修書過程

明太祖洪武二十一年（1388年），即欲修纂類書，商議「編輯經史百家之言為《類要》」，但未修成。明成祖即位後，為整理知識，令解縉等人修書。編撰宗旨：「凡書契以來經史子集百家之書，至於天文、地誌、陰陽、醫卜、僧道、技藝之言，備輯為一書，毋厭浩繁！」過程召集147人，首次成書於永樂二年（1404年），初名《文獻集成》；明成祖過目後認為「所纂尚多未備」，不甚滿意。永樂三年（1405年）再命太子少傅姚廣孝、解縉、禮部尚書鄭賜監修以及劉季篪等人重修，動用朝野上下共2,169人編寫。組織設監修、總裁、副總裁、都總裁等職，負責各方面工作。蔣用文、趙同友各為正副總裁，陳濟為都總裁，參用南京文淵閣的全部藏書，永樂五年（1407年）定稿進呈，明成祖看了十分滿意，親自為序，並命名為《永樂大典》，清抄至永樂六年（1408年）冬天才正式成書。據《進永樂大典表》稱，全書繕寫成22,877卷，目錄60卷，成書11,095冊。

《永樂大典》修書過程中，對收錄書籍未做任何修改，採用兼收並取方式，保持書籍原始內容。但據專家表示，《永樂大典》有不少錯漏，並非如人所譽「不曾擅減片語」，謝保成即指出《永樂大典》卷一九六三七「目」字韻下「醫目」條引《唐語林》，原文出自《因話錄》卷六《羽部》，《永樂大典》隨意刪改此文的情況非常嚴重，連「善醫者沈師象」也訛作「喜醫者沉大師象」。但謝保成該文仍正向評論永樂大典：「從編纂體例看，《永樂大典》凡所抄原書，均直錄原文，或整段移錄，或整篇移錄，甚至整部書移錄。……使這部類書在某種意義上又具有叢書的性質」並無認為『隨意刪改此文的情況非常嚴重』，而是認為文字錯漏甚多，隨意刪改和錯漏，概念上完全不同。

永樂年間修訂的《永樂大典》原書只有一部，現今存世的皆為嘉靖年間的抄本。明世宗十分喜歡《永樂大典》，經常隨身攜帶，翻閱查找驗方。嘉靖四十一年八月下令抄寫了一部。隆慶初告成，原本歸還南京。其正本貯文淵閣，副本別貯皇史宬。這套書到乾隆年間存有8,000冊。對於原書的去向一直是一個不解之謎，歷史學界有多種猜測。顧炎武《日知錄》斷定大典「全部皆佚」。另一個猜測是，原書已給嘉靖皇帝殉葬。嘉靖駕崩後沒有馬上入葬而是等了很久，當時抄本正在進行中，張忱石《〈永樂大典〉正本之謎》：「歸納起來，正本下落大體上存在五種說法。首先，毀于乾清宮大火……其次，毀于明亡之際……第三，毀于明萬曆宮中火災說……第四，藏皇史宬夾牆說……第五，殉葬說。……由于明世宗對《永樂大典》『殊寶愛之』，筆者認為極有可能正本為其殉葬于永陵……」

《永樂大典》在明代即有佚失。乾隆三十八年（1772年），修《四庫全書》﹐發現《永樂大典》已遺失缺失2,422卷，約千餘冊。四庫館臣從《永樂大典》中輯出大量佚書，其中有385種收入《四庫全書》，以為「菁華已載，糟粕可捐，原（書）可置不復道」。咸豐十年（1860年），英法聯軍侵佔北京，翰林院遭劫掠，丟失大量《大典》。光緒元年（1875年）修繕翰林院建築時，清查《大典》不足5,000冊，《永樂大典》之所以迅速流失，主要是職員監守自盜，據說文廷式一人即曾盜走百餘冊《永樂大典》。光緒二十年（1894年）六月翁同龢入翰林院清查時僅剩800冊，現今尚存約400冊，810卷，不到原書的4%。光緒二十六年（1900年）翰林院被義和團的拳民焚毀，《永樂大典》損壞三百餘冊。光緒二十七年（1901）六月十一日，英使館交回《大典》330冊。不久又遭到監守者瓜分。1912年翰林院所藏《大典》移交京師圖書館時，僅剩64冊。

現今中國國家圖書館珍藏161冊，另外美國國會圖書館還藏有40冊，英國各地包括大英圖書館、英國牛津大學圖書館、英國倫敦大學亞非學院、英國劍橋大學等存有51冊，德國漢堡大學圖書館、德國科隆大學圖書館、德國柏林人種博物館等存有5冊，日本國會圖書館、日本東洋文庫、日本京都大學人文科學研究所、日本京都大學附屬圖書館、日本天理圖書館、日本靜培堂文庫、日本斯道文訓、日本大阪府立圖書館、日本武田長兵衛、日本石黑傳六、日本小川廣己和韓國舊京李王職文庫亦有蒐集，位於台灣的國立故宮博物院則存有62冊。

賞析

明成祖編纂《永樂大典》，代表「盛世修書」的傳統，如宋代修《太平御覽》、《太平廣記》、《冊府元龜》、《文苑英華》，清代乾隆時修《四庫全書》，是為一個時代「文治」之象徵。《永樂大典》收錄中國明代之前的圖書文獻近八千種，內容包括十三經、史書、子書、集部、釋藏、道經、農藝、戲劇、工技等各類典籍文章，採掇蒐羅，浩繁淵博。全書以《洪武正韻》為綱，「用韻以統字，用字以繫事」，按韻列單字，先註明每一字的音義，次錄各韻字的反切與解說，再行記錄楷篆隸各書寫體，彙輯與此字有關的各種資料，乃至於抄錄整本書、整篇內容，全文錄入。書名和作者名稱，用紅字寫出。明世宗命人照永樂原本摹寫兩部，正本存放文淵閣，副本存於皇史宬。正本於明亡之時全毀。

《永樂大典》的功能多用於輯佚與校勘。嘉靖年間張四維從《大典》輯出《名公書判清明集》十七卷，是最早的輯佚之作。乾隆元年全祖望住李紱家中，通過李紱借閱《大典》，輯出王安石《周官新義》60卷、高氏《春秋義宗》150卷等。清代修《四庫全書》，從《永樂大典》中輯出512種書，均見於《四庫全書總目》，包括已失佚的李燾《續資治通鑑長編》、李心傳《建炎以來繫年要錄》、薛居正《舊五代史》、林寶《元和姓纂》、胡瑗《洪範口義》、趙善湘《洪範統一》、《兩朝綱目備要》（佚名）、周巽《性情集》、錢宰《臨安集》、路振《九國志》、《東南紀聞》（佚名）等巨篇，皆由邵晉涵自《永樂大典》輯出。嘉慶中葉修《全唐文》，從中輯出大量唐文，學者徐松又輯出《宋會要》500卷、《宋中興禮書》300卷、《中興禮書續編》80卷；至清代戴震在四庫館發現《永樂大典》幾乎保存了完整的《水經注》（卷11127至卷11141），酈道元《水經注序》原已失佚，也由《永樂大典》保存。其他的輯文還有《析津志》等。張忱石整理點校《永樂大典方志輯佚》，是唯一比較完整保存在殘本《大典》中的宋代方志。

年表

• 正統十四年（1449年）南京文淵閣大火，《大典》所據原稿付之一炬。

• 嘉靖三十六年（1557年）四月，宮中失火，奉天門及三大殿均被焚毀，收藏在南京文淵閣的《永樂大典》正本險些毀於大火。

• 嘉靖四十一年（1562年）：明世宗令人抄寫一本副本，召選書寫、繪畫生員109人，正式抄繪，耗時六年。隆慶元年（1567年）四月竣工。

• 明末清初：正本下落不明，疑毀於此時的戰火。

• 雍正年間：副本收藏在翰林院。

• 乾隆三十八年（1772年）：修《四庫全書》，發現《永樂大典》缺失2422卷，有千餘冊不知所終。

• 乾隆三十九年（1774年），四庫全書纂修官黃壽齡私自將《永樂大典》六冊，帶回家中，途中失竊。乾隆帝指責說：「《永樂大典》，為世間未有之書！本不應該聽纂修等攜帶外出！」下令嚴查，全城戒嚴。不久六冊書在御河橋邊被發現，失而複得。

• 乾隆五十九年（1794年），奉乾隆帝諭旨，翰林院清查後確認，紀錄為22937卷，原缺2404卷，實存20473卷，共9881冊。

• 嘉慶十三年（1808年）纂修《全唐文》，大臣奉旨入閣參考《永樂大典》。

• 道光年間纂修《大清一統志》，多參考《永樂大典》。

• 光緒元年（1875年）：不足五千冊。

• 光緒二十年（1894年）：翁同龢入翰林院查點，僅存八百餘冊。

• 光緒二十六年（1900年）：義和團圍攻東交民巷外國使館，6月20日，清廷命令榮祿攻打使館區，武衛軍董福祥部甘軍自6月20日至6月23日強攻東交民巷，6月23日，位於英國使館北鄰的翰林院遭甘軍縱火，《永樂大典》幾乎全部遭到焚燬，所餘無幾。翰林院內僅存六十四冊被陸潤庠運回府中。（有說永樂大典為八國聯軍燒燬，但此時八國聯軍剛剛登陸大沽，尚未進入北京。事實上為清廷甘軍為波及使館區而火燒翰林院）。

• 光緒二十七年（1901年）六月十一日英使館交回三百三十冊大典。

• 1912年，中華民國政府成立，國務院批准將翰林院所存《大典》殘本送歸教育部，60冊置於京師圖書館，4冊置於教育部圖書室展覽。

• 1920年，葉恭綽赴歐洲考察實業，在倫敦一間小古董鋪裡意外發現並購回《大典》卷一三九九一殘本。

• 1934年，館藏《大典》達93冊。

• 1951年：蘇聯列寧格勒大學東方學系圖書館將11冊《永樂大典》歸還中國。上海商務印書館董事會將原藏商務印書館所屬東方圖書館的二十一冊捐獻出來。顧子剛捐贈三冊，系北洋軍閥徐世昌所有，天津市副市長周叔弢（杭字韻卷7602至7603）、趙元方、張季薌、鄭廣權、王富晉、陳李藹如、趙玉林等先後各捐一冊。

• 1954年：蘇聯國立列寧圖書館贈還原藏南滿洲鐵道株式會社大連圖書館的《永樂大典》52冊（劉承幹嘉業樓舊藏）。

• 1954年，從香港藏書家陳清華手中購回4冊

• 1955年：東德總理格羅提渥訪華，將德國萊比錫大學圖書館藏3冊歸還中國。蘇聯科學院將原藏海參崴遠東大學的夢字韻1冊通過中國科學院訪蘇代表團移贈。

• 1956年，北京琉璃廠藻玉堂書店出售給北京圖書館1冊

• 1958年：北京大學圖書館將所藏「水」字韻的《水經注》後半部四冊，移送北京圖書館收藏

• 1959年：收集《永樂大典》原本兩百一十五冊，加上副本、微縮膠片等，共七百三十捲，約佔全書總卷數的3％。

• 1962年9月6日，廣東省博物館將佛山鍾毅弘的《永樂大典》3冊共8卷移交北京圖書館。

• 1965年，趙萬里捐出所藏2冊《永樂大典》。

• 1983年：中國國家圖書館從山東掖縣孫洪林處徵集入藏1冊。

• 2013年，收購加拿大華裔袁葰文所藏1冊（卷2272～2274）

館藏概況

永樂大典_03.jpg|卷551

永樂大典_02.jpg|卷920

永樂大典_04.jpg|卷2262

永樂大典_01.jpg|卷2275

目前完整冊數有378冊，計中國大陸收藏164冊（43.4%），中華民國（臺灣地區）72冊（19%），日本49冊（13%），美國46冊（12.2%），英國36冊（9.5%），德國6冊（1.6%），越南4冊（1.1%），韓國1冊（0.3%）。

Background

Although known for his military achievements, the Yongle Emperor was also an intellectual who enjoyed reading. His love for research led him to develop the idea of categorizing literary works into a reference encyclopedia, in order to preserve rare books and simplify research. Instrumental to this undertaking was Emperor Yongle』s own transformation of the Hanlin Academy. Prior to his reign, the Hanlin Academy was responsible for various clerical tasks, such as drafting proclamations and edicts. Emperor Yongle decided to elevate the status of the Hanlin Academy, and began selecting only the highest-ranking recruits for the academy. Clerical duties were relegated to the Imperial officers, while the Hanlin Academy, now full of elite scholars, began working on literary projects for the Emperor.

Development

The Yongle Dadian was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424) and completed in 1408. In 1404, a year after the work was commissioned, a team of 100 scholars, mostly from the Hanlin Academy, completed a manuscript called A Complete Work of Literature. Emperor Yongle rejected this work and insisted on adding other volumes. In 1405, under Emperor Yongle』s command, the number of scholars rose to 2,169. Scholars were sent all over China to find books and expand the encyclopedia. In addition, Emperor Yongle assigned his personal advisor, Dao Yan, a monk, and Liu Jichi, the deputy minister of punishment, as co-editors of the encyclopedia, supporting Yao Guangxiao. The scholars spent four years compiling the leishu encyclopedia, under the leadership of general editor Yao Guangxiao.

The scholars incorporated 8,000 texts from ancient times through the early Ming dynasty. Many subjects were covered, including agriculture, art, astronomy, drama, geology, history, literature, medicine, natural sciences, religion and technology, as well as descriptions of unusual natural events.

The encyclopedia was completed in 1408 at the Guozijian in Nanjing (now Nanjing University). It comprised 22,937 manuscript rolls or chapters, in 11,095 volumes, occupying roughly , and using 370 million Chinese characters — the equivalent of about a quarter of a billion English words (around six times as many as the Encyclopædia Britannica). It was designed to include all that had been written on the Confucian canon, as well as all history, philosophy, arts and sciences. It was a massive collation of excerpts and works from the entirety of Chinese literature and knowledge. Emperor Yongle was so pleased with the finished encyclopedia, that he named it after his reign, and personally wrote a lengthy preface highlighting the importance of preserving the works.

Style

The encyclopedia's physical appearance differed from any other Chinese encyclopedias of the time. It was larger in size, used special paper, and was bound in a "wrapped back" (, bao bei zhuang) style. The use of red ink for titles and authors, an ink exclusively reserved for the emperor, helped to confirm that the volumes were of royal production. Each volume was protected by a hard-cover which was wrapped in yellow silk. The encyclopedia was not arranged by subject, like other encyclopedias, but rather by (Hongwu zhengyun), a system in which characters are ordered phonetically/rhythmically. The use of this system helped the reader find specific entries with ease. Although book printing already existed in the Ming Dynasty, the Yongle Encyclopedia was exclusively handwritten. Each handwritten entry was a collection of existing literature, some of which derived from rare and delicate texts. The importance of the Yongle Encyclopedia was the preservation of such texts, and the vast number of subjects it covered.

Reception

At the end of the Ming dynasty, scholars began to question Emperor Yongle's motives for not commissioning more copies of the encyclopedia, instead of keeping them in storage. Some scholars, like Sun Chengze, a Qin scholar, theorized that Emperor Yongle used the literary project for political reasons. At the time, Neo-Confucians were refusing to take civil service exams, or participate in any imperial duties, due to Emperor Yongle's violent usurpation of the throne. Emperor Yongle's literary undertaking did attract the attention of these scholars, who eventually joined the project. Because Emperor Yongle did not want a strictly Confucian point of view for the encyclopedia, non-Confucian scholars were also included, and contributed to the Buddhist, Daoist, and Divination sections of the encyclopedia. The inclusion of these subjects intensified the scrutiny against Emperor Yongle amongst Neo-Confucians who believed the encyclopedia was nothing but "wheat and chaff". However, despite the varied opinions, the encyclopedia is widely regarded as a priceless contribution in preserving a wide range of China's historic works, many of which would be lost otherwise.

Disappearance

The Yongle Dadian was not printed for the general public because the treasury had run out of funds when it was completed in 1408. It was placed in Wenyuan Ge in Nanjing until 1421, when the Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing and placed the Yongle Dadian in the Forbidden City. In 1557, during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, the encyclopedia was narrowly saved from a fire that burnt down three palaces in the Forbidden City. A manuscript copy was commissioned by Jiajing Emperor in 1562 and completed in 1567. The original copy was lost afterwards. There are three major hypotheses for its disappearance, but no conclusion was made:

• Destroyed in late Ming dynasty. Li Zicheng, rebel leader, in 1644 overthrew the Ming dynasty and took over the Ming capital, Beijing. A few months later, he was defeated by the coalition of Wu Sangui and Dorgon. Li burned the Forbidden City when he withdrew from Beijing. The Yongle Dadian may have been destroyed in the fire.

• Buried with Jiajing Emperor. The time when the Jiajing Emperor was buried was very close to the time of completion of the manuscript copy. Jiajing Emperor died in December 1566, but was buried three months later, in March 1567. One possibility is that they were waiting for the manuscript to be completed.

• Burned in the Qianqing Palace fire.

The original manuscript of the Yongle Dadian was almost completely lost by the end of the Ming dynasty, but 90 percent of the 1567 manuscript survived until the Second Opium War in the Qing dynasty. In 1860, the Anglo-French invasion of Beijing resulted in extensive burning and looting of the city, with the British and French soldiers taking large portions of the manuscript as souvenirs. 5,000 volumes remained by 1875, less than half of the original, which dwindled to 800 by 1894. During the Boxer Rebellion and the 1900 Eight-Nation Alliance occupation of Beijing, allied soldiers took hundreds of volumes, and many were destroyed in the Hanlin Academy fire. Only 60 volumes remained in Beijing.

Current status

The most complete collection is kept at the National Library of China in Beijing, which holds 221 volumes. The next largest collection is at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which holds 62 volumes.

Sections of the Yongle Encyclopedia (sections 10,270 and 10,271) reside at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

51 volumes are in the United Kingdom held at the British Library, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, and Cambridge University Library; the Library of Congress of the United States holds 41 volumes; Cornell University Library has 6 volumes; and 5 volumes are held in various libraries in Germany.

Two volumes were sold at a Paris auction on July 7, 2020, for €8 million.