They are written in a mix of standard written Chinese (but more similar to classical Chinese than standard written Chinese is today) and Cantonese-specific words and phrases.  The songs consist of seven-syllable quatrains (although “padding” syllables are often added) which exhibit patterns of rhyming in the final syllables of the quatrains, along with other structural conventions.  

UW holds 13 boxes labeled as “Mu yu shu”, containing approximately 300 items.  However, through a consultation with Professor Yung, an expert in Chinese ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, we learned that the first two of these boxes actually contained not mu yu shu, but Cantonese opera.  From Prof. Yung, we learned techniques for differentiating these two genres based on certain structural and notational differences.

The thirteenth “Mu yu shu” box contained a mix of authentic mu yu shu along with various other materials, such as books of narrative prose, Buddhist texts, and more modern books about Chinese opera.  In the course of cataloging the materials from the other boxes, we also discovered 14 other titles which, while intermixed with the authentic mu yu shu, seem not to be straightforward examples of this genre.  We pulled aside these titles for further review and authentication by Prof. Yung or another ethnomusicologist at a later date.

Emily Jantz, Chinese Cataloging Specialist and Student Team Leader for the project, with able assistance from project student workers, cataloged UW’s mu yu shu and Cantonese opera collection.

Original cataloging records were created for UW’s 40 titles of Cantonese opera, and 263 titles of mu yu shu.  (In addition to this original cataloging, some of the volumes of mu yu shu and Cantonese opera items were discovered to be partial or complete duplicate copies—either completely identical or a reprint from the same publisher and woodblock.  An additional approximately 50 titles were identified as likely having an existing cataloging record in OCLC already.)

There were many challenges to cataloging this unique material type, including the challenge of creating good records from the very minimal information on the pieces, challenges of disambiguating between very similar items, the fact that in many cases several unrelated short titles had been later rebound into a single physical volume, and so on.

Additional mu yu shu examples, featuring excellent cover designs:

“The Mustard Seed Garden manual of painting” (5 volumes)
Compiled by Shen Xinyou
Published in Jinling in 1800
Woodblock printing (multi-color)

Like UW’s edition of 貴州百苗圖 (Guizhou bai Miao tu), also cataloged for this CLIR project, the color for the illustrations was not added with paint, but rather using a color woodblock printing technique.

“Five Books of Chinese Phonology” (6 volumes)
By Gu Yanwu
Published in Guangzhou by Lin Chunqi in 1846
Movable-type edition, printed from bronze type

This edition, printed using bronze movable-type, is one of only eight movable-type books (all dating from the late Qing dynasty through the Republican period) that were discovered and cataloged at UW as part of this CLIR project. It is the only one using bronze movable-type, as opposed to wood or another material.

The finding aid for this collection, which was created as part of the CLIR Project is available on Archives West, at:  http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv08758.  Archives West (previously known as Northwest Digital Archives) offers descriptions of archival and manuscript materials held by institutions in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Utah.

(The collection-level cataloging record can be found on OCLC WorldCat, here: http://www.worldcat.org/title/wu-xianzi-xian-sheng-yi-gao-ji-suo-cang-wen-jian/oclc/949731287)

Sample item from the archive:

Example screenshots of the finding aid:

Example screenshot of the University Archives Records Transfer List spreadsheet used to  create the finding aid:

Additional impact

The Wu Xianzi papers is the first archival collection in non-Roman script available at Archives West.  Before it was added to the Archives West, only resources in English and Spanish were available.  Therefore, our work was ground-breaking for this archival portal.  

Prior to inputting Chinese data into the spreadsheet template (used to upload data to Archives West), Charlene Chou, the Project Technical Manager, tested its capability for inputting, indexing and displaying Chinese script.  After successful pilot testing, a student input the information about the contents of the 16 boxes into the spreadsheet template.  

It was discovered that the Archives West interface capability for searching Chinese phrases was extremely limited.  Therefore, the Technical Manager accepted advice to submit a list of controlled vocabulary, including personal names, corporate bodies, newspapers and subject terms, to improve the searching function.  In this way, the discovery of Chinese terms in Archives West will be be greatly improved.

錢宮詹時賢通札 (Qian gong zhan shi xian tong zha)

《錢宮詹時賢通札》 7通
秦蕙田，袁枚，盧文弨[等]
清乾隆[1736-1795]
稿本

“Letters to Qian Daxin from his scholar friends” (7 items)
By Qin Huitian, Yuan Mei, Lu Wenchao, etc.
Written between 1736 and 1795
Manuscript

Qian Daxin (1728–1804) was a philosopher, historian and writer in the Qing dynasty, who served as a commissioner of education and examinations in Guangdong Province. He published a number of important works relating to historical topics, as well as many poems and prose essays.  The letters here were written to him by various other contemporary scholars of his acquaintance.

 陳法孫嘉淦致山東某同年友書札合集 (Chen Fa Sun Jiagan zhi Shandong mou tong nian you shu zha he ji)

《陳法孫嘉淦致山東某同年友書札合集》 三冊
陳法, 孫嘉淦
清[1713-1745]
稿本

“Collection of letters from Chen Fa and Sun Jiagan” (3 volumes)
By Chen Fa (1692-1766) and Sun Jiagan(1683-1753)
Written between 1713 and 1745
Manuscript

The letters are mounted on stiff paper and compiled into this three-volume set. Thirty-five of the letters are written by Chen Fa and forty-seven of them by Sun Jiagen. The letters date from the Kangxi era (1662-1722) through the Qianlong era (1736-1796), specifically from the period from 1713 to 1745.  The addressee is not named, but they appear to be from Shandong, and to have passed the imperial exam before Chen and Sun did—thus it is suspected that the letters were written to Li Yuanzhi (李元直, 1686-1758).

“The Peony Pavilion” (2 sections (55 scenes) in 6 volumes)
By Tang Xianzu
Published in 1785 by Bing si guan
Woodblock printing

This is a romance drama written by Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), a famous dramatist from the Ming dynasty. Many versions of this famous play have been published. This woodblock printed edition from 1785 is one of twelve rare woodblock printed books between 1736 and 1796 (the reign period of the Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor) that were discovered and cataloged at UW as part of this CLIR project.

欽定篆文六經四書 (Qin ding zhuan wen liu jing si shu)

《欽定篆文六經四書》 七冊
(清)李光地[等]奉敕纂
清康熙[1662-1722] 北京內府刻本

“Confucian classics in seal characters, authorized by imperial order” (7 volumes)
Compiled by Li Guandi under imperial auspices
Published in Beijing between 1662 and 1722
Woodblock printing

韋齋集 (Weizhai ji)

《韋齋集》 十二卷, 四冊
朱松
清康熙四十九年[1710]朱昌辰等刻本

“Collected works of Weizhai” (12 chapters in 4 volumes)
By Zhu Song (also known as Zhu Weizhai)
Published in 1710 by Zhu Changchen
Woodblock printing

温飛卿詩集 (Wen Feiqing shi ji)

《温飛卿詩集》 四冊
温庭筠
清康熙[1697-1722]刻本

“Collected poems of Wen Feiqing” (4 volumes)
By Wen Tingyun (also known as Wen Feiqing)
Published between 1697 and 1722; publisher unknown
Woodblock printing

“Complete chronology of successions through the ages”
Written by Tang Yu
Published in 1800
Movable-type edition, printed from wooden type
6 volumes

此書採用編年的體裁，將從盤古開天地直到明朝滅亡的中國歷史大事依序陳述羅列。此書不見各家著錄，此版又系木活字印本，是一部極其罕見的古代奇書。

This book uses an annalistic style. It enumerates in chronological order the important events in Chinese history from the purported creation of heaven and earth by Pan Gu to the fall of the Ming dynasty.

This appears to be a unique edition, and one that was never copied by later writers.  Moreover, it was printed using wooden movable-type, making it an extremely rare and fascinating string-bound book.

Item description and Chinese explanation by Boyue Yao; English translation by Xinyi Xu, edited by Emily Jantz.

“Muster Rolls of Various Provinces”
Anonymous
Produced between 1821 and 1850
Manuscript
10 volumes

這是一部清代全國各省八旗官兵的花名總冊，內列每人的職務姓名等，年代不詳，據推測大約在道光年間，是對當時全國軍隊成員的一次集中清點登記，由此可知當時清代軍隊的分佈、結構和規模，具有極高的史料價值。

This is a nationwide muster roll of the officers and soldiers of the Qing dynasty’s Eight Banners army. The year is unknown, but presumably it was written around the period of the Daoguang Emperor. It is an extensive counting and registering of the members of the military at that time, recording everyone’s names and posts. According to this, we can know the distribution, structure, and scale of the Qing army at that time, which makes this book of great historical value.

Item description and Chinese explanation by Boyue Yao; English translation by Xinyi Xu, edited by Emily Jantz.

“Hundred Figures of Miao Minorities in Guizhou”
Anonymous painter from the Qing dynasty
Published between 1821 and 1911
Woodblock printing (multi-color)
1 volume

這部書描繪了近百個貴州各地各苗族部落的男女人物，每幅圖後有專門的文字介紹，資料珍貴，有學術價值。彩圖顏色豐富，鮮艷逼真；繪畫精美細緻，生動形象，極具藝術觀賞性。製作方法是採用手工的木版水印技術，達到了很高的工藝水準。中國國內收藏的貴州苗圖大多為手繪本，木版水印卻很少見，華大收藏的這部彩色套印本彌足珍貴。

This book depicts nearly one hundred male and female figures from the Miao ethnic minority groups living in various parts of Guizhou Province. On the back of each picture is a detailed textual description. This information is precious and has great academic value.

The illustrations are colorful, bright, and vivid, displaying impressive and meticulous artistic technique. Unlike most editions of the “Hundred Figures of Miao Minorities in Guizhou” collected domestically in China, this edition is not hand-painted.  Instead, the illustrations are colored using a quite technologically advanced multi-color woodblock printing technique. Thus this edition, held by UW, is quite valuable.

Item description and Chinese explanation by Boyue Yao; English translation by Xinyi Xu, edited by Emily Jantz.