coobybook Chapter 200 Yongle Encyclopedia (Part 2)!
Chapter 200 Yongle Encyclopedia (Part 2)!
As an encyclopedia, the Yongle Encyclopedia was created 300 years earlier than those of other countries and can be regarded as a masterpiece of world cultural heritage.
It also preserves a large amount of documentary materials on various disciplines before the early Ming Dynasty, including many precious documents that are now incomplete or lost.
For example, "A Brief Account of Xue Rengui's Expedition to Liao", the Song Dynasty version of "Notes on the Classic of Waterways", etc.
The materials it cites are all complete copies of the original texts, so these documents can be well preserved in their original appearance.
It preserves China's history, geography, literature, art, philosophy, religion and encyclopedias before the 14th century.
If I really find the whole book.
Then those forgotten data on geography, history, medicine, law, politics, culture, etc. can be rediscovered...
The brilliant ideas left by our ancestors can benefit mankind again, many political problems can be solved, and perhaps many unsolved mysteries can be cleared up...
Well, since we are talking about the Yongle Encyclopedia, I might as well spend more time and effort to talk about it.
Actually...
Before Bai Xi's rebirth, this kind of opinion could occasionally be seen on the Internet:
The significance of the book "Yongle Encyclopedia" lies only in ancient times. In modern times, it is just a decadent commemoration with little objective value.
This is a very narrow-minded and extreme view.
A treasure of the Chinese nation is more than just a spiritual comfort.
The first thing to clarify is one thing.
Up to now.
The original versions of many ancient Chinese books have been lost, and a considerable number of literary works are only known by name but their specific contents are unknown.
For example, some of the mythological stories that we are familiar with today were actually pieced together by many archaeologists who painstakingly found clues from various corners.
Today, the first reference document for studying ancient Chinese history is the Siku Quanshu, compiled during the Qing Dynasty.
However, the entire Siku Quanshu underwent great changes to the content that involved violations, and a large amount of content was deleted.
For example, the "Biography of Guan Yu" in the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: The Book of Shu" records that after Guan Yu's death, he was posthumously named Zhuangmiao Hou.
Of course, this "Zhuangmiao Hou" is actually "Zhuangmu Hou", but at that time it was just to avoid taboos, so the name "Zhuangmiao Hou" had to be used.
But when compiling the Siku Quanshu.
Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty did not understand the origin of the posthumous title and directly thought that Zhuangmiao was a derogatory term for Guan Yu.
Therefore, he ordered the officials to change Zhuangmiao to Zhongyi to commend his efforts in supporting the Han Dynasty and his awe-inspiring ideals.
Isn't it ridiculous?
There are many similar examples. The entire Siku Quanshu is filled with a large number of secondary creations, misinterpretations and even fabrications.
However, despite this, it is still the first choice for reference.
why?
There is simply no choice. After those painful and difficult years, too many classics were destroyed by foreign invaders, and we can only use it as a reference.
However, the Yongle Encyclopedia is different. It has a feature that is very meaningful for research.
That is, it does not make any changes or whitewashing to history!
This was not just an exaggeration made by Zhu Di to gild his reputation. The hundreds of volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia that survived in later generations all proved this fact.
Just based on this point, the Yongle Encyclopedia can easily overwhelm the Siku Quanshu.
Therefore, if the Yongle Encyclopedia were to be published, it would become the most authoritative set of reference documents.
In addition, given the comprehensive information it records, it is no exaggeration to say that it can solve many unsolved mysteries in history.
Of course.
Seeing this, some people may continue to argue:
"And then? What's the point of the literature? Just using it for self-gratification?"
This involves the scope of a specific cultural field.
It is called the Chinese Civilization Circle.
This civilization circle covers the entire Southeast Asia and belongs to the core circle of the Eastern civilization circle.
Sakura, Dahan Mingguo, and Nanyue are all considered to be the radiation areas of this circle.
However, in recent years, the Xia Kingdom has been losing its voice and even its definition in the Chinese civilization circle.
The most typical example is the application of Dahan Mingguo for World Heritage status.
Their application for World Heritage status is indeed disgusting, but have you ever thought about why Han countries are often successful in their applications?
Although UNESCO is not very tough, the rules on the surface must still be followed. It is impossible for Han Country to approve their application - that way they can directly become one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
At least on the surface, they have to follow the procedures.
This process is the original record of many Hanwen documents submitted when applying for World Heritage status.
The modern history of Han Country is different from that of China. Although it has also suffered from the oppression of cherry blossoms, it has never experienced a devastating looting like the one crow and the two crows.
Therefore, in the country of Han, they always preserved some original ancient books.
For example, the Dragon Boat Festival, tug-of-war, falconry, movable type printing, and the 100% Chinese musical instrument, the sheng...
When applying for these intangible cultural heritages, Han State provided the corresponding original ancient books.
When we protested, they just threw up their hands:
Okay.
Xia Guo, since you say this thing is yours, then why don't you produce the original or a copy as evidence?
Every time this happens, we are speechless - we would have already applied for it under the original heritage name.
For example, there are original records of mortise and tenon technology.
There were rumors a few years ago that it was applied for by the Koreans, but in fact we got it in 09.
The remaining intangible cultural heritage that has not been applied for world heritage status is not because we do not want to apply, nor is it because we lack vision.
But there is no substantial and systematic evidence.
For example, traditional Chinese medicine has not yet been definitively established.
There are often some pro-Han fans online who try to defend themselves, saying that Han didn't actually monopolize Traditional Chinese Medicine, and that they applied for Eastern Medicine. Don't get me wrong, smecta...
Yes, that is indeed the case.
But the reason behind this is not that Han Kingdom does not want to monopolize traditional Chinese medicine, but that they can only produce "Dongui Bogam" as evidence for applying for World Heritage.
And if the "Yongle Encyclopedia" could be unearthed.
If the lost ancient books that can become a system, such as "Su Shen Liang Fang", "Bo Ji Fang" and "Shang Han Wei Zhi", are found, the organization will rush to apply for traditional Chinese medicine to be listed as a world heritage at the beginning of the year.
We can even appeal to get back many of the intangible cultural heritages that were stolen from Han.
The above is only a small part of the uses of the Yongle Encyclopedia after it came into the world.
Can we still say that the "Yongle Encyclopedia" has no objective meaning, is a decadent mascot, and is just self-entertainment?
Obviously no.
It doesn’t mean that the Yongle Encyclopedia has no practical value just because it cannot be converted into foreign currency or used to build aircraft carriers or spacecraft.
To be honest.
When a book can be called a "masterpiece" in the context of China's history and territory...
Then its value itself is immeasurable.
As for biobatteries...