Text | Yang Ziqiang
Jiaxing people love to read, but also love to collect books, as Zhu Yizun said, "although the village of the three families must store scriptures", the general gentry like to "plough and read heirlooms" to flaunt. With such a mass foundation, the prosperity of Jiaxing's private book collection is a natural thing.
According to expert statistics, from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to modern times, there are 315 bibliophiles in Jiaxing, higher than 270 in Hangzhou, 188 in Ningbo, and 121 in Shaoxing, ranking first in Zhejiang. Zhejiang is the first, and it is almost close to the first in the country.
The first bibliophile in Jiaxing was Zhao Gon of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Gon character Liangbi (一作希甫), roughly lived in the era of Song Renzong and Song Zhezong, and was the prefect of the Guang'an Army, and had many contacts with famous literati such as Ouyang Xiu and Shi Jie. Zhao Gon settled in Jiaxing after becoming a scholar, and built a garden by the South Lake, known as "Zhao Lao Garden". Zhao Gon collected thousands of books in the garden and became a famous bibliophile at that time. Song Zhangyao is the same as "Jiahe Baiyong, Zhao Laoyuan": "The collection of tens of thousands of books belongs to the old Lin Quan." Not for the search for Ulcus, there are also virtuous people in the public. ”
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, as Jiaxing's economy and culture gradually came to the forefront of the country, Jiaxing's book collection also entered its heyday, and a large number of famous bibliophiles appeared throughout the country, as far as its name is concerned, the Ming Dynasty has Shen Qiyuan, Xiang Yuanbian, Xiang Dushou, Gao Chengyun, Zhou Lujing, Feng Mengzhi, Bao Tafang, Li Rihua, Chen Bangjun, Yao Beiruo, Shen Sixuan, Jiang Zhiqiao, Wang Zhihe, Fu, Zhu Yiyou, Lu Yu, etc., and the Qing Dynasty has Cao Rong, Zhu Yizun, Chen Ang, Xianyun, Shen Sixuan, Ma Hai, Zhang Tingji, Zhuang Zhongfang, Dai Songmen, Ji Guangxi, Lu Yun, Zhang Quan, Cao Yanchun, Qian Taiji, Tang Handi, Zhang Mingke, Xin Yuqing, Shen Guanzhi, Jin Rongjing, Zhu Tingxi, Lu Longqi, Qian Tianshu, Ge Jinhong, Lu Liuliang, Jin Tan, Wang Sen, Lu Feiqi, Zhang Weichi, Zhang Zongsong, Zhang Zongqi, Zhang Zongqiao, Cha Shenxing, Wu Qian, Ma Sizan, Chen Feng, Xu Yan, Chen Bangyan, Jiang Guangxu, Jiang Guangen, etc., are all well-known figures in the Jiangnan book collection circle, which can be described as a very prosperous moment.
Collecting books is not as simple as "buying books", it takes a lot of time and energy. You have to be knowledgeable, and you have to have opportunities. Zhu Yizun was a great poet and scholar in the early Qing Dynasty, and his collection of books in the Qiancai Building and the Exposure Book Pavilion was as many as 80,000 volumes, and he proudly claimed that "80,000 volumes of books are enough to be proud."
Zhu Yizun does not seem to spend less effort on the collection of books than reading, and his sense of achievement in collecting books does not seem to be under the book, he has a verse: "The Nine Classics can be sent to the old, and the thousands of books are not poor", but also the "support of books" and "good records" are compared, Zhu Yizun in the "Exposure of the Book Pavilion Records from the Preface" claimed that "all the bundles of cultivation enter, foolish to buy books", all used to buy books, in order to search for ancient books, he almost traveled all over China, visited the city and countryside, temples, tombs and searched for books, gold and stone. When he traveled, Zhu Yizun also carried a lot of classics with him, and once he found a rare book, he would proofread and verify it to confirm its value.
In the 18th year of the reign of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1679), Zhu Yizun was awarded the Hanlin Academy for review, and participated in the compilation and revision of the History of the Ming Dynasty, where he had the opportunity to come into contact with a large number of rare ancient books. Just like a gluttonous man who entered a food restaurant, Zhu Yizun couldn't resist the temptation and did a "violation of law and discipline", he smuggled a scholar into the history museum and copied rare ancient books.
This matter was discovered and denounced by the master of the academy, and Zhu Yizun's Hanlin review was withdrawn. Losing his official position for copying books, it seems that he has no regrets about his selfishness. He also wrote a poem "Book Inscription": "I took the seven officials, wrote my 10,000-volume book seal, and seemed to be a little proud in private."
From the web
In the twentieth year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1681), Zhu Yizun tried Jiangzuo, and heard that the bibliophile Qian Zenggang wrote the book "Reading Min Qiu Ji". This Qian Zeng is also a character, he is Qian Qianyi's grandson, he loves books, to the point of madness, "Reading Min Qiu Ji" is his painstaking work, is China's first research version of the monograph, Qian Zeng regarded this book as an arch wall, locked at home on weekdays, and let the scholar take it with him when he goes out, so that people don't look at it.
Zhu Hezun then set up a banquet on a certain day, invited Qian Zeng and local celebrities to feast, when the wine was hot, Zhu Yizun used gold and fur clothes to buy Qian Zeng's scholar, and asked the scholar to take out the "Reading Min Qiu Ji", so that more than a dozen copyists who were ambushed in the secret room in advance copied it separately, and since then "Reading Min Qiu Ji" has spread, we can see this good book today, and we have to thank Zhu Yizun for the "commercial bribery road" that year.
There are many book collectors in Jiaxing, such as the Qiu Zhu Building of the Wang family in Tongxiang, and the Chuanpu Hall of the Ge family in Pinghu. Haiyan Zhang's Shiyuan, Haining Ma's Dao Ancient Building, and the most famous is Haining Ci's. Jiang's Laiqing Pavilion, Beixiazhai, Yanfen Thatched Cottage and Xijian Thatched Cottage collections have been passed down from generation to generation, and the Yanfen Thatched Cottage collection has been handed over for six generations and has lasted for more than 200 years.
Jiang's book collection began in the Kangxi period of Jiang Yunfeng, Jiang Yunfeng had four sons, known as the eldest, the second, the third, and the fourth, all of whom were famous for their book collections, and the most famous bibliophiles among his descendants were Jiang Guangxu and Jiang Guangen.
From the web
Jiang Guangxu is the grandson of Jiang Renji in the second room, and his library is called "Bei Xia Zhai", which is taken from Confucius's "Analects" "Those who are born to know are also up; Those who learn and know, the second also; Sleepy and learned, and secondary; Sleepy and not learning, the people for the next place", the so-called "just and learn, Shu is different from the people", Jiang Guangxu painstakingly managed, the collection of ancient books and old manuscripts of the Song and Yuan dynasties amounted to more than 100,000 volumes, becoming the first collection of books in northern Zhejiang.
Yu Yue, a famous scholar, said with emotion after visiting Beixiazhai: "His family's collection of books, A is in Zhejiang, and there are many Song and Yuan Dynasty books and old banknotes. Jiang Guangxu's collections, such as the Song book "Book of Jin", the Song carved book "Du Shi Supplement", and the Song manuscript "Tanghu Poetry Manuscript", are all rare books. Jiang Guangen's library is called "Yanfen Thatched Cottage", and the collection of books also reaches 100,000 gold volumes, many of which are rare books of the Song and Yuan dynasties and manuscripts.
During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, in order to avoid the flames of war, Jiang Guangentropy transferred his precious collection of books to the "Xizhou Thatched Cottage" of the Jiang family at the foot of Jilong Mountain in Haiyan Nanbei Lake, and escaped disaster. The collection of 1,605 books and 24,813 volumes contained in the "Xidong Thatched Cottage Bibliography" includes 25 rare books and 238 volumes of Song periodicals, 27 Yuan periodicals with 482 volumes, 76 Ming periodicals with 1,213 volumes, and 146 manuscripts and school copies with 955 volumes. In the Jiang family, others such as Jiang Kai, Jiang Xuejian, Jiang Zuoyao, Jiang Xuepei, Jiang Wangzeng, Jiang Jianzhou, Jiang Shupeng, Jiang Pengqian, Jiang Tinghuang, Jiang Qinwei, etc., are all well-known in the book collecting world.
Bibliophiles are fond of rare books and ancient books, and use them to collate the editions that are commonly used in the world, and the editions that have been proofread by them often become new rare books, so famous bibliophiles are editionists, bibliographers, and proofreaders. Jiaxing's bibliophiles such as Wu Qian, Chen Feng, Zhang Tingji, Qian Taiji, Jin Rongjing, are all experts in learning, such as Wu Qian's collated ancient books, now as a rare book, there are 205 kinds of 1723 volumes.
Another example is Tongxiang's Bao Tingbo (the word to the text, the number of drinking, the library for the "knowledge of the lack of Zhai"), proficient in edition bibliography, and strong memory, he saw the ancient books, "every glance, that is, can remember a certain volume of a certain leaf and a certain word, there are people who come to ask with a book, do not wait to read, see its board mouth, that is, this certain board, a certain volume of a number of words, the history of the case is not happy" (Weng Guangping, "Bao Lu Drink Biography").
During the Qianlong period, when the "Siku Quanshu" was revised, books were collected from all over the country, and the Bao family donated 626 kinds of books, which was the largest number of private books in the country. There are 250 kinds of books and 129 kinds of inventory in the Siku Quanshu, which shows the high quality of its collection. Bao Tingbo compiled the rare books he had collated into the "Knowing the Lack of Zhai Series", with a total of 207 kinds of books, which have become recognized as rare books by the world.
At that time, the name of Emperor Jiaqing's study was also called "Zhi Insufficient Zhai", and after Jiaqing saw Bao Tingbo's "Zhi Insufficient Zhai Series", he deliberately made a will: "I recently read Bao's series of books, also known as 'Zhi Insufficient Zhai', for the sake of Bao's do not change." The "lack of knowledge" of the emperor's family, and the "lack of knowledge" of the Bao family is also the "lack of knowledge" of the reader. Bao Tingbo's "lack of knowledge" can actually break the rule of "avoidance", which shows the essence of his proofreading, the great influence, and the profundity of Bao Tingbo's knowledge.
It is not easy to collect books in ancient times, and once rare and rare books are found, they are often regarded as arches, and they are unwilling to show them easily, let alone publish them. This naturally has its objective reasons, but it also makes rare books and rare books not play their due value. In this regard, Jiaxing's bibliophiles also reflect a superior insight.
Cao Rong: From the Internet
Cao Rong (the word Jiebow, Qiuyue, No. tired garden, Jiaxing people), is a famous bibliophile during the Ming and Qing dynasties, his "Jing Ti Tang" is famous for collecting ancient books of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the collection of Song humanities collection up to 180, Yuan humanities collection up to 115, for the time of the crown. Cao Rong's outstanding contribution to the history of Chinese book collection lies not only in the number and essence of his book collection, but also in the fact that he put forward the theory of book collection combining collection and circulation. He wrote an article entitled "The Circulation of Ancient Books", arguing that the common problem of bibliophiles is to "cherish everything, to be unique, and to make it public to the world."
In this way, "I will not borrow from others, and people will never borrow from me, and they will not be able to keep their own plants", books will not be circulated and disseminated, and the works made by the authors who have "devoted their whole lives to hard work" will be shelved for individual bibliophiles, and books will lose their value. Cao Rong then put forward his "Ancient Book Circulation Method", advocating that bibliophiles exchange catalogues and borrow and transcribe each other, which can not only prevent rare and good books from being lost, but also allow more people to see them in circulation.
Cao Rong did what he said, and he and Zhu Yizun and other bibliophiles made an appointment to copy books and exchange ideas. Cao Rong's idea of integrating the preservation and circulation of ancient books is something that transcends the times and still has reference significance even today.
【Jiaxing Literary and Historical Memory. Jiaxing volume】
--to be continued