The Study on Private Book Collecting Activities in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty

• Main Authors: HUANG, CHING-CHENG, 黃敬程
• Other Authors: CHEN, KUAN-CHIH
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/72335279301691207455

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 圖書資訊學系碩士班 === 104 === 　　The development of the literature of Chinese ancient books has a long history; the rise of the business of book collection started early and is well- developed. In Beijing, the collection by the courts has long been the cause of the mainstream in the book-collection business, followed by officials. Not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties has the private collection greatly developed. Since Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing has become the national political, economic and cultural center, with a high degree of economic prosperity; coupled with being the location of the nation's highest level of the imperial examination, Beijing had a strong cultural atmosphere: scholars actively engaged in study, discussion about knowledge and book collection. In addition, the Ming government did not put much restrictions on book production; as a result, engraving books by the government sector, private sectors or book publishers were all very prosperous. The central government's regular book-giving policies, coupled with the custom of giving books among local governments (Yamen) and courtiers in Beijing, made Beijing become one of the key national regions of the book related business; virtually, this has also led to the development the collection and circulation of books. 　　On the other hand, in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing's book markets were nationally known. Beijing was a key city where scholars acquired books; although its engraved books could not be compared with those in the South, Beijing was the political, economic and cultural center with very convenient transportation. Through merchants, a great number of books were shipped from any parts the country. This transporation provided the main source for the local bibliophiles to collect books. For private book collection, in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing was the cultural blend of political and cultural center; along with prosperous book marketing, book collection extremely flourished. 　　This paper attempts to, from the perspective of cultural lives, understand the regional cultures, to explore the historical contexts of the development of Beijing private book collection in the Ming Dynasty, through combing and analyzing historical data, and to conclude the depictions of Beijing bibliophile groups in the Ming Dynasty and their cultural lives. The depictions particularly include: a understanding of Beijing bibliophiles in the Ming Dynasty, features of the bibliophile communities and the interactions among them, the types and the characteristics of the collected books, book collection activities and the connotation of cultural lives, and the influence as well as the contributions of the book collection at that time and on the future generations.It is hoped to further understand the development of the culture of Beijing book collection in the Ming Dynasty.