Record of a Mission to Ryukyu

1. Read the table of contents and preface first to clarify the structure of the two juan, then read through in the order of the investiture journey.
2. When encountering records of sea routes and islands, mark positions against a modern map and keep a brief voyage notebook.
3. Focus on the original wording about the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islands; excerpt the text and note the juan and page number.
4. Read alongside other records of missions to Ryukyu and compare how different missions described the sea route and islands.

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.