JapSin I, 8
Gu Zhouli 古周禮.
Manuscript, twenty-two folios, written in the standard script in fairly good calligraphy. Bamboo paper in one ce. 21 x 15 cm.

The Latin inscription on the title page reads: “Textus originalis libri cheu-li seu Rituum Imperii cheu.”

The Zhou Li, known also as Zhou Guan 周官 “Offices of Zhou” or Zhou Guan Jing “Canonical offices of Zhou,” was actually a description of the constitution of the Zhou dynastic government. It has practically nothing to do with rites, as the title suggests. It was composed of six neatly organized sections, each dealing with a major component of the Zhou dynastic government: the Office of Heaven 天官, or the Prime Ministry; the Office of Earth 地官, or the Office of Education and Social Welfare; the Office of Spring 春官, or Office of Rites and Ceremonies and Protocol; the Office of Summer 夏官, or the Department of Defense and Security; the Office of Autumn 秋官, or the Department of Justice and Punishment; and the Office of Winter 冬官, or the Department of Public Works and Economic Production. In its present form, the last chapter is missing and replaced by a curious document entitled Kao gong ji 考工記 or “A Record of Researches on Manufacture.”
The Zhou Li has been translated by William Raymond, The Ceremonial Usage of the Chinese (Chow lé), (Gingell, London, 1852) and Edouard Biot, Le Tcheou-li ou rites des Tcheou (Paris, 1851/Peking, 1939).

For another version, see Jap-Sin I, 34/37, 4/1–4/2 (Zhouli zuanzhu).
Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 6-7.

"Huang Ming shih-fa lu 皇明世法錄(1630) .... Political encyclopedia of the Ming dynasty containing imperial edicts, chronicles of the military achievements by T'ai-tsu and Ch'eng-tsu, and treatises on various subjects as astronomy, calendar, music and ceremonies, political, economical, financial, and military administration, economics, agriculture, communications, border defence, barbarian peoples, etc. The last nine chüan (84-92) contain biographies. Preface by the author. Completed in 1630, printed after 1632 .... etc." Cf. Franke, W. An introduction to the sources of Ming history, p. 196.

The title page gives the abbreviated title Xingli huiyao 性理彙要; on the top right is the name of the reviser: 陳明卿太史訂正 (revised by the Hanlin academician Chen Mingqing [Chen Renxi 陳仁錫, 1579–1634]) and on the lower right that of the publisher. There are three seals in red: 標題全載，講學第一, and 本衙藏板.
There are nine columns to each half folio with nineteen characters to each column in the main text and eighteen in the commentary. Annotations are given in smaller type and in double lines. The middle of each folio bears the abbreviated title: 性理彙要. The number of the juan, the title of the chapter, and the number of the folio are given below the fish-tail. There are five prefaces, written by:

1. Li Tingji 李廷機 of Wenling 溫陵 (Fujian), four and one-half folios, with two seals in black at the end: 李廷機印 and 九我.
2. Chen Renxi, five folios, dated Chongzhen 5 (1632), with three seals in black at the end: 明卿 | 仁錫 and 太史氏.
3. The Yongle emperor, five folios, dated Yongle 13 (1415).
4. Zhan Huai of Xin’an 新安, five folios, with two seals in black at the end: 詹淮之印 and 白山 (same as 柏山, the hao of Zhan Huai).
5. Zhu Conggu 朱從古 of Huating 華亭 (Jiangsu), with two seals in black at the end: 朱從古印 and 孟博氏.

This is followed by the 性理彙要談藪 (Some remarks on the Xingli huiyao) in four folios, and an introduction to the book.
Juan 1 first gives the names of the scholars mentioned in this book (two folios) and of the scholars who helped in compiling it (two folios), followed by a memorial to the throne presenting the Xingli daquan (four and one-half folios). There is a general table of contents for the whole book in juan 1 and a detailed table of contents for each juan.
The Siku tiyao states that this book, the Xingli biaoti huiyao 性理標題彙要, is the same as the Xingli congyao 性理錝要 (compiled by Zhan Huai and revised by Chen Renxi), which was quite frequently seen in the book market. The booksellers had the title changed in order to have a quick sale. The book was written to help students who were preparing for the government examinations and it was of no help to scholarship (SKTY 3:1995).

Cf. Courant 3357–3359, 3360–3362 (publié sous la direction de Tchhen Jen-si . . . Gravé à la salle Yi-cheng), 3363–3366 (性理大全彙要; autre titre: 性理標題彙要 . . . Gravé au pavillon Pao-oen, par les soins de Tchhen Jen-si). The Naikaku Bunko (NBC, p. 175) owns an edition of the Xingli congyao (twenty-two juan, twelve ce) with a preface of 1632 (Chongzhen 5) and a Ming edition of the Xingli biaoti huiyao or Xingli huiyao (twenty-two juan, twenty-three ce).

Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 399-400.

JapSin I, 34/37, 4/1-4/2
Zhouli zuanzhu 周禮纂註.
By Zhong Xing 鍾惺 (1574–1624).
Three juan in two volumes. Chinese bamboo paper.

On the cover of volume two there is a Latin inscription: “Cheu li, id est rituale imperii Chou cum interpretatione doctoris Chum pe kim [鍾伯敬] – olim liber classicus. 3 tomi.”

From Chen’s preface it seems that the annotations of this book are by himself. It is not very clear what part was played by Zhong Xing (cf. DMB 1:409a). In Jap-Sin I, 8, we have made mention of the manuscript Gu Zhouli 古周禮, which has quite a number of annotations by Chen Renxi. If we compare these two books, it seems that the manuscript is clear, because one can identify the annotations of Chen Renxi from the introductory words: 明卿云 (Mingqing [the zi of Chen Renxi] says). A number of Chen’s remarks in the manuscript are not in the present book and, even if they appear in both, they are not always exactly the same. The attribution of this book to Zhong Xing is somewhat confusing.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 34-35.