Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 129, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1919 — Encyclopedia of China Is Most Stupendous Literary Work in History of World [ARTICLE]

Encyclopedia of China Is Most Stupendous Literary Work in History of World

The first European encyclopedia was probably the work of AbUlpharagiu, the first volume of which .was published 676 years ago. To the Chinese, however, belongs the credit of having originated the encyclopedia idea, and China boasts of having the largest of these. The Great Encyclopedia of China is by far the most stupendous literary accomplishment in the history of the world. The work of compilation has been carried on for centuries, and has engaged the labors of over 2,000 scholars. The “Yung-Lo-Ta-Tien,” as the work is called, comprises over 22,000 sections and is bound in 11,000 volumes, each half an Inch In thickness. The work contains a total of 917,480 pages. The volumes when laid flat one upon another form a stack of books 450 feet high. There are only a few complete sets of this gigantic work in existence. The first English encyclopedia was issued in 1620, and the great French one was published in 1751 and succeeding years. The Encyclopedia Britannica was first published by William- Smellle, in 1771.