Noja gwonjeguui (Lao-tzu with Colloquial Commentaries)

Countless commentaries have been written on the Lao-tzu (Tao Te Ching), but most of them are as difficult to understand as the original text itself. By contrast, Lin Xiyi's Noja gwonjeguui, as its title indicates, is written in the guuiche, or colloquial commentary, style, explaining the text as though speaking it aloud, in clear and distinct prose, so that it was praised as easy for beginners to understand and was widely read throughout East Asia. This copy of the Noja gwonjeguui was printed with Gyeongja-ja type, the second type cast in Joseon after Gyemi-ja type, and complete copies of it are rare. Nevertheless, this copy is fully preserved in its entirety, with no missing sheets or damaged sections. Since printed impressions and surviving copies of Gyeongja-ja type are scarce, this book holds important value for the study of early printed editions. Through this copy it is possible to examine developments in the printing technology of the time, such as the shape of the type and improvements in typesetting, making it important material not only for research on early Joseon metal movable-type printing and early editions but also a valuable resource for Korean bibliography and the history of publishing.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물