Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Mao I
MAO I 毛扆 (T. 斧季), Aug. 13, 1640–after 1710, scholar, native of Ch'ang-shu, Kiangsu, was the youngest son of Mao Chin [q. v.]. He inherited the famous library known as Chi-ku-ko (see under his father) and continued the printing business which his father began in 1628. He was also interested in collecting rare texts and writing bibliographical notes, which were much prized by later collectors. Sometime after 1689 he made an inventory of about 500 titles of rare books, including many manuscript facsimiles known as ying-Sung-ch'ao 影宋鈔, which it is said he intended to sell to P'an Lei [q. v.]. This list, with prices in taels attached, was printed in 1800 in the first installment of the Shih-li-chü Huang-shih ts'ung-shu of Huang P'ei-lieh [q. v.]. Some of the books which he collected bore seals reading 西河季子之印 Hsi-ho chi-tzŭ chih-yin or 斧季手校 Fu-chi shou-chiao. Ho Ch'o [q. v.] borrowed a number of rare books from Mao I in 1710, and Ho's notes on these items make it certain that Mao was still living at that time. A considerable part of his collection was sold to Chi Chên-i [q. v.].
[義門先生集 I-men hsien-shêng chi 9/9a, 12b; see bibliography under Mao Chin; Yeh Tê-hui, Shu-lin ch'ing-hua (for char. see bibl. under Chi Chên-i); Yang Li-ch'êng, 中國藏書家考略 Chung-kuo ts'ang-shu chia k'ao lüeh (1929) p. 7b.]