Leishu

[2] Leishu may be considered anthologies, but are encyclopedic in the sense that they may comprise the entire realm of knowledge at the time of compilation.

[1] In later imperial China dynasties, such as the Ming and Qing, emperors sponsored monumental projects to compile all known human knowledge into a single leishu, in which entire works, rather than excerpts, were copied and classified by category.

[3] The Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China (Qinding Gujin Tushu Jicheng) is by far the largest leishu ever printed, containing 100 million characters and 852,408 pages.

[5] The riyong leishu (encyclopedias for daily use), containing practical information for people who were literate but below the Confucian elite, were also compiled in the later imperial era.

In 1712, the Sancai Tuhui, a richly illustrated leishu compiled by Ming scholar Wang Qi (王圻) in the early 17th century, was printed in Japan as Wakan Sansai Zue.

[6] The leishu also provide a unique view of the transmission of knowledge and education, and an easy way to locate traditional materials on any given subject.