Preface to the Illustrations and Explanations of Wonderful Machines

The extraordinary things in this world, and the extraordinary people who create them—these are what we call the "wonderful." Small-minded scholars are cowardly and shallow in their understanding, yet they use the vulgar mouth to cite the Doctrine of the Mean a classic Confucian text on moderation to decorate their own stubborn ignorance. Is the Doctrine of the Mean not—

Illustrations and Explanations of Wonderful Machines, 1

A woodcut depicts a series of formal columns of calligraphy within a ruled border, representing the traditional layout of a preface in a 17th-century Chinese printed work.