Rare Yongle Encyclopedia Volumes Donated to Hangzhou National Version Museum
Two rare volumes of the Ming dynasty’s monumental Yongle Encyclopedia — widely regarded as the largest encyclopedia ever compiled in human history — were formally inducted into the collection of the Hangzhou National Version Museum on June 24, 2026, in a ceremonial donation event that marks a significant victory for Chinese cultural heritage recovery.
The Volumes
The two recovered volumes are Ming dynasty palace manuscripts from the Jiajing-Longqing period (1522–1572). The “Hu” (湖) character volume (juan 2268–2269) contains geographical content listing 436 lake names with excerpts from local gazetteers and poetry. The “Sang” (丧) character volume (juan 7391–7392) details imperial funeral rites for emperors and empresses. According to Xinhua News Agency, the “Hu” volume fills a critical gap, connecting existing fragments so that the surviving “Hu” character volumes now form a continuous sequence from juan 2260 to 2283 — providing significant textual supplementation and academic expansion value.
A Remarkable Journey Home
The story of their return began in May 2020, when the two volumes unexpectedly appeared at a French auction house. Palace Museum research fellow Weng Lianxi was called upon to authenticate them. Examining the volumes from “multiple dimensions including ruling lines, needle holes, yellow labels, official inscriptions, paper quality, ink color, and content,” Weng confirmed they were genuine Ming dynasty palace manuscripts.
With Chinese state institutions unable to participate in the auction in time, Zhejiang-based entrepreneur and longtime rare book collector Jin Liang stepped forward. As CNR/CCTV reported, Jin Liang purchased the volumes using personal funds after a competitive bidding process. Over the following years, coordinated efforts across multiple government departments facilitated the repatriation of the precious texts to China.
A Historic Donation
Speaking at the donation ceremony, Jin Liang expressed profound satisfaction, stating that the donation “fulfills my long-cherished wish to safely return the ‘national treasure’ back ‘home’” and that he felt “a great sense of peace and fulfillment.” The entrepreneur, who has spent over three decades collecting ancient texts, had previously donated collections to public institutions on multiple occasions.
The Encyclopedia’s Tragic History
The Yongle Encyclopedia was commissioned by Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) of the Ming dynasty and compiled between 1403 and 1408 by a team of over 2,000 scholars led by Xie Jin and Yao Guangxiao. Originally comprising 22,877 juan in 11,095 volumes containing approximately 450 million characters, it preserved 7,000 to 8,000 texts from the pre-Qin period through the early Ming dynasty, covering classics, history, philosophy, astronomy, geography, medicine, and more. The Encyclopedia Britannica has called it the “world’s largest encyclopedia ever compiled.”
Yet the encyclopedia’s history is marked by tragedy. The original manuscript disappeared entirely — theories include destruction in a Ming palace fire or burial with Emperor Jiajing. The only surviving copies were kept at the Imperial Archives and later the Hanlin Academy. The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and subsequent looting by foreign forces caused massive destruction. Today, fewer than 400 volumes survive globally — less than 4% of the original. Each surviving volume is described as a “non-renewable孤本 of civilization” (不可再生的文明孤本).
A New Model for Cultural Recovery
The repatriation has been hailed as pioneering a new model for cultural relic recovery: “government guidance, social coordination, expert empowerment” (政府引导、社会协同、专家赋能). As China.com noted, this public-private partnership bypasses bureaucratic delays that often prevent state institutions from bidding at overseas auctions, leverages private wealth for cultural preservation, and ensures expert authentication before acquisition.
What This Means
The Hangzhou National Version Museum, also known as Wenrun Pavilion (文润阁), opened on July 23, 2022, as part of China’s “One General + Three Branches” national version museum system. Located east of the Liangzhu Archaeological Site — a UNESCO World Heritage site — the museum is dedicated to preserving Chinese textual heritage.
This acquisition sets a powerful precedent for future repatriation efforts. Each surviving volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia is irreplaceable — a unique witness to China’s vast literary civilization. The successful return of these two volumes demonstrates that through collaboration between private collectors, government agencies, and expert institutions, even long-lost cultural treasures can find their way home.
As the museum continues to expand its collection, scholars and the public alike will now have access to these priceless artifacts — fragments of a lost intellectual universe that once stood as the world’s greatest monument to human knowledge.