"Watching the boxes of books packed up and transported away, my heart was empty." Deng Xiaonan sighed in an interview with Shuxiang last week. If you know the story behind these books, you can understand that the most solemn comforts at this time are too cheap.
On March 16, the Library of Peking University held a donation ceremony for Deng Guangming's collection and the 115th anniversary of Mr. Deng Guangming's birth – 72-year-old Professor Deng Xiaonan of the History Department of Peking University and his sister Deng Keyun donated the ancient books left by their father Deng Guangming to the Peking University Library. In his later years, Deng Guangming lived in Langrun Garden on the shore of the unnamed lake, and was known as the "Unnamed Four Elders" along with Ji Xianlin, Jin Kemu and Zhang Zhongxing.
Peking University library staff packed up the books and prepared them for transport, and Deng Xiaonan took photos with them. Courtesy of Di Zhong
According to reports, the donation of books totaled 353 kinds, 6458 volumes, of which 55 kinds of rare books, 507 volumes, well preserved, with important cultural relics value and high documentary value, the version category covers the Ming, Qing to the Republic of China engravings, manuscripts, movable type books and lithographs and other forms, the content is mainly Song Dynasty historical books and Song Anthologies, some of the donated books also have Mr. Deng's batch of schools, of which the batch of paper full of "Shushui Chronicles" and "Continued Zizhi Tong Jianchang Edition" can reflect Mr. Wang's academic orientation, and there are Ming carved copies of the "Ming Dynasty" in the rare books. Cixi Huang's Japanese Banknote Classification" and other rare ancient texts. The staff of the Peking University Library told the author that this batch of donated books is well preserved and numerous, including the Song and Liao Jinyuan documents, the early Ming and middle Ming inscriptions, as well as the engravings of the Wanli and Chongzhen dynasties in the late Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty engravings from Kang Yongqian to the end of the Qing Dynasty are basically covered, and the Republic of China engravings are also as many as 50 kinds, including many special documents, which are rare in personal collections.
Mr. Deng Guangming is a famous historian in the mainland and is known as the "Song Shi Taidou". His youngest daughter, Deng Xiaonan, also devoted herself to the study of Song history. Deng Xiaonan, 72, now dean of Peking University's Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, inherited not only her father's book collection but also his academic career. Before his death, Mr. Deng Guangming said: "The book is for Xiaonan to use and will be left to Peking University in the future." When donating this batch of books, Deng Xiaonan felt relieved and unwilling.
Deng Guangming read the book with a magnifying glass. (Image from the Internet)
Deng Guangming (March 16, 1907 – January 10, 1998), courtesy name Gongsan, was a famous historian, "Song Shi Taidou" and "a generation of grandmasters", who was admitted to Peking University in 1932. When he was studying at Peking University, he studied under Mr. Hu Shi, Fu Sinian and Qian Mu, and spent his life exploring ancient and modern times, writing about Hongfu, mainly studying the history of Song and Liao, especially specializing in Song history, and authored monographs such as "Yue Fei's Biography", "Ten Lectures on Song History", "Northern Song Political Reformer: Wang Anshi", etc., and was praised as "the first person to study The history of Song in China".
Deng Xiaonan, born in Beijing in 1950, is the daughter of historian Deng Guangming. Deng Xiaonan was admitted to the Department of History of Peking University in 1978 and is currently the dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Peking University, a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Research Center for Ancient Chinese History, the vice president of the Chinese Historical Society, a counselor of the State Council, a national-level famous teacher, and the president of the Chinese Song History Research Association. He is the author of "Various Levels of the Civil Official Selection System of the Song Dynasty" and "The Law of the Ancestors - A Political Brief of the Early Northern Song Dynasty".
Deng Guangming Library, Peking University Library. Photo by Huang Zhe
The first set of books is the Hundred Books of the Twenty-Four Histories.
Deng Guangming was born in 1907, coinciding with the era of great changes in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, and also the era of a group of intellectuals. Deng Xiaonan recalled: "My father had an indissoluble relationship with the Peking University Library. In the early 1930s, before he was admitted to Peking University, he followed his friend Li Guangtian to the library reading room on the second floor of the Red Building to borrow books; in his freshman year, he wrote a letter to the president Jiang Menglin asking for improvement of the conditions of the library; after graduation, Mr. Hu Shi lent the library's special reading room to my father, and he was active in the library all day. His lifelong friendship with 'encyclopedic scholars' Mao Zishui and Jin Kemu was also formed in the Peking University Library. Deng Xiaonan told the author that in fact, there is also a story in his father's earliest set of books, the Twenty-Four History.
When Deng Guangming was studying at Fu Jen University, Mr. Shen Jianshi of Fu Jen University asked Zhou Zuoren to give a lecture on new Chinese literature. Zhou Zuoren later recalled in the preface to the book that he did not make much preparation for his lectures, and only wrote some outlines, but in the last class, "Mr. Deng Gongsan (Deng Guangming Gongsan) took a draft of the notes and asked me to read it, and the recorded not only made few mistakes, but also sorted out the words I said in a slight order, which particularly impressed me." Later, Zhou Zuoren compiled and published this notebook into a book called "The Origin of New Chinese Literature". The publishing house gave Zhou Zuoren a sum of money, and he gave all this money to Deng Guangming, asking him to use the money to buy a set of hundred copies of the Twenty-Four Histories. "In fact, this money is not enough to buy this book, and Zhou Zuoren personally came forward to negotiate the price with the publishing house." Deng Xiaonan told this writer that this book was extremely precious to young students who were new to history at that time. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Peking University moved to the rear, and in 1939 Deng Guangming also followed. "Later, my mother led my two sisters to find him, and without entanglement, my father came to entrust Zhou Zuoren to sell this set of books and use the money as a travel expense." Deng Xiaonan said that at that time, it was first of all a matter of life, and if you want to go thousands of miles from Beiping to Chongqing, you can only endure the pain of cutting love.
In the spring of 1991, Deng Guangming and his daughters were photographed on the shore of the unnamed lake, and the right one was Deng Xiaonan.
Don't buy a house, just buy a book
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Deng Guangming returned to Peking University at the request of Mr. Fu Sinian, and after careful consideration, he gave up his plan to buy a house and settle down, and all his savings were used to purchase books in addition to basic living. At that time, the old book industry was in a slump and the price of books was depreciating, so Deng Guangming tried his best to buy ancient books and "establish his own small library at home." Deng Xiaonan told the author that his parents wanted to pool their money to buy a small courtyard, because after the Japanese withdrew, there were some vacant houses in Beiping, and the price was not too expensive, hundreds of oceans or so: "They looked at several sets, and finally decided not to buy a house." Because if you take the money to buy a house, you don't have the money to buy a book. My father saved these books from his life savings. ”
Deng Guangming is famous for his rich collection of books. "Previously, When Mr. Zhou Liang was alive, he had come to borrow Zhao Meng's "SongXue Zhai Collection", and Mr. Su Bai often came to my house to borrow books, and they would come to me to borrow books after my father was gone. In the early years, when Mr. Ji Xianlin first returned from abroad, he asked my father what books he should buy first with limited funds. Deng Xiaonan recalled the past of her father's book collection, in her opinion, many of the deep friendships between her father and the old man began because of books: "When I was a child, my father promised to go to the factory during the Spring Festival, and as a result, he sent himself to play, he soaked in the Liulichang Chinese Bookstore all day, and then went home with two sets of books; visiting Longfu Temple, he also rushed to the Xiuxiu Hall to read books and find books. There are often old gentlemen from old bookstores, wrapped in skin and sandwiched on thin wooden boards, who come to the house to deliver books. Decent furniture in the home, relatively exquisite cabinets, wooden boxes, are used to store books. ”
Some rare books of ancient books donated by Mr. Deng Guangming. Photo by Huang Zhe
The "Continued Zizhi Tongjian Long Edition" donated to Peking University this time is full of Mr. Deng Guangming's approval. Mr. Deng usually does not bear to write "annotations" directly on the pages of the book, but instead records the ideas on cards or slips of paper and clips them into the book. "I've read some of these notes later, and my feeling is that I can't keep up with his train of thought." Later, I also clipped a lot of notes in the punctuation book "Continued Zizhi Tongjian Long Edition". Deng Xiaonan once found that the note was a bit messy and wanted to withdraw it, but her father said to her, no, just clip it inside! Deng Guangming told his daughter that these were all important links in the thinking chain, and Deng Xiaonan remembered them. Later, when she lectured at Peking University, she also showed the students the cards she made that year.
What is the value of this collection?
In this donation, the library staff chose to keep these "notes" because taking the manuscripts out separately and placing them elsewhere may not only greatly reduce their value, but also may not be conducive to researchers and readers. Rao Yibo, who is responsible for sorting out this batch of ancient books and documents in the Peking University Library, told the author that when cataloging, they will explain in the catalog system that there is a manuscript with a certain content in a certain book, to ensure that the catalog data and the physical objects of the book correspond one by one, so that it is convenient for future special research.
Rao Yibo told the author that in this batch of ancient books, in addition to Mr. Deng's own large number of circle points and proofreading traces, some of the "notes" associated with famous artists are quite historical value, such as the two manuscripts of Hu Shi in the book, which record the process of writing the "Qi Baishi Annals", as well as the inscriptions of Qi Baishi, Chen Yinke, and many others, which have extremely high literary and historical value, which can be described as "Zhu Mo Brilliant". In order to better protect the largest donation of ancient books in the past ten years of the Peking University Library, the staff specially customized eight hundred letter sets, before the ancient book letter sets on the book titles and other words are printed and pasted on rice paper, this time Rao Yibo deliberately wrote all the book titles on the letter sets, collection numbers and volumes, overtime, until the donation was just written.
From Mr. Deng's collection, the characteristics of his governance can also be summarized in detail. "Mr. Deng attaches great importance to basic historical material work, and his academic achievements are based on his tireless collection of historical materials and the proofreading and study of them word by word, and the 'stupid kung fu' in these documents is the only way for Mr. Deng to grow into a generation of historians, and should also be used as a reference for those engaged in traditional academic research." In Rao Yibo's view, many of the academic research methods of traditional scholars are worth learning from now.
Rao Yibo said that in the past, the study of Mr. Deng basically focused on the elaboration and promotion of Mr. Deng's academic views, while the study of his collection of books has always been a blank, which is of course directly related to Mr. Deng's deep collection of books. Professor Deng Xiaonan's generous donation this time enriched the collection of Peking University Library on the one hand, and found a good home for these books; on the other hand, it provided the latest first-hand information for the academic community to study Mr. Deng Guangming and the history of modern and contemporary historiography. This is of great academic significance for promoting the development of related disciplines.
Father's books cannot be sold
From No. 1 Dongchang Hutong, to Zhongguan Garden, to Langrun Garden, and then to today's Blue Flag Camp, this batch of books has accompanied the lives of two generations of father and daughter. Many books in the family are almost piled up in the cabinet to the top, and books are still placed between the bookcase and the roof, and Deng Xiaonan often worries about what to do if the water leaks upstairs.
Deng Xiaonan's mixed feelings are not difficult to understand. This is a treasure left by his father, not to mention that he is also studying history; but on the other hand, the library has better preservation conditions, which may be a better way out for these ancient books that are as fragile as cultural relics, and more importantly, this collection of books can be read and studied by teachers and students of Peking University, which will benefit future generations.
Deng Xiaonan donated the books in his previous home collection. Courtesy of Deng Xiaonan
"In the summer, watching thousands of books being boxed and carried, my feelings were also very complicated. These boxes of books were actually bought and put together by my father, one by one, and ants moved back and put them together. Deng Xiaonan said, "This batch of books is too much, too precious, last summer, Peking University Library sent a professional team to Deng Xiaonan's home to sort out, carried out professional inventory, transfer, and then carried out thorough sorting, cataloging, review, into the envelope, plutonium seal preservation." The finishing team composed of Zhong Di, Yu Pingping, Li Xiongfei and Rao Yibo spent two and a half days just counting and packing, and a total of 37 boxes of ancient books were shipped back to the line.
They were touched by the selfless dedication of Deng Xiaonan and his wife - it was a sweltering heat, deng Xiaonan's study at home had no air conditioning, worried that everyone would sweat, Deng Xiaonan and his lover Lin Zongcheng specially installed an air conditioner in the living room to let everyone cool off. Deng Xiaonan was also touched by the serious responsibility of the library researchers: "It is time to eat at noon, they must leave two people to guard these books and take turns to eat." I said there was no problem in locking the door, they still had to keep people, and the professionalism was particularly strong. ”
Deng Xiaonan signed the catalog of the donated books, and later became Deng Xiaonan's lover Lin Zongcheng. Courtesy of Di Zhong
After Deng Guangming's death, many people once asked Deng Xiaonan about the plans to buy these books, and Deng Xiaonan remembered that an old gentleman in the Chinese bookstore led his colleagues many times to say, "Do it, sell it at a good price." Some bibliophiles have also come to ask. But Deng Xiaonan said: "After my father's death, I never sold a single copy of his books. When moving from Langrun Garden to Blue Flag Camp, it was very troublesome to transport books, and the space for the new home was also very limited, but we moved all the books intact. Later, someone joked with my daughter, saying that these books can change you into a big mansion, and you don't have to go to work anymore, and my daughter said: Grandpa's books can't be sold! ”
In a few days, it will be qingming, and in this day of mourning for the deceased, this batch of books has its own home. In this batch of books, there are traces of the life and life experience of a family and two generations of historians. As Deng Xiaonan said in his speech at the donation ceremony: This is not only a batch of old books, this is the accumulation of my father's painstaking efforts for many years, the full value in his heart that cannot be measured by money, and it is also the spiritual bond between me and my father.
Interview with Deng Xiaonan
Shuxiang: Mr. Deng Guangming once mentioned three "noble people" he met in his life—Fu Sinian, Hu Shi and Chen Yinke. How did they meet?
Deng Xiaonan: Fu Sinian is a native of Liaocheng, Shandong Province, and is the uncle of fu Lehuan, a close friend of my father's class. When my father was a freshman in college, he found Mr. Fu and also took Mr. Fu's class, and he was deeply influenced by him, and during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he once followed Mr. Fu to do research at the Institute of History and Language (Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academia Sinica). In the early days of liberation, Mr. Jiang Zehan returned to the mainland via Taipei from overseas, and Mr. Fu Sinian entrusted him to return to Beijing to convey it, and the books he left in Beiping were all given to Deng Guangming. Although things have not been accomplished, this long-lasting teacher-student friendship has always been cherished in my father's heart. When my father was a senior, he chose Mr. Hu Shi's "Biographical Literature Writing" course, and his "Biography of Chen Liang" Mr. Hu was very appreciative and gave him a score of 95 points, which encouraged his confidence in learning history. After graduating from university, he stayed at the Institute of Liberal Arts of Peking University to help Mr. Qian Mu make the long compilation of historical materials for the Outline of National History, and Mr. Hu lent his special reading room in the library to my father. Later, my father did Xin Jiaxuan's research, which was also a suggestion from Mr. Hu. At the age of 29, my father published the article "The Chronology of Xin Jiaxuan and the General Debate of Jiaxuan's Words and Evidence", and discussed with Liang Qichao and Liang Qixun, two of whom were the great figures in the academic circles at that time. Mr. Chen Yinke saw the article and asked Mr. Hu Shi, "Whose name is Deng Guangming?" Later, in Kunming, my father lived in the same building as Mr. Chen in Indigo Lane, and he said that Mr. Chen's erudition and daily conversation made him "better than reading for ten years." Mr. Chen's eyes are not good, and my father will accompany him to class. Mr. Chen lives upstairs, and if there is something wrong, if he stomps on the floor, my father will go upstairs to visit. In 1943, Mr. Chen wrote a preface to my father's "Song Shi Guan Zhi Kao Zheng" and gave it a high evaluation, which has a great influence on the entire academic community today.
Shuxiang: Many of Mr. Deng's friendships are due to books, what are the stories?
Deng Xiaonan: Gentlemen like Mao Zishui and Jin Kemu are his lifelong friends. Mr. Mao Zishui was the director of the Peking University Library, he was my father's predecessor, and my father would personally consult for some articles. On the eve of liberation, he went to Taiwan, and after the thawing of cross-strait relations, the Taiwan side invited my father to visit, and my father was going to visit his old friend, but when he heard that Mr. Mao Zishui had passed away, he was very sad and did not go. Mr. Jin Kemu is a professor in the Department of Oriental Linguistics of Peking University, he worked temporarily in the library of Peking University in his early years, often saw my father come to borrow books, felt curious, so the two often chatted, my father introduced him to read some academic books, since then he has developed a strong interest in academia, embarked on the academic road. Mr. Kim wrote an article calling my father his "leader." They were not classmates or peers, and their camaraderie was forged in the library.
Shuxiang: What influence did the books your father's early years accumulate on his academic path?
Deng Xiaonan: During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, dadong Bookstore photocopied the "Song Hui Zhi Manuscript", and Mr. Fu Sinian hoped that my father would purchase this set of books. But at that time, my father was very financially difficult, my mother and sister had not yet arrived at the rear, my grandmother was still in her hometown, he had to send money to both sides, and a "Song Will Be Compiled" exceeded his entire income for a month. But Mr. Fu was very insistent, and my father made up his mind to buy it, and since then he has made up his mind to do Song Shi. He later used a lot of the contents of the "Song Hui To Compile Manuscripts" in the "Song Shi Guan Zhi Kao Zheng" and "Song Shi Criminal Law Zhi Kao Zheng", and if he did not have this set of books, it would be difficult for him to make those studies.
Shuxiang: The collection of books donated this time, like the "Continuation of the Zhizhi Tongjian Long Edition", is a must-read for learners of Song history. You are also an expert in Song history, and the books in your father's hand must have been read by you, and you can even say that you are very familiar with them. Can you tell us about it?
Deng Xiaonan: My father attached great importance to the "Continuation of the Zhizhi Tongjian Long Edition" and required graduate students to read it. I've read this book from beginning to end, and I've read it more than once in important places. "Song Hui to Compile Manuscripts" has also been read more. In addition, there are some large sets of books, such as "Yuan Gui of the Book", "Literature Examination", etc., some of which I have carefully read. When we went to school, most of us read line-bound books and photocopies, and the "Four Series" and "Four Libraries Rare Books" at home were the ones I read more, and there were many anthologies, especially the Song people's anthologies. My father also purchased many "series of books" published since the Qing Dynasty, which he often had to read and inquire about. The punctuation book "Zizhi Tongjian", "Tongdian", two "Book of Tang", "History of Song", etc., of course, are used a lot.
Shuxiang: These books have many ancient books and rare books, and they need to be very painstaking to preserve, what is the thing that impressed you?
Deng Xiaonan: My father was a very book lover. One thing that impressed me deeply. That was when our family was living in Langrun Garden, and one night the heating upstairs leaked, and the water flowed like a waterfall, flooding my father's study. The wooden bookcase was oozing with water, and Guo Moruo and Mao Dun's handwritten inscriptions for my father were soaked in water. I was busy covering and draining the water, and my father sat on the couch sulking and hadn't slept all night. The next day, a vice president of Peking University came to my house to offer condolences, because there were water traces everywhere at that time, he suggested that Mr. Deng find a hotel to go out and stay for a few days, and all the losses were assessed, which means that the school will compensate according to the price. My dad didn't say a word, just kept shaking his head. I know that he is not willing to touch the "benefits" of Peking University, nor is he willing to add any trouble to others.