The Study On The Protection Of Private Collection In Ming Dynasty

This thesis investigated the historical background and general condition of the preservation in private book-collection in Ming dynasty.By reviewing a large number of relevant historical documents,the author provided an overview of the book preservation in the private collection in Ming dynasty,focusing on the storage,classification,renovation,transcription and reprinting.The author also examined the cultural psychology in the collectors' bibliophiles and discussed the characteristic and influece of the private book-collection in Ming dynasty.In addition to the introduction,the thesis consists of four chapters.The first chapter elaborated the history of book preservation in the private collection before Ming dynasty.The author analyzed the fundamental conditions of the book preservation in private collection in Ming dynasty: book manufacture,and investigated the theoretical exploration of the historical literature protection conducted by the collectors in Ming dynasty.The second chapter demostrated the private collectors' methods to protect the originals of the books,including the library construction and the formulation of the library administration.The author read through many prefaces and postscripts and summerized how the books were collected and renovated by the collectors and their employees.The third chapter illustrated the methods of reproduction and regeneration.The author selected Wu Kuan and Yuan Jiong as examples to analyze the two major ways to reproduce ancient books: transcribing and reprinting,as they were conducted in private book-collection in Ming dynasty.The thesis asserted that these methods has made significant contribution to the dissemination of some rare books.The fourth chapter discussed the influence of the preservation in private bookcollection in Ming dynasty,specifically regarding the change from closed collection to circulated collection happened in this period.Collector Cao rong put forward Ancient Book Circulation Agreement,which helped fostered the openmindedness of the collectors in later generations.The private libraries in Ming dynasty,represented by Tianyi Pavilion,also served as exemplars and inspirations for the library buildings in later generations.In the last part,the author concluded that in Ming dynasty,the preservation in the private book-collection was progressive and fruitful.The book presevation generated many academic achievements for the collectors.While preserving a large amount of rare ancient books,the collectors also made good summaries of book preservation during this time.The preservation in the private book-collection in Ming dynasty had profound influence on the book preservation in the later generations.