Published in 1613, the 127-volume Tushu Bian compiled by scholar Zhang Huang documented Chinese perspectives on heaven, earth, and humanity.
Key facts
- •The Tushu Bian consists of 127 volumes.
- •Scholar Zhang Huang compiled the work using over 200 printed sources.
- •The encyclopaedia was published in 1613.
- •The work was printed using woodblocks after the author's death due to high production costs.
- •Paul Kahn included the Tushu Bian in his book Mapping Knowledge Across Time.
The Tushu Bian, or Compendium of Illustrations and Texts, is a 127-volume encyclopaedia created by Ming dynasty Neo-Confucian scholar Zhang Huang. Published in 1613, the work was designed to document concepts of heaven, earth, and humanity from a Chinese perspective. It was compiled over several decades using more than 200 printed sources.
By the numbers
Compilation and publication
According to information designer Paul Kahn, who analysed the work in his book Mapping Knowledge Across Time: Seven Books That Visualised the World, Zhang Huang intended the encyclopaedia to serve as a comprehensive resource for educated individuals. The project was too expensive to print during the scholar's lifetime, and the text was ultimately carved onto woodblocks and printed after his death.
Comparative analysis
In his research, Kahn compared the Tushu Bian to six other historical books that depicted the world through the lens of Euro-Mediterranean culture. The encyclopaedia remains a significant example of how knowledge was visualised and organised in the 17th century.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by South China Morning Post.
