Wu Shuang: Climb the "Reading Ancient Building"

Entering the small building, ascending the spiral staircase, rows of black rubbings embedded in glass cabinets rush into view.

When I was very young, I saw a dark brown wooden box on the top floor of my father's bookshelf, about a foot and a half high and a foot wide, with a line of green lacquer on it: Sanxitang Fa Ti. I used to look up at the wooden box and didn't know what it was. I guess there must be some ancient book in it, right? I once asked my dad, and he replied to me, it was all posters. The posters, I've seen ah, when we were in elementary school, the red characters we drew, isn't it just a poster? My dad's brush writing is a very delicate kind, and he sometimes practices, especially when my mother learns to draw Chinese painting, and whenever she draws a more satisfactory work, my father will draw an inscription on the painting. But I had hardly ever seen My dad open the wooden box, and I sometimes wondered when he would open the wooden box, and I wanted to see what kind of posters were in it.

I really saw those mysterious posters many years later. Mom and Dad died, and the Sanxitang Fa Ti was moved home by the second brother who became a calligrapher.

Not long ago, Mr. Wang Wei, the big brother of the Old Literary Artists Association, said that he contacted a friend who was the leader of the Beihai Management Office and could lead the descendants of us old artists to visit the "Reading Ancient Building". And that's where China's most precious and historically significant inscriptions are collected. It was at that time that I saw the true face of the Sanxitang Dharma.

In Beihai Park, there are not as many tourists as before, but it seems to be clean and safe. Crossing an arched stone bridge, we came to the small half-moon shaped building of the small and exquisite ancient two-story structure, the overall color of the small building was purple red, and the open door was black, and the shape of the door resembled a large bell standing on the ground. This is the famous Reading Ancient Building. It is said that when the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty came here when he had nothing to do, he went up to the second floor to stop and go, sat for half a day, and browsed and looked at it one by one, and it was conceivable that the emperor who was full of literary style would be so relaxed and happy when he came here, and he should be wandering in a kind of fairyland on earth, right? It is said that at that time, the Qianlong Emperor specially sent many people to find the best calligraphy handwriting from the inner house and all parts of the people, from the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, after a long period of searching, a total of more than a thousand were found, and then selected layer by layer, and finally selected more than 130 calligraphers' 340 calligraphy works, carved out 495 square inscriptions, most of which are hidden in the reading ancient building, in fact, the ancient building is specially built to collect these inscriptions. These inscriptions were copied, forming the precious "Sanxitang Dharma". This Qianlong Emperor, in this act alone, really did a great thing that benefited Chinese culture and made it pass on for a long time.

That day, a group of more than a dozen of us pushed the door into the Yuegu Building, there are two trees in the oval courtyard, the tree body is more delicate, with star-shaped leaves, can not call the name of this tree, I don't know if it is a camphor tree, but Beijing seems to not grow camphor trees.

Entering the small building, climbing the spiraling staircase, rows of black rubbings embedded in glass cabinets rushed into the eye, and those fonts were really stunning and beautiful. Of course, I don't want to think about whose hands this is! Wang Xizhi's "Qing Tian when the Snow Is Fast", Wang Xianzhi's "Mid-Autumn Festival" and Wang Xun's "Boyuan Post"... These three rare treasures were preserved by the Qianlong Emperor in the "Reading Ancient Building". In addition, there are Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Su Shi, Huai Su... These thunderous names, their handwriting treasures are also treasured here.

We stopped in front of the glass cabinets and looked closely, and it was said that the treasures were hidden behind the rubbings. Yes, how can those thousands of years of real handwritten collections make them see the light? Handwriting and color that are illuminated by strong light will slowly disappear.

At this point, I finally understood what was in the wooden box on my father's bookcase. Those are all rubbings of ink treasures left by these great Chinese calligraphers enshrined in the Ancient Reading Building! I finally remembered that once I saw my father open the wooden box of the Samhitang Dharma. Dad was very careful to put the box down, one hand to slowly pull the lid out of the lid groove, I had looked over a few times, it was a black tone rubbing, on which were a series of calligraphy handwriting, the impression of Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing fonts was the memory left by that accidental glimpse. Although I didn't understand anything, seeing my father's careful and serious movements and admiring look, I felt that the Sanxitang Dharma Must be an extremely valuable collection.

That is the highest realm of Chinese calligraphy, and although there is a merit of carrying on the work of the upper and lower levels, I am afraid that there will be no more comers. Children now see electronic versions of Chinese characters, although the primary school now begins to emphasize calligraphy lessons, but can Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing appear again? So, let's go to the Reading House in Beihai to have a look. In the past, it belonged to the feudal emperors; now, it is open to everyone, and the treasures in it come from the people, and now they are also facing and belonging to each of us. (Wu Shuang)