As the earliest professional bookstore in Shanghai, Shanghai Ancient Books Bookstore located on Fuzhou Road recently announced that from January 8, this 68-year-old bookstore will be closed for upgrading.
On January 7th, the last day of the Shanghai Ancient Books Bookstore before its closure and renovation, we went to the bookstore on Fuzhou Road to conduct an interview.
On the morning of January 7, the reporter walked into the Shanghai Ancient Books Bookstore located at No. 401 Fuzhou Road and found that the bookstore was very noisy (Shanghainese: lively). On all floors and corners of the bookstore, you can meet readers looking for and reading books everywhere.
On the morning of January 7, the bookstore was full of readers looking for and reading books
On the same day, the person in charge of the Shanghai Book Company also came to the cashier on the first floor of the bookstore and had a cordial conversation with some old readers. Mr. Li, a veteran book friend, has been buying books at the antiquarian bookstore since 1961 and has been friends with the bookstore for more than 60 years. The person in charge of Shanghai Book Company thanked Mr. Li for his support and love to the bookstore over the years, and left his contact information.
The book purchased by Mr. Li on January 7th
Regarding this upgrade, Shi Hongying, general manager of Shanghai Book Company, said:
Thank you for your attention and support. Since 2006, the antique bookstore really needs to do some upgrades and transformations in terms of hardware to better serve readers. For the future upgrading, we don't want to be grandiose, we just want readers to feel that the bookstore is a warm space, and find a quiet purity in the bookstore. The transformation revolves around a principle, continues to maintain professional characteristics, and does a good job in professional services.
Chen Kexi is an old master in Shanghai's second-hand book industry, he worked in the antiquarian bookstore until he retired, because the bookstore was about to be renovated, he came to see his old colleagues:
The renovation is to provide a better environment that is in line with readers' book buying Xi. Today, the antiquarian bookstore has significantly more readers, just because the renovation began on January 8. I met several regular readers, including one calligraphy enthusiast who is in his 80s. We also talked about the past, and before I left the store at 2 o'clock in the afternoon to go home, I specially thanked him for taking care of the bookstore business all my life.
According to Chen Kexi's recollection:
In the late 70s and early 80s of the last century, when the world classics were published, readers lined up in front of the bookstore and sold out every day. The new editions of ancient books by Zhonghua Book Company and Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House are also very popular, and they are basically published and sold out. There was no queue at the entrance of the second-hand bookstore, and readers waited at the door of the bookstore every morning, and as soon as the door opened, they rushed in, and everyone bought books as if they were grabbing in-demand goods, which was such a scene at that time.
According to Chen Kexi, the "Shanghai Used Bookstore" originally used the famous calligrapher Huang Baoyue (1880-1968) The "Shanghai Used Bookstore" was originally written by the famous calligrapher Huang Baoyue (1880-1968) when he was in a public-private partnership, and later used the "Shanghai Bookstore" inscribed by Mr. Mao Dun. The four characters on the plaque of "Ancient Book Bookstore" are redesigned and made according to the words written by Mr. Lu Xun.
In the afternoon, the lecture was an inventory of the best books of the year in Shanghai Ancient Book Bookstore, and three guests, including Professor Ma Ling and book reviewer Zheng Lingfeng of the School of Journalism of Fudan University, also announced the 2023 Good Books List on the spot.
Shanghai Ancient Books Bookstore Annual Good Book Inventory
Ma Shengnan, a literary critic and member of the China Review Association, also came to the Shanghai Ancient Books Bookstore that day to "pick up leaks", she bought 8 books, and spent a total of 176 yuan after the discount.
At around 6:30 p.m. on January 7, Mr. Cheng, the last reader of the bookstore, took a group photo with the bookstore staff, and he left a message to the bookstore: "I hope that the upgraded antique bookstore will get better and better, she is a holy place in the hearts of our readers!"
Reader Mr. Cheng took a group photo with the staff of the bookstore
Mr. Cheng, a reader, left a message for the antique bookstore
Before closing at 6 p.m. on Jan. 7, readers were still queuing up to pay
A staff member told reporters that the original plan was to close at 6 p.m. that day, but because there were still some readers queuing up to pay, it ended at 6:30 p.m.
It is reported that the first and second floors of Shanghai antique bookstores will be closed for construction from January 8, while the special book area on the third floor and Shanghai second-hand bookstores will remain open until February 17 (the eighth day of the Lunar New Year).
In order to "connect with the fragrance of books" with new and old readers after the closure of the store, the "book sales" and "used book acquisition business" of the Shanghai antique bookstore will be temporarily moved to the second floor of the art bookstore across the road. In addition, the Shanghai second-hand bookstore Zhonghua Road and Guangdong Road stores will also be presented with a new look in the near future.
Dear readers and friends, have you ever been to the Shanghai Ancient Bookstore and Shanghai Used Bookstore located on Fuzhou Road? Please leave a message in the comments and share with us.