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Lot Essay
See another copy of this publication from the Hanshan Tang Reserve Collection, sold at Christie's, London, 14 May 2013, lot 98.
Copies of this publication are rare, with only a handful available in public libraries. It was commissioned by the Qing Imperial court under the Guangxu Emperor and represents a prime example of lithographic publication at the Wuyingdian Imperial Press located in the Forbidden City and possibly its final publication before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. The first-named editor Sun Jianai was an important scholar and official during the Guangxu reign (1875-1908). He was also the first president of the institution which became Beijing University, and a graduate of the Wuyingdian itself in 1907. Sun oversaw a team of some 20 people dedicated to the production of this work.
Copies of this publication are rare, with only a handful available in public libraries. It was commissioned by the Qing Imperial court under the Guangxu Emperor and represents a prime example of lithographic publication at the Wuyingdian Imperial Press located in the Forbidden City and possibly its final publication before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. The first-named editor Sun Jianai was an important scholar and official during the Guangxu reign (1875-1908). He was also the first president of the institution which became Beijing University, and a graduate of the Wuyingdian itself in 1907. Sun oversaw a team of some 20 people dedicated to the production of this work.