Numerous woodcut illus,, including 13 maps (some double- & triple-page) & architectural views. 41; 44; 36 folding leaves. Three vols. Large 8vo (312 x 208 mm.), orig. semi-stiff yellow wrappers, new stitching. Korea: 1905.

Richly illustrated Korean edition of Treatise on the School of Confucius. The word Kwŏlli in the title — Queli in Chinese — refers to the place where Confucius taught. Confucius lived c. 551-c. 479 BCE in the state of Lu in what is now the town of Qufu in the Shandong province of China. The title of the work is best understood as a reference... More

Several woodcuts in the text. Ten columns per page, 22 characters per column, textblock: 208 x 155 mm. 80; 69 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo (273 x 178 mm.), somewhat later wrappers, later block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Korea]: colophon dated 1562 (Jiajing 41).

An early and very rare (no copy in WorldCat) Korean edition of the teachings of the Cheng 程 brothers, Hao 顥 (1032-85) and Yi 頤 (1033-1107), two important philosophers of the Northern Song period; they can be called the true founders of Neo-Confucianism. The Cheng brothers, along with their uncle Zhang Zai, their... More

92.5; 95 folding leaves. Two vols. Small folio, orig. yellow-brown patterned wrappers (some soiling to wrappers), old stitching. Chŏnju (today’s Jeonju): 1795 or possibly later.

A selection of 100 letters written by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the great synthesizer of the philosophical school known as Neo-Confucianism. Zhu Xi, who lived in southeastern coastal China far from the center of power, became extremely influential in East Asia for centuries following his death. His interpretation of Neo-Confucianism (a metaphysically argued philosophy of the self, the family, and the state) became official orthodoxy in late imperial China and Chosŏn Korea, promulgated largely through the... More

Lithographically printed. Four vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. title labels on upper covers (labels a little defective), orig. stitching. Shanghai: Hongwen shuju 鴻文書局, 1896.

Second edition (first ed.: 1892), of this reference work for navigating the most important collection of Confucian classical scholarship of the Qing period.

The voluminous Huang Qing jingjie 皇清經解 [Explanations of the Classics of the August Qing], published in 1825-29, was compiled under the auspices of Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764-1849), the leading patron of classical scholarship of the era, Viceroy of the Two Expanses (Guangdong and Guangxi), and founder of the famous academy Xuehai Tang... More

with yu lu 餘錄 [further records] in the supplement. 20 & 3 juan in six vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers (lower wrapper of final vol. torn), new stitching. [China]: 1806.

First edition of this collection of scholarly notes or “jottings” (biji 筆記) by one of the leading Chinese intellectuals of the 18th century, Qian Daxin (1728-1804). “The gentleman says: Learning must never stop.” Thus reads the first sentence in the ancient philosophical work Xunzi. Further on, the philosopher expounds on what great things can be achieved by going about them little by little: “Let the horse Qi Ji [famous... More

Many woodcut illus. & diagrams. 47; 61; 63; 53 folding leaves. Eight parts in four vols. 8vo (268 x 184 mm.), orig. wrappers. Korea: Sŏŏpdang 書業堂, 1900.

Enlarged edition of this collection of Confucian family rites, printed on “newly cut” (sinjŏn 新鐫) woodblocks and with numerous illustrations. The book was first compiled by Yi Chae (1680-1746), a major official and scholar of his time. This expanded edition was prepared by Huang P’il-su (1842-1914), an ardent Confucian. In 1867, he had authored a work to “upbraid the heresy” (ch’ŏksa 斥邪) of Catholicism. He is also noted for his edition of... More

19 folding leaves. Large 8vo (293 x 189 mm.), orig. brown patterned semi-stiff wrappers, orig. stitching. Jeollanam-do: Chukkok chŏngsa , 1929.

An exceedingly rare edition of Yi I’s Ŭnp’yŏng chŏngsa hakkyu (or Eunpyeong jeongsa hakkyu) 隱屏精舍學規 [School Rules for the Hidden Study Hall], Ŭnp’yŏng chŏngsa yaksok 隱屏精舍約束 [Compact for the Hidden Study Hall], and related texts as an independent work on “school rules.” We find no other copy in WorldCat, the Korean Old and Rare Collection Information System, or in other catalogues available to us. The copy at the Academy of Korean Studies (Jangseogak, MF35/8172) appears to be from a.... More

41 folding leaves. Large 8vo (337 x 206 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers, new stitching. [Korea]: Simdo 沁都, 1756.

First edition and rare; WorldCat lists only one printed copy, at Berkeley. This book of exhortations on good government, with striking royal calligraphy, was written by King Yŏngjo (or Yeongjo) of Chosŏn (1694-1776) in 1756. At this time, Yŏngjo was commemorating the death of his father, the previous king. According to Fang Chaoying (1908-85), Yŏngjo, then in his 65th year, “could not foresee that he was to live twenty more years, and so it appears that he was trying to justify... More

26 pages of illus. & diagrams. 79; 47 folding leaves. Seven juan in two vols. Large 8vo (286 x 200 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers (wrappers tired & upper wrapper of first vol. partly defective), new stitching. [Korea]: Chosŏn period.

The organization of family and clan life was an important part of East Asian Confucianism. The topic accordingly occupied Zhu Xi (1130-1200), one of the most influential thinkers of the past millennium. He was among a number of scholars who wrote treatises that outlined family rituals under the Song dynasty. These treatises were in part a reaction against Buddhism and... More