Overview
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Completed | 1726 (fourth year of Yongzheng, Qing) |
| Compilation | Originally by Chen Menglei, completed by Jiang Tingxi and others |
| Whole work | Ten thousand juan, six compilations and thirty-two canons |
| This part | The Canon of the Calendar, in the astronomical compilation |
The form of the leishu
The Gujin Tushu Jicheng is the largest surviving Chinese encyclopaedia,
divided into six compilations and thirty-two canons, each canon into sections, the sections arranging passages from many books by category.
The leishu is a reference work arranging passages from many books by category, its use being to find a book through its category: to learn what is recorded of a matter, one looks under its class. For calendrical learning the value of a leishu lies in its quotations — the books it cites are largely lost, and survive in fragments through it.
The contents of the Canon of the Calendar
The Canon of the Calendar belongs to the astronomical compilation and gathers the calendrical writings of successive ages:
general discussions of the calendar, the history of the calendars of each age, computational methods and tables of all kinds,
with seasons, solar terms and eclipses besides.
Its quotations run from the calendars of high antiquity to the systems of Ming and Qing, arranged by category for easy consultation.
Value
For the study of the ancient calendar no reference work can be passed over.
It gathers calendrical writings scattered among many books into one place,
serving both for consultation and as a source for reconstructing lost works.
Compiled and arranged by Chujia Kuang.