Yongle Encyclopedia, page 553 scan

What it is

This is a scan of a page from the Yongle Encyclopedia, the work the Yongle Emperor commissioned. The image shows a tan title page for volume 553, with the characters 永樂大典 in a black double-bordered frame, and 卷五百五十三 (volume 553) below them. The work is dated between 1403 and 1408. Its authors are listed as various. This is a digital scan, not the original book, and it shows only the title page of one volume.

Why it matters

The encyclopedia was a large collection of writings gathered at the emperor's command. Many of its volumes were later lost or damaged, so surviving pages help historians understand the scale of the project and the scholars who worked on it. Because the work brought together texts from many sources, it reveals what the court considered worth preserving.

Look closer

• What details on the title page show that this is one volume out of many?
• Why might a scan of one page be less useful than the whole book for understanding the encyclopedia?
• Who would have written, copied and checked the text, and what does the source leave out about them?