The Study Of Transcribers Groups Of The Pavilion Of Literary Profundity

The Emperor’s Four Treasuries, the largest collection compiled in Chinese history in Qing dynasty of Qianlong Emperor, recruits 3,461 types and 79,309 volumes, which almost include Chinese traditional literatures of all kinds of subjects and fields. Nearly 4,000 transcribers successively spent more than ten years accomplishing seven books(Wenyuan Chamber,Wenjin Chamber,WensuChamber,Wenyuan Chamber,Wenzong Chamber,Wenhui Chamber,Wenlan Chamber), and it’s obvious that large number of scholars who were involved in the compilation made a great difference.The Pavilion of Literary Profundity is the well-preserved one among the seven.The work of transcription was so exquisite and accurate that it struck us with great wonders. Transcribers were selected by examination with the purpose of ensuring the quality and efficiency of the compilation. What’s more, transcribers were mostly selected directly from those who took part in the Shuntian imperial examination at the provincial level and those from imperial college to deal with emergent urgencies.In transcribing of non-chinese characters, translation was the major strategy, with the bithesi as the secondary one. Besides, 2583 transcribers, 2521 of whom were students of imperial college, only took only single identity. 197 transcribers, 107 of whom were first-degree scholars or imperial scholars, took double identities, and 11 transcribers, who were probably the direct beneficiaries during the process of compilation.The transcription must follow the fixed format and be done by regular script. Transcribers, shouldering their own expenditure, must follow the fixed format—regular script.However, the government was so highly demanding that anyone who wrote the wrong words or whose handwriting was unclear and unidentifiable would be severely punished. Besides, it’s written in rule that those who did not finish their tasks should not be promoted to be officials before they completed them, that those who finished 16,500,000 characters could be promoted to be the second-class officials and that those who finished 20,000,000 could be the first-class officials. Each book of The Complete Library of The Four Branches of Literature was on average co-compiled by several transcribers. Up to 66.8% of the transcription had been included only in 3 books, and 60.7% of the transcribers had been promoted to be officials according to the record of “The Archives of the compilation of The Four Branches of Literature”, from which it’s predicted that most of the transcribers took part in compilation in other libraries.There was a wide spectrum of opinions on how many transcribers took part in the work.2,834 transcribers participated with 44 transcribing non-Chineses characters and 2,790 doing the Chinese characters and sketching. Surprisingly, the name of 578 transcriber appeared only once, the name of 344 twice, and the name of 344 uncertain.The total number, roughly estimated, did not exceed 2,834.In order to accomplish it as quickly as possible, the government allowed them to be employed as transcribers and paid generous commission to the compilers and made an oath to promote them to be the officials(which mainly were State deputy Governor,county magistrate and County deputy Governor)according to their contribution. Certainly, some attempted to make a living by donation and imperial examination, and there were some officials taking part in transcription.The beliefs of ‘crash compilation’, specific division of labor, proper rewards and punishment, and life-long responsibility guaranteed the completion of the Four Branches of Literature with great ease. The compilation quickened the spread of official calligraphy and popularized regular script. However, the fact that regular script was the only allowed writing style, on the contrary, restrained transcribers creativity and impeded the progress of the art of calligraphy. But one flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade, and the fact that 389 officials in the library and 2,834 transcribers, on the basis of the organization of Four Branches and labor division, accomplished the Complete Library of The Four Branches of Literature with high efficiency gives insight into the construction of major project.