
value cannot be completely wiped out.
The applicant noticed that in libraries in South Korea and Japan, there are some
examination preparation books that have been lost in China. They can be said to be the
only existing copies overseas. These books were very likely banned by the imperial court
and despised by scholars at that time, so they were not preserved and handed down.
They were, however, indirectly brought to foreign countries due to wars or exchanges
with diplomatic envoys and were well preserved in foreign lands. This research project
aims to explore what ancient Chinese examination preparation books are currently
collected in Korea and how they spread to Korea. Did they impact the imperial
examination and the interpretation of classics by literati in the Joseon Dynasty? Was
there any continuation and imitation of these books in the Joseon Dynasty? If so, what
was the purpose of their compilation? Were they written to make a living? Or were they
published for profits? Or was it the intention of the successful candidates of the Imperial
examination to pass down the experience to future generations? Was there any sequel in
the Joseon Dynasty?
| Status | Not started |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/01/26 → 31/12/27 |
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