The Qianlong Emperor orders the creation of the Siku Quanshu
The Siku Quanshu ended up surpassing the Ming dynasty’s 1403 Yongle Encyclopedia in size, which was China’s largest encyclopedia prior to the creation of the Siku Quanshu.
Literature
Pu Songling completes Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, one of the great pieces of Chinese literature
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio or Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio is a collection of Classical Chinese stories by Pu Songling comprising close to five hundred “marvel tales” in the zhiguai and chuanqi styles which serve to implicitly criticise societal issues then.
Miguel de Cervantes publishes Don Quixote, the first modern novel
Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon
Shakespeare writes Hamlet, one of the most influential pieces of literature in history
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play, and is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world literature, with a story capable of “seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others”.
Celtic mythology compiled in The Mabinogion
The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. They were created by various narrators over time.
Marco Polo publishes his tales of his journey to China
The Travels of Marco Polo, is a 13th-century travelogue describing Polo’s travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.
An unknown author completes Færeyinga Saga
The Færeyinga Saga, the saga of the Faroe Islands, is the story of how the Faroe Islanders were converted to Christianity and became a part of Norway. It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200.
Ismail al-Jazari publishes The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices
The Book describes 100 innovative mechanical devices, including the camshaft, some 80 of which are trick vessels of various kinds, along with instructions on how to construct them.
Ibn Sina publishes The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine is an encyclopedia of medicine compiled by Persian physician-philosopher Ibn Sina. It presents an overview of the contemporary medical knowledge of the medieval Islamic world.
Ibn al-Haytham writes Book of Optics
The Book of Optics is a seven-volume treatise on optics and other fields of study.