Shusheng Wang Pu made a fortune

□ Lai Chen

The so-called maid book refers to the ancient people who were hired to copy books as a profession, which was called "Jingsheng" during the Wei and Jin dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and "banknote book people" in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, engraving and printing were invented and widely used in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, while before that, books could only be copied by hand. In the Han Dynasty, as the demand for books increased in society, a full-time scribe profession was born- the maid book.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a poor scholar who actually changed his fate by copying books. His name was Wang Pu, a typical example of getting rich by selling books and books, and the people of Luoyang at that time said that he made his fortune with a pen.

Wang Pu was a native of Langya Commandery (琅琊郡, in present-day Jimo, Shandong) during the reign of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, after Wang Ji, a famous minister of the Western Han Dynasty. Wang Jiguan is a famous Qing official and the earliest advocate of late marriage in China. He once wrote to Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Qing, saying that late marriage was conducive to eugenics.

Wang Pu loves calligraphy and writes well. Because his family was poor and had no backing, he could not enter the official field to engage in politics, so he had to take bamboo and a brush and set up a stall on the streets of Luoyang to copy books for a living.

With some savings, he opened a bookstore in Luoyang. His business form is very flexible, the copied book can be leased to the reader, or the deposit can be paid first, copied according to the book specified by the reader, and copied and allowed the reader to pick it up on schedule.

Wang Pu is not only beautiful in writing, but also handsome, sweet-mouthed, and good at recommending books, so he is very popular, and the people who look for him to write every day are endless, so they quickly became popular.

Men send him clothes and hats, women send him pearls and jade, and sometimes, in a day, he can go home with a cart full of clothes and jewelry. Because of his good management, he not only had a full warehouse of grain in his home, but also became rich.

What is valuable is that after Wang Pu made his fortune, he did not be unkind to the rich, but was willing to be charitable. He provided food and clothing for poor relatives and friends, and often received help from neighbors, which became a momentary talk. (Yangcheng Evening News)

【Source: Yuncheng News Network】

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author, if there is an error in the source or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, you can contact us through the mailbox, we will deal with it in a timely manner. Email address: [email protected]