| Kaogongji | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 《考工記》 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 《考工记》 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Record of a Review of [Various] Works | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheKaogongji,Kaogong Ji,[1] orKao Gong Ji,[2] variously translated asThe Record of Trades,Records of Examination of Craftsman,Book of Diverse Crafts,[citation needed] andThe Artificers' Record,[3] is anancient Chinese work onscience and technology inChina. It was compiled sometime during the 5th century BCE[4] or 300 BCE[1] and then included as a section of theRites of Zhou under theHan as a replacement for the lost text concerning the Offices of Winter concerningpublic works.
TheKaogongji is the oldest known technical encyclopedia,[5] particularly noted for its early discussion ofChinese urban planning. It has been suggested that theKaogongji "may have been written by an administrator to assure the emperor that everything was under control. It is part of a manual for how to run the empire".[1] The book includes "enigmatic" recipes for metal-making; in 2022, researchers reanalyzed its mentionjin andxi, key components for makingbronze thought for centuries to have beencopper andtin, as possibly referring instead to premadealloys of uncertain composition. Such a composition would yield bronzes more like earlyChinese bronzes, revealing unexpected complexity in early Chinese metal production.[1]
Lin Xiyi (林希逸,Lín Xīyì) published hisKaogongji Jie, a study of theKaogongji,c. 1235.Dai Zhen's ownKaogongji Tu was published in 1746 andCheng Yaotian (程瑤田,程瑶田,Chéng Yáotián)'sKaogongji Chuangwu Xiaojic. 1805.
compiled approximately around the fifth century BC.