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.

The verso of the frontispiece gives the title of the book and the name of the compiler: 張受先先生評輯 (Annotations collected with the criticism of Mr. Zhang Shouxian), together with the name of the publisher.
Of this book, the Archive possesses only the first volume (seventy-one folios), which contains prefaces by Zhang Cai and other scholars, together with textual studies. At the end of the volume there are some directions to the reader about this book.
According to the review of the Siku tiyao, Zhang Cai (zi 受先, hao 南郭, 1596–1648), was a native of Taicang 太倉 (Suzhou prefecture) and won his jinshi degree in 1628. He was appointed magistrate of Linchuan 臨川 (Jiangxi). He was an active member and leader of the Fushe (which some sources take to mean ‘the society for the revival of ancient learning’), founded by Zhang Pu 張溥 (1602–1641; ECCP 1:52). As the influence of the Fushe has spread all over the empire, Zhang Cai’s name was known and respected among scholars. The Zhouli zhushu hejie (eighteen juan) is superficial and unworthy of its author; probably it was published under the borrowed name of Zhang Cai (SKTY 1:451).

Cf. Naikaku Bunko, an edition in eighteen juan and six ce (NBC, p. 12).
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 212.

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.