The text of Yongle Dadian is 22,877 volumes, with a total of 370 million words. There are as many as seven or eight thousand important ancient books. From the pre-Qin dynasty to the early Ming dynasty, there was no omission.
The contents include: a subset of classics and history, Buddhism, Taoism, drama, storytelling, technology, agronomy, medical divination, literature and so on. Covers almost every aspect.
The Yongle Dadian also contains many precious books that have been incomplete or lost in later generations, such as Xue's A Brief Introduction to Liao Dynasty and Notes on Water Classics in Song Dynasty. And all the quoted materials are completely copied from the original text, so many precious documents can be preserved in their original appearance, further enhancing the value of the documents.
Because of the collection of Yongle Dadian, many hidden lost articles before the Song and Yuan Dynasties have been preserved and circulated. It is a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. Therefore, people call Yongle Dadian "a treasure house of rare books and secrets before the early Ming Dynasty".
Later, Ji Xiaolan presided over the compilation of Sikuquanshu during the Qianlong period, and collected 385 kinds of materials from Yongle Dadian. It not only makes many rare books of ancient books come to light again, but also provides an example for the compilation of anecdotes for future generations. This shows the influence of Yongle Dadian on later generations.
The Grand Ceremony of Yongle was written in the sixth year of Yongle, and it was collected in Nanjing Wen Yuan Pavilion. In the 19th year of Yongle, Ming Taizu Judy moved to Beijing, and also brought the Yongle Grand Ceremony to Beijing, where it was collected in Wenyuan Pavilion in the palace. Re-record the Yongle ceremony during Jiajing period. The original book has disappeared, and it is said that it was buried with Emperor Jiajing. All that remains in the world is a report card. Later manuscripts were lost after the war and scattered all over the world.
In 2020, two copies of Yongle Grand Ceremony were sold for 810.2 million euros. The value of Yongle Grand Ceremony can no longer be measured by money.
Yongle Dadian is undoubtedly the largest encyclopedia in ancient China.