I only learned about the Tianyige(天一阁） book collection recently. Yet its story is so extraordinary that I wonder that it is so little known among book lovers of the world. Tianyige book collection is the largest and oldest private book collection extant in China today. The name derives from the pattern of 河图 that I spoke of in the last post. 天一生水 ( Read more... )

A few days ago I dreamt about Lavondyss, a strangely muted dream, much like my impression of the book. A number of us were gathered in the front hall of a mansion, a warm summer evening, but the mood turned dreary as a group of horsemen rode toward us. They're here to catch the five elements, someone said. And we all watched with a detached ( Read more... )

Aha, I've tracked down the exact source of the quote about Li Shimin nursing on his father. It comes from none less than 资治通鉴, (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), the greatest and most complete annual of Chinese history compiled by the Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang. The particular line appears in Vol 7 of Records of Tang ( Read more... )