Speaking of Ji Xiaolan, people only know that he was witty, funny, talented, eloquent and his mercurial, but in fact, in the Qing Dynasty, he was also a famous bibliophile, and his study was named "Reading Wei Caotang", and Ji Xiaolan hesitated and lingered here every time he came down from the dynasty. Almost all of Ji Xiaolan's books are obtained from three major aspects, he usually has little interest, in addition to playing with cigarette sticks and blackening his teeth, it is Yahao to appreciate Qingya antiques, and then to read all the world's strange books, so his friends will compete to contribute as long as they have good books of good quality.
The other is that when there is a strange book, no matter how high the asking price, Ji Xiaolan also does not hesitate to buy it at great expense, sometimes thousands of taels of gold, without blinking eyes, no soft hands, neat transactions; then there is the reward of the emperor of the dynasty, which is an incomparable glory for the subjects who are officials in the dynasty, symbolizing the emperor's trust in him and the recognition of his outstanding knowledge.
Ji Xiaolan's compilation of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" was very meritorious and unprecedented, and also made an important record for the Qianlong Dynasty in history that had never been recorded before, and under the great joy of the dragon's heart, he gave Ji Xiaolan a set of flawless Song engravings in the United States, "Records of the Facts of the Zhongwen King". King Zhongwen was Yue Fei, and this title was sealed during the reign of Emperor Lizong of Song, and this book is difficult to see in the anecdote, which has not been seen in many bibliographies, and is printed on old paper used by the public during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and the book records that "Qianlong Ji Youyou gave the feast to the official Libu Shangshu and WenyuanGe Zhige Zhige Minister Ji Yun" a few lines of small characters, which shows that this matter is true.
It is precisely because Ji Xiaolan has been known as a "strange child" since childhood, and the weak crown can write poetry, and almost all his life is associated with text books. Ji Xiaolan read a wide range of books, and was well-informed and strong, and he also had many translations and annotations on important classics of the previous dynasty, and made great contributions to cultural inheritance, although he did not write many books in his lifetime, but because of his poetic talent, there were also new poems passed down from generation to generation. He also made great contributions to the education of future generations, once establishing the "Jingyantang" in the time of Zaishi in Fujian, during which he compiled many works that were extremely beneficial to future generations of scholars and students, and specially edited and published "Ten Kinds of Jingyantang", and later supervised the engraving and printing of "Li Yishan's Poetry Collection" and "Fengya Relics".
In addition, Ji Xiaolan has a specialization in learning or contemporary Rulin, famous people have appreciators, but also often use righteousness to engrave books for him, for example, Dai Zhen is an example, Ji Xiaolan once engraved the "Examination Worker's Chart" for him, Ji Xiaolan was quite appreciative of his character and learning, this Dai Zhen was already a prodigy famous figure when he was young, the four books can be forgotten around the age of ten, and at the same time in contemporary Dai Zhen can be said to be a generalist, he not only has a specialization in ancient learning, but also knows the history of astronomical almanacs and Chinese dynasties. Ji Xiaolan had a very close personal relationship with him. Almost all of Ji Xiaolan's books have his seal, and you can often see Ji Yun, Hejian Ji Yun, Xiaolan Baiji, Chen Yun and so on.
Every bibliophile has his own story, from the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Five Dynasties... From the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty to the present, the writing is different, and Ji Xiaolan is also a strange and eccentric person in ancient and modern Times. Most of the bibliophiles of the past generations have taken the Song Dynasty engravings as the top, and generally think that the engravings of the Song Dynasty are more vivid and vital than the fonts of other generations, and other versions that are different from the Song Dynasty are slightly limited and the pattern is convergent. Most of the paper used in the Song Dynasty version can be seen as hemp paper, and there are not many types of colors.
After Printing in China to the Ming Dynasty, almost no hemp paper was used, but most of them were cotton paper. Traditional Chinese handmade paper, in the ming dynasty is the most advanced method of ming dynasty, the paper mills at that time are almost concentrated in the south, such as the coastal area of Zhejiang and Fujian. Due to the improvement of printing technology in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court also attached great importance to the paper used for books and tributes, which was also the reason for the continuous improvement of papermaking technology and paper selection.
For a period of time, the folds used in the palace and approved by the emperor were also from the cotton paper paid tribute by excellent manufacturers and the paper that was passed down from generation to generation, and in the Ming Dynasty, different kinds of paper were developed, including side paper and flowering paper, which I had seen in the ancient books of a collector's family. On this kind of paper, you can carefully see the faint and unfettered spots like rain flowers descending into the world, which are very neatly scattered on the paper, and it is beautiful to look at the window sill where the sun shines in.
There is another kind of paper, which is used for ancient scriptures, and the paper used in the "Lotus Sutra of Miaofa" belongs to the paper made of special dyes in the Ming Dynasty, and the descendants of this paper are collectively called porcelain green paper. If any scripture is copied in gold or silver, there is a sense of solemnity that jumps out of the paper, and people can't help but worship it. The paper that is quite popular among scholars and literati is paper extracted from bamboo pulp, which is called ribbed paper, which is used as a small note, which is extremely elegant. Regardless of the type of paper, the materials and procedures for making paper in the Ming Dynasty are different from the production methods of previous dynasties and are extremely complex.
There have been many bibliophiles born in successive dynasties and dynasties, but this is not something that everyone can do, mainly because it is necessary to have extremely deep economic resources and family foundations. I often hear some friends in the cultural circle mention that he picked up leaks, picked up leaks in antique markets, and found a good book of a certain dynasty, and after a detailed inspection, it was not at all, just an ordinary old book, and even the cover was incomplete, but he was like a treasure, and he had spent tens of thousands of pieces!
Any set of perfect song dynasty good books on the auction floor, let alone millions, or even millions, depends on its rarity and provenance, and how the story behind the generations is. Therefore, among the real collectors in China, the most expensive ones are ancient books, and other gold stones, porcelain, miscellaneous antiques are still behind.
(End)