Kao Gong Ji

The World’s Oldest Encyclopaedia of Technologies

Series: 

Editors / Translators:
Zengjian Guan
and
Konrad Herrmann
In Kao Gong Ji: The World’s Oldest Encyclopaedia of Technologies, Guan Zengjian and Konrad Herrmann offer an English translation and commentary of the first technological encyclopaedia in China. This work came into being around the 5th century C.E. and contains descriptions of thirty technologies used at the time. Most prominent are bronze casting, the manufacture of carriages and weapons, a metrological standard, the making of musical instruments, and the planning of cities. The technologies, including the manufacturing process and quality assurance, are based on standardization and modularization. In several commentaries, the editors show to which degree the descriptions of Kao Gong Ji correspond to archaeological findings.

Revised and updated translation from the Chinese edition:《考工记: 翻译与评注》(ISBN: 978-7-313-12133-2) by Guan Zengjian, © Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press 2014. Published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
Copyright Year:
2020
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-41694-9
Publication:
09 Dec 2019
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-41690-1
Publication:
19 Dec 2019
Cover Kao Gong Ji

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Guan Zengjian is a Professor of History of Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has published monographs, translations, and many articles on History of Science, especially on the history of Chinese science and metrology.
Konrad Herrmann worked as a metrologist and sinologist at the national metrology institute of Germany (PTB). He translated several works of classical and contemporary Chinese literature. Since his retirement, he has translated extensively in the field of history of Chinese science.
"The Kao gong ji 考工記 [...] contains a complete text (in simplified characters) and translations into Chinese modern vernacular, English, and German, as well as detailed commentaries in English only. [...] a useful book, well produced and generally reliable for its discussions of technology." - Nathan Sivin, University of Pennsylvania, in: Journal of Chinese Studies, January 2022, Vol. 74: pp. 275-76
Contents
Abbreviations and Conventions
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Foreword

Introduction
 1 On Historical Editions and Commenting of “Kao Gong Ji”
 2 Historical Background of “Kao Gong Ji”
 3 Location and Period of Origin of “Kao Gong Ji”

Part 1: The Text


卷上 (Part One)
 Part 1: Introduction
 Manufacture of Chariots
 1 The Wheelmaker
 2 The Carriage Carpenter
 3 The Pole Carpenter
 4 The Bronze Caster
 5 Bronze Weapons
 6 Bronze Bells
 7 Measuring Standards
 8 Agricultural Tools (Missing)
 9 Leather
 10 The Tanner
 11 The Drum Maker
 12 Tailor of Mourning Garments (Missing)
 13 Furrier (Missing)
 14 Paints
 15 Dyer of Feathers
 16 Dyer of Clothes and Silks (Missing)
 17 Dyer of Silk

卷下 (Part Two)
 18 Part 2: The Jade Polisher
 19 Comb Maker (Missing)
 20 Bone Carver (Missing)
 21 The Manufacturer of Chimes
 22 The Arrow Tip Manufacturer
 23 The Potter
 24 The Carpenter Ziren
 25 The Weapon Carpenter
 26 Construction Workers
 27 The Carriage Manufacturer
 28 The Bow Manufacturer

Part 2: Analysis – Commentaries


Commentary to 卷上
 1 Manufacture of Carriages
 2 Astronomy
 3 Bronze Technology
 4 Bronze Objects – Vessels, Weapons, Mirrors
 5 Metrology
 6 Musical Instruments

Commentary to 卷下
 7 Jade
 8 Ceramics and Porcelain
 9 Civil Engineering
 10 Manufacture of Bows
Bibliography
Index of Personal and Geographical Names
Index of Subjects
All historians, sinologists, graduate students, technologists, metrologists, and anyone who is interested in Chinese history, science history, and culture.
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