Soon it's the annual World Book Day. Since last week, major e-commerce platforms have begun to rub their fists and launch a variety of book purchase offers and superimposed activities. At this time of year, book critics can't help but talk to everyone about reading.
This time, what we want to talk about is not buying books, but borrowing books. Borrowing or not borrowing, like the famous line, is a difficult question to choose, and it is a headache to think about. Why "borrowing books" can cause so much controversy is largely because of the various "evil deeds" of book borrowers.
Speaking of those who borrow books, some people read slower; some people do borrow and read, and some people don't turn them at all; some people borrow and neither read nor want to read, just want to make you think they are very wise through the act of borrowing books. Here I must be fair to my friends who ask me to borrow money, who never show this sense of impermanence and ridiculous confusion. As long as they borrow the money, it must be used to the fullest. (William Roberts, The London Book Hunter)
From the students who borrowed books and copied books by hand, to the bibliophiles who generously practiced the spirit of "sharing books", the stories about "borrowing books" in ancient and modern China and abroad always contained the different attitudes of people at that time to books and reading. Today's article combs through many historical anecdotes about "borrowing books", and through these old reading anecdotes, the author is also observing the changes in current reading.
Written by | Wang Hongchao
Borrow or not borrow,
That's a problem
A guest visited the bibliophile's study and asked, "Would you like to lend the library?" "No, only a fool would lend a book to someone else." He pointed to the vast library and added:
All the books here were borrowed from a bunch of fools.
([American] Tom Labber, translated by Chen Jianming: Book Addict, Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2012, p. 176)
Being borrowed has always been a fatal problem for bibliophiles. Moralists have a saying: "What is not faithfully returned is like a book." (Gao Ming: "Love Books, Borrowing books and stealing books", Chinese Literature and Art, 1937, Vol. 1, No. 2) Borrowing, or not borrowing, is like survival and destruction, and it is a headache to think about.
It was not easy for the ancients to obtain books, and the price of books was not affordable by ordinary cold scholars, so it was common to borrow books and read them. In order to be able to read it after returning it, poor students often read and copy books after they get books, and Ouyang Xiu's family was poor and had no funds when he was young, "When there was no book to read, he borrowed it from lu Lishi's family to read it, or copied it, so that he forgot to sleep and eat day and night, but reading was a job." In the Ming Dynasty, Song Lian recalled bitterness and sweetness in "Sending Dongyang Horse Life Sequence", thinking of his own youth: "Every time he borrowed from the house of books, he recorded it by hand and counted the days to return it." It was cold, the ice was strong, the fingers could not be bent and extended, and the Buddha was sluggish. "What an inspirational story.
Han Men Shizi borrowed books to read, and eventually became talented, and there are many such examples in the history books. After becoming famous, they sometimes remember the friendship of borrowing books and do their best to help others. Later Shu mingchen Wu Zhao encountered white eyes in his early years of borrowing books, and after developing, he aspired to engrave books, benefiting students for a while and two Shu literary styles:
Shu Xiang WuGong, Pujin people, first for the cloth, taste from people to borrow "Anthology", "Beginner's Record", many difficult colors. Gong sighed: "Hate the remaining poor and incapable, he is a little bit bigger, willing to be stereotyped, and the scholars of the world." Hou Gongguo appeared in Shu, but he said, "Now you can reward your wishes." "Because of the day and night of the workers carved the plate, printed into two books, and re-carved the Nine Classics and the histories." The two Shu scripts flourished as a result. (Ye Dehui's "Shulin Qing dialect", volume 1)
The publishing industry in the Ming and Qing dynasties developed, and although the price of books has declined, it is not easy to read the classics and buy them on their own. Sitting in the book city, enjoying and reading, presumably is the dream of every reader. Mr. Huang Kan is well-educated, loves books as fate, "if you have surplus wealth, you will buy books" (Zhang Taiyan), but the books needed cannot all be purchased, borrowing books is inevitable, he once lamented: "Ten years to receive thirty thousand volumes, when the year to exempt the borrowing of books." This sigh of "what year" is probably going to go on forever, life and money are exhausted, but the sea of books is endless.
Qian Zhongying: "Borrowing Books from Friends", Taowu, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1927.
Borrowers also have a kind of psychology, "books cannot be read without borrowing", this statement comes from Yuan Ming, who analyzes the psychology of such people, which is quite subtle:
If you are not a lady's thing and are strong and false, you will be forced by others, and you will be worried about it, and you will not be able to play with it, saying: "Today exists, tomorrow goes, I will not see it." "If karma is my possession, I will be highly bound, and I will hide it, and I will know that "Gu Qian's view of the other day" Yun'er. (Yuan Ming," Huang Sheng borrowed a book to say)
"Zhang Sheng Borrowed Books", Enlightenment Pictorial, No. 2, 1903.
The most widely circulated example is Mr. Qian Zhongshu, who is said to have not collected many books and read books to borrow. This statement seems reasonable, it is unreasonable to think about it, and it is nonsense to think about it. Reading books is mainly driven by intrinsic interest, and the urge to return books regularly is mostly useless. Mr. Qian Zhongshu certainly does not need to supervise the reading through the urgency of returning the book. Moreover, hurried reading, swallowing dates, the effect can be imagined, Liang Dingfen's "Four Covenants on the Collection of Books in Fenghu" clearly stated:
Whoever borrows books must not pass three kinds (there are too many kinds, it is difficult to check, and greed is not true, good knowledge is not specialized, and there is no way to read books).
The Bibliophile's "Cutting the Door"
There are actually many social features that come with borrowing books. In the past, borrowing books was often the reason for visits between old friends. Ling Fox Bu built the south of the Puxi River, and crossed the horse on a snowy night to borrow books from his old friend Zhang Junfang's house, "A boy with a piano bag book was followed, because the sentence said: 'Borrow books from guo, cross the cold stream in the snow'. Lin Yi painted it as a picture, which can be called a rhyme. (Yan Yu's "Poetry of Liu Ting") is quite like the meaning of Prince Youxue's night visit to Dai Andao, which is enviable.
At the beginning of the exchange between men and women, they often relied on the means of borrowing books to break the deadlock, and Zhao Xinlin, who knew the love sutra in "The Siege of the City", said:
Women won't pay for books, everyone knows. Men are willing to buy sugar, clothing, cosmetics, and give to women, while for books they are only willing to lend them to her, and if they do not buy them and give them to her, women do not want him to send them. What is the rationale for this? Borrowed to repay, borrowed and repaid, a book can be used as an excuse for two contacts, and there is no trace. This is the initial necessity of male and female love, as soon as you borrow a book, the problem is big.
There are many ways to talk to men and women now, but I always feel that borrowing books is the best one.
The ancients borrowed books, in addition to friendship, and sometimes thanked them in kind, the so-called "borrowing a book, returning a book". It is a wine container, that is, a bottle of wine is given when borrowing a book, and a bottle of wine is sent when the book is returned. He Xuan said: "When the ancients borrowed books, they first used wine gifts to be attentive, and borrowed books and returned books with ears." (Chunzhu Chronicles, vol. 2) At that time, it was estimated that the price of books was still higher than the price of wine, unlike books in today's dynasties, but wine became a hard currency. The wine container is also called "Iris", and sometimes the owls are used interchangeably, "May the public borrow my bibliography, and send a locked fish when I am sent" (Wild Guest Series, vol. 10). When the wine arrives, the bookcase is opened. Of course, the relationship is good, the wine can also be dispensed with, and there is a poetry cloud in the Yellow Valley: "Do not hold two wines, and are willing to fake a cart of books." But how much wine do you have to drink together in order to get this relationship?
Later, probably the professional ethics of the borrower declined, and when he borrowed the book, he not only had no wine to drink, but also often worried that the book would not come back, which increased many troubles. Therefore, "瓻" was changed to "idiot" by bibliophiles, and Li Jiweng called "one idiot who borrows books, two fools who cherish books, three fools who ask books to save books, and four fools who return books" ("Borrowing books and returning books", Literary and Art Magazine, No. 6, 1914). After that, "stupidity" slipped into "scorn", borrowing books and people is to be ridiculed, there is a proverb: "There are books borrowed for people to laugh at, borrow people to return books for ridicule." If this continues, won't "scorn" become "shame" again?
Because of the pity for good books, coupled with the fear of borrowing and not returning, most bibliophiles are reluctant to borrow books. Once a good book is in hand, it is highly bound and hidden, and it is not easy to show people, "to be alone is to be reserved, and to take the public as a mistake." Therefore, when entering the ordinary hands, there is still the hope of passing on, once returning to the bibliophile, all of them are clothed in brocade, the sandalwood is used as a room, the key is taken for granted, there are questions that are answered, and there are people who have not been able to see the world, although people are suspicious of the scattered, it is not strange. Bibliophiles would open the key in the middle of the night, secretly move the book out, peel off the layers of packages, and caress it, just like the corrupt officials who lost sleep in the middle of the night and counted the bills that could not be spent. Once a book enters the hands of a bibliophile, it loses its value of being widely used.
But bibliophiles' fears are not unreasonable, and after lending, in addition to fear of not repaying, other risks are simply everywhere. As Cao Rong said: "Books go out, boats and cars on the road, shake uncertainly, or servants are in disarray, or water and fire are disasters, and they are unexpected." Don't borrow it. (Cao Rong's "Ancient Book Covenant for Circulation")
In order not to let friends and outsiders know about their books, all kinds of bibliophiles racked their brains. Those miserly masters are not only secretive, but more thoroughly do not even enter their own book catalogs. It is said that Mr. Qian Muzhai's Daiyunlou is very rich in books, and there are many orphan books in the world, but the Song and Yuan books contained in the "Bibliography of Daiyunlou" are all of medium quality, excellent products, and there is no bibliography. This is really the realization of the "collection" of books. But later, the Daiyun Building caught fire, and the secret book was buried in the sea of fire, but the posterity did not know its name, only Qian Muzhai took out a few books he was reading to avoid bad luck. Later generations regretted for him, if he was willing to borrow books, he might be able to leave a few more, "it can be seen that books are preserved because of borrowing, and those who do not borrow but destroy." (Walking fire: "Runan's Long Talk and Borrowing Books", Oriental Daily, August 18, 1942)
The existence value of books is for people to read, books are not borrowed, they lose the use value, "it is better not to borrow than not to hide" (Liang Dingfen's "Four Covenants of Fenghu Collection"), what is the use of books?
I do not borrow from others, nor will people borrow me, seal myself and keep the strain, indulge in years, have nothing to gain, what should collectors take? (Cao Rong's "Ancient Book Covenant for Circulation")
Bibliophiles slammed the door, and sometimes people really can't do it. People who are eager to read sometimes use unconventional means. Gui Youguang borrowed the "Dongpo YiChuan" from a bibliophile named Wei Ba, so he wrote a letter to his student Prince Jing to complain, scolding "this king is particularly evil", probably this student became an official, powerful, gui Youguang hoped that the students would borrow books on their behalf, so Wei Ba "feared the public and did not dare to be secretive." Attributing to the light article is well done, but under the domination of book addiction to borrow books, it is indeed not very authentic, "those who have book lovers sometimes take advantage of it at all costs, but they are slightly contrary to righteousness." (Upside Down: "Borrowing Books from the Forces of the Road of Coercion", Literary magazine, No. 3, 1914)
The miserliness of bibliophiles sometimes leads to retaliation from borrowers. In Zhiren's novel "Zeshan Miscellaneous Records", a reader named Jingqing is recorded, and he teased the stingy classmate who did not want to lend books to himself:
He is still a big festival, leading the countryside, and traveling to the country to learn. Shi Tongshe had a secretary, and qing asked for it but did not cooperate with it. Please, about Tomorrow's will return the book. Shengdan to the so. "I don't know what kind of book it is, nor do I fake it to Yu Ru." "Angry, sued for the sake of sacrifice." Qing is to hold the fake book, see it in the past, and say: "The book of this clear lamp window." "i.e., chanting scrolls. The offering of wine asks the student, and the student cannot recite the word. The sake is retired. Clearing out, that is, surviving with books, said: "I am too secretive to be cherished by my son, and I hereby play with my ears." ”
The move was both accurate and fierce, hitting the bibliophile seven inches. The obsession of bibliophiles is spent on collecting, and there is no leisure to read.
The spirit of "co-book" doctrine
Of course, there are also people who like to take the initiative to borrow books. The most generous bibliophile was The French John Gloriet (1479-1565), who was the French Minister of Finance, and the collection was rich and exquisite, and the books he personally bound and designed. He regarded the borrowing of books as a supreme pleasure, and the books in his collection were printed in gold: "All of John Gloriet and his friends." (Gao Ming's "Love Books, Borrowing books and stealing books") really has the spirit of "co-book" doctrine.
But for most bibliophiles, once they are loaned, most of them still have to regret it. During the Republic of China period, there was an angle stamp that read:
Borrowing books is a meritorious deed, and borrowing is also how it is not. Borrow and return, how much can it be worth? Who isn't happy? Borrow it and don't return it directly with the same theft, there are many troubles! If you don't complain about me again, I can't help it! ("The Ring of Borrowing Books", Guide to the Light, Vol. 1, No. 7, 1933)
I don't know how many sad stories are involved behind it, and I have written all the entanglement and helplessness of the bibliophiles!
The so-called good borrowing is good to repay, and it is not difficult to borrow again, Song Lian borrowed the book, and immediately copied it, "Record it, send it away, and dare not exceed the appointment." It is said that many people have to fake books, and Yu Yin has to look at the books of the crowd. Yan Zhitui also suggested that if the book is found to be damaged after borrowing, it is best to repair it: "Borrowed books must be loved and cared for, and if there is a defect first, it will be remedied." This is also one of the hundred lines of the Doctor also. ("Yan's Family Training") These words and deeds can really be included in the "Handbook of Professional Ethics for Borrowers", a volume for each person.
But people who have not yet received professional ethics education will not dare to take any more risks if they only borrow him once. Some have even said that book borrowers are more hateful than book thieves: "People who borrow books are sometimes more damned than those who steal books." Because the former also flaunts a certain virtue, while the latter simply does not hide it at all. (William Roberts, translated by Yu Ruiyin: The London Book Hunter, Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2020, p. 237) Just as people prefer straight bastards to hypocritical gentlemen. There is no substantive difference between stealing books and borrowing books, but the means are different, the former is the absence of the owner, and the latter the owner is mostly agreed. This is the fault of the bibliophiles themselves, and who can blame them? If the book cannot be returned, it can only be scolded: "If there is a book that is not borrowed, it is said to be stingy; if the book is not returned, it is shameless." (Liang Dingfen's "Four Covenants of the Fenghu Collection")
Although most bibliophiles do not read books, this is only a privilege of bibliophiles, and borrowers should still take a good look after borrowing. Liang Dingfen once rebuked some people, "It is better not to read than not to borrow" ("Four Covenants of the Fenghu Collection"). These borrowers who do not read books, after borrowing back, put the books on their own bookshelf, and after a long time, they feel that they are their own books. The British bibliophile Charles Lamb often encountered this kind of thing:
Speaking of those who borrow books, some people read slower; some people do borrow and read, and some people don't turn them at all; some people borrow and neither read nor want to read, just want to make you think they are very wise through the act of borrowing books. Here I must be fair to my friends who ask me to borrow money, who never show this sense of impermanence and ridiculous confusion. As long as they borrow the money, it must be used to the fullest. (William Roberts, The London BookHunter, p. 244)
(i) Go to the library; (ii) Borrow the largest book
(3) Carrying books home ;(4) To make up for the "shortness" of the stool
"The Purpose of Borrowing Books", Li Bao, March 18, 1936.
It is almost normal for book collectors not to read books, and it is understandable, but if borrowers borrow books and do not read, they are guilty of unforgivable sins.
Lending is also a big taboo for borrowing books. During the Republic of China period, the "Oriental Daily" once published an article, the author signed the name "fire", looking at this pen name, it is presumably that this person is not a bibliophile. Because the collection of books has always been afraid of fire, in the mouths of book collectors, the word "fire" has always been taboo. Even the servants in the Grand View Garden knew that when the fire broke out, they said, "There is water in the horse shed in the south courtyard." The name "Tianyi Pavilion" comes from the saying "Tianyi Life Water", which uses water to avoid fire. It is said that this mr. fire, although not a book collector, but also a book lover, he borrowed books from foreign friends, found a short song glued to the cover of the book, he translated as follows:
Jun's surname is Xie, my name is Xia, I have books, Jun can borrow; I buy books, change the sky's price, Jun takes them, don't unload them;
To read, to take advantage of leisure, to finish things, to return to the shelf quickly; the third party, the most terrible, other people's property, do not lend. (Walking fire, "Runan's Rambling Talk and Borrowing Books")
After the loan, the owner loses the right to claim the book, "the owner has the right to claim the original borrower, but there is no reason to take it back for the lender." (Walking fire, "Runan's Rambling Talk and Borrowing Books")
"The Magic of Borrowing Books", Children's Friends, Vol. 2, No. 25, 1949.
Unwilling to borrow books, in addition to fear of borrowing and not repaying, but also afraid that borrowers will not cherish. Not to mention tearing and smearing, even the creases and stains of the book will make the owner of the book chagrin. Sima Wengong loved books as he was destined, and his care for books has always been praised, and he has been hiding books for decades, "all of them are new as if they have not touched their hands", he does not hide and do not read, purely because of his love:
As for the opening of the scroll, it is necessary to first look at a few cases of purification, so as to put on a mattress, and then sit down and look at it. Or if you want to see it, that is, accept the square board, and do not dare to hold it empty-handed. Not only the sweat of the hands, but also the concern of touching his brain. Every time you look at a version, that is, the side right hand thumb is lined with its edge, and the secondary finger is covered. Twist the dough and squeeze it, so that it is not to knead its paper. Whenever I see ru, I pick it up with my fingers and claws, which is not even my intention. (Ye Dehui's "Shulin Qing dialect", volume 1)
Dr. Samuel Johnson is a gentle man who puts "all the praise on his head is not too much", but if there is a slight flaw in the jade, it is his sloppy treatment of books. Whether it is their own books or borrowed books, they will be thrown everywhere, and all they see in the study is books, "the books are dusty and disordered", and when they think of which books to use, they grab them from the corner, "squeeze the two books hard and shoot each other and beat each other until the whole room and the whole person are covered with dust." His worst habit was folding pages, "reading a book of poetry, and whenever he saw a good sentence, he marked it in his own unique way—folding that page in half." It was folded at the sight of a good one, and finally the thickness of the whole book was almost doubled, and it could no longer be closed. ([Beauty] Tom Raab, Book Addict, p. 174)
Although Wei Yuan had the talent of the country and the world, but the public morality of borrowing books was somewhat lacking, "if you borrow a friend's book, you will cut off the person who should be copied, see it back with the original book, and realize it for a long time", so angry that Ye Dehui scolded him for "not only is it too hurtful, but also the end of the heart that is not right." (Ye Dehui's "Ten Covenants on the Collection of Books")
Of course, there are also bibliophiles who are willing to send books to their doors, such as Coleridge. It is said that when Coleridge borrowed the book, he not only "returned the book to you on the scheduled date, but also wrote notes on it, tripling the original price." (J. Rogers Reese) Rogers Rees), translated by Chen Lin: The Pleasure of Bookworms, Beijing: Chemical Industry Press, 2020, p. 66) Borrowing books should be borrowed from Coleridge, but unfortunately Coleridge was too late to write all the books on the annotations.
The "Precepts" of Borrowing Books
The act of breaking a book is unbearable, especially the pointy fingernails that scratch the page, which will drive every bibliophile mad. The American bibliophile Tom Raabe thus formulated the "Ten Precepts for Holding Books", which should be printed out and distributed to every borrower:
1. Those who wish to enter this door should be sincerely afraid, and must not desecrate the holy place of books, but must remove their shoes and enter at the entrance;
2. All writing instruments must be automatically surrendered at the entrance;
3. Before taking the books, clean your hands in the rose water basin at the entrance;
4. After cleaning your hands, rub in front of you to wear a pair of rubber gloves and ask for them at the entrance;
5. Do not grab the spine of the book and pull out the bookshelf. Naturally, the book will be protected by both hands — just as it would be with Ming dynasty porcelain;
6. Do not exhale, spit, sneeze, cough, drool directly into the book, and phlegm is more prohibited;
7. If the corners of any book are folded, or even just moved, the standing will be expelled and dragged to the garage to serve with a dog's head;
8. When turning pages, you must hold a special page turning knife placed on the two wings of each desk;
(9) If the pages of a book are stained with wet hands, they shall be hanged immediately and executed on the spot;
10. If there is a case of folding the book, it must be reported to the owner of the study immediately, and the perpetrator will be dealt with with with the broken back bone.
([Beauty] Tom Raab, Book Addict, p. 172)
There is also a Chinese version of the "Ten Precepts for Borrowing Books", which has a consistent precept, such as mentioning the corner of the book, which is really the East China Sea and the West Sea, and the heart is the same:
Don't pick up the house, don't fold the horns, don't roll the cylinder, don't make pillows, don't approach the filth, don't stick to the dice, don't go back to the time, don't lend to people, don't muddy the ink. ("The Ring of Borrowing Books", Guide to the Light, Vol. 1, No. 7, 1933)
Liang Dingfen's "Four Covenants on the Collection of Books in Fenghu" specifically mentions: "The three days of the second, twelfth, and twenty-second days of the first month are limited, and those who borrow books are personally brought to the library in the early morning of the day, wrapped in a clean cloth towel, and those who do not borrow them with their bare hands." "Borrowing books also has a solemn sense of ceremony. In ancient times, the government at all levels undertook the obligation to lend books, "to carve books for the purchase of scholars, and to collect books for the borrowing of apprentices." (Ye Dehui's "Shulin Qing Dialect", vol. VIII) The Song Yuanming Guozijian and the military and county schools of various states all had official books for the scholars to borrow, and they were also allowed to bring out the pirated seals. Song Lian also said that at that time, the Taixue students "sat under the building and recited poetry and books, without running away", "all the books that are suitable for them are gathered here, and there is no need to record them by hand, and they are false and see each other later." When the government lends books, there is also a moral reminder to borrowers: "When borrowing official books, you often take care of them, and you are also one of the hundred deeds of a scholar." ”
Punishment is inevitable for the abominable destruction of books, "defacing the surface, the penalty is re-ordered; the damage is lost, the penalty is compensated, and then it is not borrowed (the directors and the scribes do not investigate in vain, the compensation is reprimanded)." (Liang Dingfen's "Four Covenants on the Collection of Books in Fenghu") No longer lending is at least, and the government will also have corresponding disciplinary measures: "At one point in January, there is no long leave, or damage is lost, and it is recovered according to reason, and the collector is heard and punished." (Ye Dehui's "Shulin Qing dialect", vol. VIII)
"Borrowing a Book laughingstock", Dianshizhai Pictorial, No. 350, 1893.
In order to cope with the borrowers who do not return the books, the bibliophiles also go to great lengths. Affixing the seal of the book and stamping it is a good way to remind the borrower to return the book in time. You just have to open the book, and the imprint will come to your face, always reminding you that it is not your book. Dong Qiao said: "The seal of the book is a sign of 'ownership', and I always think that if I put this mark on it, the book will not let people borrow it and not return it." (Dong Qiao: "Talking about books", "Sketches" (volume 2), Beijing: Dolphin Publishing House, 2013, pp. 195-196) Don't you know that some borrowers who do not intend to return books at all will directly tear off the imprints? Just like someone bought a valuable box to hide treasures and put on a solid lock, it is actually very convenient to move the locks together.
Another more vicious method is curse. Some bibliophiles wrote on the book: "If there is a falsehood, it will not be condemned by God" (Zhixiong: "Gossip Borrowing Books", "Ancient and Modern", No. 16, 1943), hoping to use this method to urge borrowers to return books. In the Qing Dynasty, the rented book shop in Fuzhou was troubled by the non-repayment of borrowed books and the destruction of books after borrowing, and printed a special warning in the books:
The public case of the manuscript of this book is stated that it will be changed every day, and if it is not changed in half a month, the account will be booked; if it is not changed in January, the money will be added according to the day. If there is a person who goes to coax the book, tears off the book cover, tears off the book, tears the paper, writes nonsense, draws hu, and changes the words in hu, it is a male thief and a prostitute, the son of a prostitute, and a gentleman is no wonder. (Reprinted from Zhou Shaoming, translated by He Zhaohui: The Social History of Books: Books and scholar culture in the late Chinese Empire, Beijing: Peking University Press, 2009, p. 87)
Collecting collateral was a common measure in early libraries, and Oxford did so in the thirteenth century, in a University College Regulation (1292) that had this provision for books:
Every book of the Academy, whether available or acquired in the future, must be lent with a high price of collateral to encourage borrowers to fear losing the book. Books must be lent in a deed, one of which is kept in a public bookcase and the other by the borrower. No book of the College may be taken out of the College without the consent of all the fellows and without collateral of a value greater than the book. (John Willis Clarke, translated by Yang Chuanwei: Caring for Books: The Development of Libraries and Their Equipment, Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press, 2014, p. 130)
I just don't know how to convert the equivalent collateral, but scholars who are well versed in the value of books know which books are equivalent to each other. On December 14, 1498, the dean of Merton College, Oxford, wanted to borrow a book from the college library, and went through a lot of formalities:
On the same day, a volume of the Decreta (title page with ter posita) was taken from the library and, with the consent of all the fellows, was lent to the dean for one season in the presence of four senior fellows. As collateral for the book, the dean deposited another book in the library: St. Jerome's commentary on the Gospel of Matthew and Paul's epistle (with sunt on the title page)—this book remained in our hands as collateral, but it was not enough, so another book was deposited as supplementary collateral: St. Jerome's commentary on isaiah, Jerry, and Ezekiel. (John Willis Clarke, Caring for Books: The Development of Libraries and Their Equipment, pp. 137-138)
The following year, the library's archives clearly recorded the dean's procedures for returning the books, and he also successfully retrieved his books.
There was a bibliophile named Ashby Sterry who wrote the price in every book he collected, and when someone borrowed it, he would always say, "Yes, willing to serve." I found that the price of the book was £2,17 and 6 pence—or perhaps any other price—and if you accepted that number, you would give me the money first, and when the book was returned to its owner, I would have a full refund. (William Roberts, translated by Yu Ruiyin: The London Book Hunter, Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2020, p. 239)
In the discussion on national nature in modern times, many people have mentioned that Chinese lack of contractual spirit, and borrowing books is not an example. Some people analyzed the psychology of borrowing books Chinese and said: "Chinese consistent concept, they all admit that borrowing books and not repaying them cannot be regarded as immoral things. Taking away people's books, not even notifying all the owners of the books, there is no sin, and even stealing books is not only excusable in the eyes of Chinese, but also some people want to add praise to you as a 'gentleman'. (Mu Tata: "Strange Borrowing Psychology", Zhengfeng, Vol. 3, No. 12, 1937)
Probably later Chinese also began to pay attention to the spirit of the contract, the Republic of China "Times" once published a book loan contract coupon, there is a person named Chen Zhaoyuan to borrow books from the Times Library, first with some collateral in exchange for book coupons, after signing the contract, you can borrow at any time with book coupons. It's just that Chen Zhaoyuan's collateral is something special:
(i) Crooked poems; (ii) tedious game articles; (iii) antics that make people sleepy; (iv) notes that are neither donkeys nor horses. ("The Book Voucher Contract," The Times, May 28, 1917)
"Book Voucher Contract".
The Borrower's "End"
Seeing this, I also want to jump and try, who doesn't have a few drawers of such garbage?
Since lending is inevitable, how to cope with the sharp searching eyes of the study visitors? Finding a stand-in for a book is also a good idea. The British bibliophile Robert Hiba said: "Bibliophiles should have at least three volumes of the same book." One for ornamental use, one for home use, and one for lending to friends. (The famous bibliophile Edward Newton's approach is exemplary:
Whenever someone rushed to visit, he would take a small key from his pocket and point to the cupboard in the corner of the room: "You know that the poetry collection is the treasure of the contemptible town room; do you see that cupboard?" Oh, the key is handed to you: please enjoy my treasures and please take care of it. Next, no matter how the visitor sorts out the books, he is not moved, because the books in the cupboard are all fakes bought from the market for a few cents, and are specially used as substitutes for rare books to save the real rare books from the unexpected. ([Beauty] Tom Raab, Book Addict, p. 173)
But this is also limited to common books, if it is a rare book, the owner is afraid that he is powerless.
The ultimate challenge for bibliophiles is the ultimate challenge after death. The bibliophile has been saddled with the name of a stingy ghost all his life, and the book is not borrowed, although it has offended countless people, but it is still barely kept intact. But how to keep the books that the collectors have more children of losers, how to keep the books they have painstakingly collected behind their backs from being lost, this is a topic that every bibliophile feels sad when he thinks about it in his twilight years. Some people want to open up and scatter books before they die, and some people want to do the dying struggle and set rules, especially emphasizing that books cannot be borrowed, setting rules, so as to restrain future generations. These rules are often associated with filial piety, and the Tang Dynasty scholar Du Xian warned his descendants: "Qing Feng buys hands to self-school, and the children and grandchildren read the Holy Religion, and it is not filial piety to borrow people." (Song Wang Peizhi's "Discussion on Shui Shui Yan", vol. VI)
Zhejiang Fan's Tianyi Pavilion, after Fan Qin's death, "was very tightly closed, and all the rooms were locked, and the rooms were divided into rooms, and the ladders under the book were forbidden, and the non-houses were not opened." Those who open the door and enter the cabinet without reason shall be punished three times with the sacrifice. Those who privately lead relatives and friends into the cabinet and open the cabinet without permission are punished with the sacrifice for one year. Those who lend books without permission will be punished with the sacrifice for three years. Therefore, those who are punished will never be sacrificed. (Ruan Yuan's "Bibliography of Tianyi Pavilion") Ye Sheng has a "Bookcase Inscription":
Read diligently, the lock will be firmly locked; the collection must be reviewed, and the cabinet will be high. Sons and grandchildren learn and teach, and they do not borrow from others, nor are they filial piety. (Zhixiong: "Gossip Borrowed Books", Ancient and Modern, No. 16, 1943)
Lending books is not filial piety, I am afraid that the ancestors kidnapped the last weapon of the descendants, Qian Daxin could not look past it, said: "Borrowing is not filial piety, too much." (The New Record of the Ten Driving Fasts)
The slightly human bibliophile sets the standard for himself to choose someone to borrow. First of all, we must exclude those who must not lend, and Qian Daxin said that there are three kinds of people who cannot borrow:
However, there are three people in the world who cannot be borrowed. No return, one also; defacing, two also; false correction, three also. Keeping the hands of the ancestors, and choosing others and borrowing them, then the things of the virtuous descendants are also. ("Ten Driving Fasts and Raising New Records")
Ye Dehui's Ten Covenants on the Collection of Books also says:
Friends who do not copy books lightly do not borrow them lightly; those who are not written by their comrades do not borrow books lightly.
Choosing someone to borrow seems reasonable, but what is the criterion for choosing people? The bibliophile Petralca one day received a letter of borrowing from his teacher, Converine, who borrowed two volumes of Cicero due to urgent need for research. After a long time, the students went to inquire about the situation, found that the teacher was living on a tight budget, and in order to get a meal of bread, he sent the book to the pawnshop. Students want the teacher to tell them the name of the pawnshop, redeem the book, and be willing to help the teacher get through the difficulties. But the teacher was a gentleman, and he was ashamed of this, and he had to redeem himself. Students are also afraid of hurting the teacher's self-esteem, so they no longer insist. But soon after, the impoverished teacher died, and the two books were missing.
Writing this, I suddenly felt that the trend of borrowing books was also declining, and even friends who borrowed but did not return could not see a few. Borrowing books is related to the social atmosphere, and the nineteenth century was very popular, some people called it "the nineteenth century when even the closest friends were real book thieves." (Gao Ming's "Love Books, Borrowing books and stealing books") This kind of love and hate, at least shows that people were still willing to read at that time.
Today, libraries are well developed, albeit mostly flashy; the publishing industry is booming, even though there is too much garbage published; e-books are popular, albeit mainly in the business of all kinds of readers. In the mud of impetuosity and snobbery, there is still the leisure and elegance of reading.
Perhaps, in this era, there are fewer people borrowing books, probably because there are fewer people willing to read.