It is generally believed that during the Jiajing period, a fire broke out in the Forbidden City, which spread to the Wen Yuan Pavilion and the Yongle Grand Ceremony was also burned. At that time, it was also recorded in the history books that Fang was a scholar in Chongzhen period of Ming Dynasty, and served as the editor of imperial academy. However, his grandfather and father were both scholars in Jiajing period, so they were clear about these things. Fang Jizhi said in Tongya that the Yongle Grand Ceremony was hidden in Wenyuan Pavilion. During Jiajing period, the fire spread to the three halls and the Yongle Grand Ceremony was burned down.
This is a well-recognized statement. History shows that there was a fire in Wanli. But there is doubt that the fire burned the original, so where did the copy come from, and the manuscript in Nanjing was also burned. There is also a saying that the "Yongle Grand Ceremony" fire in Jiajing Wanli was saved from the fire. Jiajing loved this book very much, so he experienced the fire and was even more worried. Make a copy. After copying, put the original in the Wen Yuan Pavilion and take the copy yourself. Strangely, the original is missing. It was more than two hundred years before the replica was discovered. So where did the original go? Some people say that Jiajing loves him too much and is buried with himself.
The existing Yongle Grand Ceremony is far less than a quarter of the original. And many of them are in foreign countries or private hands. It is very difficult to collect Yongle Grand Ceremony. Eight-Nation Alliance also took away many volumes, some of which were destroyed at that time.