Abstract

The article deals with the 1905 lithographic illustrated edition of Shujing tu shuo (The Book of Historical Documents with Illustrations and Commentary), kept in Moscow. This edition of the ancient Confucian Classics is rather special, since it was designed as a comic book implementing principles of “explanation through pictures”. The canonical Ancient Chinese text is available in the book but is hardly simplified for an unprepared reader. The
comments explain the engraved line drawings following and representing separate portions of the canonical text. Being the last official Qing edition of Shujing, it was destined to become a popular version of the Confucian classic.