Xin Diao Song Chao Wen Jian, an ancient book housed in the Nantong Library, made the sixth list of National Rare Ancient Books, which was recently issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The book, edited by Lyu Zuqian under the instruction of Emperor Zhao Shen, is comprised of 150 volumes and features official works over the course of nearly 200 years since the establishment of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

It is a revised edition by Hu Shao done in the year 1504 and was collected by Mo Youzhi, a renowned economist, writer, and calligrapher from the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The preface of Xin Diao Song Chao Wen Jian, an ancient book housed in the Nantong Library [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The book is valuable not only for its contents, but also because of the specific version it is," said Liu Xiangdong, former curator of the Yangzhou Library, during his visit to Nantong.

According to Liu, it is a rare block-printed edition made in Yanzhoufu, an administrative area of Zhejiang province during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties.

To date, a total of 33 ancient books in the Nantong Library have been included in the catalogue.

The National Ancient Book Conservation Center began evaluating local applications for the sixth list in 2018. A total of 752 ancient books were listed after being professionally evaluated.