The Beauty of the Song Version
Zhang Jianzhi
Wenhui Publishing House
In the history of Chinese printing, and even in the history of world printing, Song edition books have always been precious, because they are excellent and rare, not only treasures of Chinese culture, but also treasures of the world. With the passage of time, the Song version has become a distant sound, and some have been lost overseas. The author of this book, Zhang Jianzhi, is a biographer and a scholar of literature and history. The author is fortunate to have a detailed appreciation and investigation of the 25 rare Song edition books currently stored in Jingjiatang, Japan, and analyze the historical context, so that the legacy of traditional Chinese culture will flow forever, which is precious and can be re-studied by the academic community.
[Interpretation of "The Beauty of the Song Version" ]
Editor's note: Jingjiatang takes the word "Jingjia" in the "Jingjia Bean" in the "Book of Songs· Daya· and Drunk", which means pure and beautiful. Located in Tokyo, it is a well-known library and is particularly famous for its collection of ancient Chinese Song and Yuan dynasty books.
This article has been published in China Reading News
Text: Peng Zhi
Among the ancient editions, the Song edition is particularly highly regarded by scholars, because of its fine engraving and rare circulation, and has rich literature, cultural relics and artistic value. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Gao Lian, a famous scholar in Qiantang, summed up the advantages of the Song edition of the book, and praised "the Song and Yuan Dynasty engraved books, the carving is meticulous, the proofreading is not false, the writing is fat and fine, and the printing is clear...... Therefore, Song carving is good"; During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, Mao Jin, a famous book carver and bibliophile, offered a high price to solicit the Song version of the book, "there are those who use the Song Dynasty to pay the master, and the master in the door counts the leaf remuneration, and each leaf is out of 200"; Sun Congtian, a librarian in the Qing Dynasty, summarized the main characteristics of the Song edition of the book, "If the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty engravings are different, the paper ribs are different, the calligraphy and painting are engraved, the ancient and elegant, the ink is fragrant, the paper is lush, and the scroll is amazing." The so-called ink fragrant paper is moist, elegant and ancient, and the wonder of Song carving is exhausted". Mr. Zhang Jianzhi, a well-known scholar of literature and history in Huzhou, was born in a family of scholars, and was influenced by the excellent traditional Chinese culture since he was a child, especially the Song version of books.
Home of the Song and Yuan Edition Ancient Books Online (Jingjiatang Library Collection) database
Eighteen years ago, due to a visit to the Jingjiatang Library in Japan, Zhang Jianzhi was able to browse the precious Song edition books in the library, and after years of immersion, the carefully conceived and carefully compiled "The Beauty of the Song Edition" came out. The book systematically and deeply shows the vivid appearance of the Song edition books collected by the Jingjiatang Library.
Unlike other in-depth scholarly works that discuss the Song edition, The Beauty of the Song Edition is flexible and friendly in its chapter structure. After several Song Dynasty book shadows and the preface of Mr. Zhong Shuhe, this is followed by a long interview between the author and Professor Xihua. There is a wealth of information preserved in the dialogue between the two, including the inscription of Mr. Zhong Shuhe, the poems in the Song edition of the Jingjiatang collection, the opportunity and process of the book visit, the history of the Jingjiatang Library, the diaspora of Lu Xinyuan's Song Lou Collection, Zhang Yuanji's "Continuation of the Ancient Yi Series", the collection of Chinese ancient books in the United States, and the ways to get close to ancient books, etc., and a close reading of the dialogue can tell the story behind the book and its important academic value.
The Seikado Bunko in Tokyo has a large collection of rare Song Dynasty ancient books
The main part of "The Beauty of the Song Edition" is a detailed elaboration of the 25 kinds of Song editions of the Jingjiatang Library. Including "Er Ya Shu", "Notes on Zhou Li", "Book of Han", "Commentary on Nanhua Zhenjing", "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", "Secret Recipes of Outer Taiwan", "Wang Youcheng Anthology", "Li Taibai Anthology", "New Journal, Proofreading Collection of Du Poems", "Mr. Chang Li's Collection", "Bai's Six Posts Collection", "Taiping Yulan", "Selected Poems of Tang Baijia", "Book of Tang", "Ou Gong Ben Mo", "Mr. Sansu Wencui", "Imperial Chronicle Compendium", "Shufu Yuan Turtle", "Golden Pot Records", "Stories of the Past Dynasties", "Youlan Jushi Tokyo Menghualu", "Splendid Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers", "Shame Tan Lu" The new issue of the collection of famous ministers and tablets of Wanyan, "The collection of famous official books and judgments of Qingming Dynasty", etc.
There are about 120 kinds of Song editions in the collection of the Jingjiatang Library, and the author's selection of books is quite attentive and discerning, and various categories of literature such as scriptures, historical records, medical prescriptions, special collections, anthologies, class books, and notes have been selected. The book is accompanied by a book entitled "Chinese Song Editions and Cultural Reflections: Reflections on Reading Rare Song Editions in Jingjiatang", which allows researchers to explore the history of the collection and circulation of ancient books, and the latter explores the basic situation, academic value and cultural significance of the Song editions in Jingjiatang's collection in prose.
Scholars have always studied the Song edition books in the Jingjiatang Library, and how to take a step forward on the basis of the predecessors and sages is quite a test of the author's knowledge accumulation and cultural vision. Written between the Warring States period or the Han Dynasty, Erya is not only regarded as the ancestor of Chinese dictionaries, but also regarded as one of the Thirteen Classics, with 19 extant texts, such as commentaries, commentaries, and explanatory teachings, which involve special explanations of the meaning of words, names of personnel and household utensils, astronomy and geography, flora and fauna, etc. As the first comprehensive dictionary arranged according to meaning, Erya is a window to understand the ancient meaning of ancient words in ancient documents, and is of great significance in various aspects such as exegesis phonology, etymology, dialects, and ancient characters. Mr. Zhang Jianzhi's interpretation of the "Erya Shu" in the Jingjiatang Library includes the importance of "Erya", Guo Pu and his "Erya Note", Xing Yu and his "Erya Shu", and the examination of Jiang Ruzao's collection and the Lu family's collection of the Song Dynasty, covering a wide range of aspects, especially the volume, size, preface, layout, name of the engraver, inscription, and book seal in the Jingjiatang Library, which is especially important for scholars who have not been able to visually verify it. The Taiping Yulan, known as the best book in China, was written in the eighth year of the Taiping Rejuvenation of the Northern Song Dynasty (983) and was compiled by scholars such as Li Fang, Li Mu, and Xu Xuan. The book is divided into 55 parts in the order of heaven, earth, people, things, and things, and covers the politics, military, science and technology, humanities, geography, and religion of ancient China. Mr. Zhang Jianzhi took a different approach when describing the Taiping Yulan in the Jingjiatang Library, and introduced the story of Sun Jing's hard reading of the hanging beam, the story of making friends and making friends with the ancient songs, and seeking skin with the fox, in addition, he also recorded the characteristics of the version of the book and the circulation of the collection. The Golden Pot Records written by Shi Shizhi of the Northern Song Dynasty is a very important monograph on calligraphy theory in ancient China, and the main editions include the Song manuscript in the Jingjiatang Bunko Collection in Japan and the Qiyunlou Ying Song Manuscript in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Mr. Zhang Jianzhi's explanation of "The Legend of the Golden Pot" mainly includes the source of the word "golden pot" in the title, as well as the academic value of the book, the process of collection, the characteristics of the edition, and the research of later generations.
In the interview with Professor Xihua, Mr. Zhang Jianzhi mentioned that he had strict self-requirements for the writing of "The Beauty of the Song Edition", that is, he tried to make readers like to read it, and in order to achieve this difficult goal, the author needed to have a solid accumulation of historical materials, and also need to use visual language when writing, in other words, to interpret the profound Song edition of ancient books with the penmanship of cultural prose. Mr. Zhang Jianzhi will not only find out the relevant knowledge about a certain Song version of the Jingjiatang Library from various documents, but also humbly seek advice from experts on the content he does not understand, and the efforts in the above two aspects can basically ensure the credibility of historical materials. Mr. Zhang Jianzhi graduated from the Department of Chinese of Laohang University, and has studied literature and history, economics, Chinese medicine and Buddhist culture to varying degrees, and has been deeply engaged in related fields for many years, and has published many specialized and in-depth works, which makes the visualization of words guaranteed. The Beauty of the Song Edition, which is based on solid historical materials and readable images, is indeed a model for this kind of cultural prose.
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