Five Classics in a Kerchief-box
To date, we do not know exactly when the kerchief-box edition emerged
or by whom it was
invented, nor do we have any clue which title was first made in this format. The
earliest extant record of such a book, though, is found in the Nanshi (History of the
Southern Dynasties), which says Prince Xiao Jun of Hengyang once "transcribed the
Wujing (Five Classics) in small characters, assembled the texts into a single juan
(fascicle), and placed it in a kerchief-box so as not to forget [their contents]." The
Five Classics are the canonical texts designated by the official school system of the
Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 25): the Shijing (Book of Odes), the Shangshu (Book
of
Documents), the Liji (Book of Rites), the Yijing (Book of Changes), and the
Chunqiu
(Spring and Autumn Annals). Xiao’s reader-in-waiting He Jie could not help but asked,
"Your Highness has all the classics at home, why bother transcribing them in small
characters and store the texts in kerchief-boxes?" To this Xiao responded, "Storing the
Five Classics in kerchief-boxes makes accessing and reading them much more convenient,
and once I myself have transcribed the texts I shall never forget them." When the story
became known, other princes followed suit, thus giving rise to the literary reference
of "Five Classics in a Kerchief-box."
In the early Tang dynasty, education officials
divided the Chunqiu into Zuozhuan (The
Commentary by Zuo Qiuming), Gongyangzhuan (The Commentary by Gonyang Gao), and
Guliangzhuan (The Commentary by Guliang Xi), and the Liji into Zhouli (The
Rites of
Zhou), Yili (The Book of Etiquette and Rites), and Liji (The Book of Rites). The
three
historiographical commentaries, the three ritual classics, and the Shijing, the
Shangshu, and the Yijing were known collectively as the Jiujing (Nine
Classics). During
the reign of the Tang emperor Wenzong (809-840), the scope of the Jiujing was expanded
by the government, with the inclusion of the Lunyu (Analects of Confucius), the
Xiaojing (Classic of Filial Piety), and the categorical lexicon Erya, to become the
Shierjing (Twelve Classics). By the Southern Song dynasty, scholars added the
Mengzi
(Book of Mencius) to make the Shisanjing (Thirteen Classics) of the Confucian school.
With the addition of the classics and the establishment of the Confucian canonical
system, the Nine Classics and the Thirteen Classics also appeared in kerchief-box
editions, which have been preserved down to the present day.
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The Wujing (The Five Classics)
Reproduction of a Song-dynasty kerchief-box edition, Jiajing period (1522–1566), Ming dynasty
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The Wujing (The Five Classics)
Guxiang Studio miniature imprint by Wuying Palace, 11th year of the Qianlong reign (1746), Qing dynasty
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The Jiujing (The Nine Classics)
Reproduction of a Song-dynasty imprint, Ming dynasty
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