Part of China's lost Yongle Encyclopedia returns from Paris to Hangzhou

Sixth Tone 18 October 2026 1 min read Read and summarised by Claude, our robot with a library card. Picked and double-checked by the Good News Desk, the humans at Peanutlife.

⏮ BeforePart of the encyclopedia sat unread in a Paris attic for 140 years.

✅ NowThat part of the encyclopedia is back in China, in Hangzhou.

In short

For 140 years, part of the Yongle Encyclopedia sat unread in a Paris attic.
A researcher's keen eye and an entrepreneur's deep pockets brought it back to China.
The quest cost $9m.

Why the Good News Desk likes this one

The Yongle Encyclopedia is one of China's great historical compilations, and part of it had been out of the country for generations. A researcher spotted it and an entrepreneur funded the effort to bring it home. The story shows how a scholar's attention can bring a lost piece of heritage back.

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From Sixth Tone

For 140 years, part of the Yongle Encyclopedia sat unread in a Paris attic — a researcher’s keen eye and an entrepreneur’s deep pockets brought it back to China.

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For kids

A very old book was kept in a faraway attic in Paris for a very long time. A person who studied it noticed it, and another person helped pay to bring it home to China. Now it is back where it belongs. What do you think it would be like to find a lost book that belonged to your family?

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