Chen Zilong was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Xu Fuyuan, feeling puzzled. How could this sound exactly like what his mentor had said? How bizarre!
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The emperor's personal guidance would certainly achieve twice the result with half the effort, but he hoped to cultivate scientists for the Ming Dynasty even more.
There is no urgency for machines such as four-wheeled carriages and movable pulley cranes. Drawing, calculating, manufacturing, and improving them until they are practical, after a series of operations, wouldn't you have a deeper impression and a more thorough understanding?
If he saw Vincent rolling up his sleeves and turning the capstan, shouting orders and arguing with his face flushed, he would definitely be very pleased, as he had finally driven the guy who read the sages' books into a lunatic.
Moreover, even small changes can add up to huge impacts.
Although Zhu Youxiao admired science, it did not mean that he would abandon the knowledge wealth of the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
The emperor temporarily postponed the renovation of the three main halls. He was short of money, but he could still find the funds. However, he felt that there was something more important to do, something more pressing than just renovating the main halls.
In later generations, there was a masterpiece that covered the knowledge wealth of the Chinese nation for thousands of years and was called "the largest encyclopedia in the history of the world". However, it suffered a catastrophe, and in the end, only more than 800 volumes of more than 20,000 volumes remained, and they were scattered around the world.
That’s right, this is the masterpiece “Yongle Encyclopedia” compiled during the Yongle period, with Zhu Di personally writing the preface and giving the name.
The contents of the Yongle Encyclopedia include classics, history, philosophy, collections, astronomy and geography, yin and yang medicine, divination, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, drama, crafts, agronomy, etc., and eventually became an important symbol of Chinese culture.
In terms of length and comprehensiveness, the Siku Quanshu, which has undergone extensive deletions, cannot be compared with the Yongle Encyclopedia at all.
However, even such a magnum opus was only copied in one copy, called the "Yongle Original Copy"; during the Jiajing period, for fear that the classics would be damaged, another copy was made, called the "Jiajing Copy".
After its compilation, the original manuscript of the Yongle Encyclopedia was stored in Nanjing's Wenyuan Pavilion until it was destroyed in a fire. After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the original copy was kept in the Wenlou Tower of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace (now the East Corner Tower of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing).
This is a precious historical book, which was highly valued by the Ming emperors, and the Jiajing Emperor was particularly fond of it. When the three main halls were burned down, it was fortunately rescued in time and the original copy was not destroyed.
But Emperor Jiajing began to worry, and to be on the safe side, the work of "copying" the "Yongle Encyclopedia" officially began. The copying was not completed until the second year after Emperor Jiajing's death.
But while the copy existed, the original was missing. Later generations speculated that the selfish Jiajing Emperor buried the original with him, allowing him to secretly read it.
In other words, the current copy of the Yongle Encyclopedia is still a copy, and although it is a copy, it can be called a unique copy. This is unless Zhu Youxiao digs up the Yongle Mausoleum and grabs the original copy.
It is absolutely impossible to dig up graves. No matter how much Zhu Youxiao is a time traveler, he would not dare to do so after sitting on the throne of emperor.
It's too unsafe and too easy to lose.
Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but worry when he thought about the uniqueness of the Yongle Encyclopedia stored in the Imperial Archives. Fires were hard to prevent, and it would be difficult to deal with someone stealing it!
Well, stealing books can't be considered stealing, it's something scholars do. But Zhu Youxiao didn't do that. He took the unique copy for himself, and even hanging him up and beating him wouldn't satisfy his anger.
"Your Majesty." After hearing the emperor's words, the Minister of Rites, Old Dong, said cautiously and somewhat awkwardly, "During the Yongle and Wanli reigns, proposals for publication were made, but each time they were rejected due to the 'huge cost'."
The emperor waved his hand, not even asking how much it would cost. Instead, he declared arrogantly, "Whatever the cost, printing must begin immediately. I have ordered the Imperial Household to allocate painters, calenders, and papermakers. The Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial Academy will be responsible for the supply of charcoal, wine, food, and monthly rice, respectively."
After a pause, Zhu Youxiao added, "Previously, when copying copies, there were strict rules and regulations. The format and binding of the reprinted copy had to be consistent with the original. This time, the same rules are not necessary. Dong Qing, do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand," Old Dong replied, bowing. "Your Majesty wishes to ensure that the Yongle Encyclopedia is circulated throughout the world so that everyone can read it."
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "That's right. Only in this way can we avoid losing this great work to the world and becoming a regret for all eternity."
Thousands of people were recruited to compile and copy the text, and so much money was spent to make a set for the royal collection. This was not only uneconomical but also easy to be lost.
Hundreds of sets were printed, so, that would be millions of copies?! Zhu Youxiao stroked his forehead, startled by the number, and decided to start with a hundred sets!
Dong Qichang also secretly estimated that if he were to use woodblock printing, it would require tens of millions of blocks. Although it was a one-time solution, and if he wanted to print again, he could just find the blocks, the time and manpower required were staggering.
Zhu Youxiao had weighed the pros and cons and decided to use movable type printing. The key is that it is fast and saves money!
Moreover, since it is printed for public viewing, the requirements do not need to be too high. What is passed down to the world is the article, the wealth of knowledge, not the exquisite collection that is kept secret.
Gradually establishing libraries in various counties and prefectures was also an important measure taken by Zhu Youxiao to popularize education.
It is more realistic to have one set per library. For a personal collection, 10,000 to 20,000 books is beyond the reach of ordinary people.
"I will go back and arrange for it to be printed as quickly as possible." Dong Qichang understood the emperor's meaning and bowed to take his leave.
Books are the ladder of progress. The emperor tapped the armrest of his chair lightly, feeling that he had done something of the most meaningful nature.
The Yongle Encyclopedia was compiled by the Yongli Emperor Zhu Di to demonstrate the country's prestige and benefit future generations. However, he went astray and simply copied a copy, which obviously failed to achieve the goal of benefiting future generations.
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