Encyclopedia

 The encyclopedia was invented during the Northern Song Dynasty under the ruler of Taizong (first emperor of this dynasty). The encyclopedia was created so people would have general knowledge. General knowledge is like common sense, something that everyone has the ability to know. Encyclopedias could be found in wealthy households, and private libraries. At first the rich would buy them to complete the collection of books. Not long after everybody had encyclopedias they were applying it to everyday life. The encyclopedia was used as a source of knowledge, it contained many different aspects of life in one book. It was easier to have one encyclopedia on many subjects, then have a lot of books on one subject. The encyclopedia was a very useful invention that we still use in the modern world.