As a collection of traditional Chinese culture and the source of ancient cultural classics, the Siku Quanshu has experienced disasters since the completion of the compilation of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and only four remain until the beginning of the 20th century. In order to save the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" from the doom of the "Yongle Canon" turning into ashes, how to spread and preserve this voluminous volume of Zhenguo Treasures has always been the dream of people of insight in modern times. At the end of the nineteenth century, Luo Zhenyu and others proposed to move it into the newly created Beijing Normal Library and give it a permanent safe place. Naturally, printing is the best way to keep this pyramid of Eastern culture from being destroyed. In the 20th century, there was a name that coexisted with the history of the printing and dissemination of the "Four Libraries"- the Commercial Press, the founder of China's modern publishing industry, from the beginning of the 20th century, it took the printing and dissemination of the "Four Libraries" as its mission to preserve and disseminate national culture.
Many studies have used the 1919 photocopying plan of President Xu Shichang of the Beiyang government as the earliest initiative to photocopy the Siku Quanshu. But in fact, as early as two years ago, in 1917, the richest man in Shanghai, the Jewish Hartung, and zhang Yuanji, the soul of the Commercial Press at that time, all had the initiative to print the Siku Quanshu.
As early as 1915, as a sensitive and powerful adventurer businessman, after using modern printing technology to print the emperor's magnum opus, the "Pinjia DazangJing", and gained certain publishing experience and commercial benefits, Hartung began to include the "Four Libraries" in his financial plan.
The news that Hartung wanted to print the siku encyclopedia was soon learned by Zhang Yuanji, who was in the same corner as him, and although he knew that the strength of the business at that time could not be compared with Thatto, it was clear that the sense of national responsibility and the dream of pursuing career and development prompted Zhang Yuanji to decide to stay in it. On January 7, 1917, he took advantage of his status and connections in Hanlin to apply directly to the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Government in the name of the Commercial Press, and shang borrowed the Four Libraries of the Beijing Normal Library to photocopy the whole book. Unfortunately, it was rejected on the 18th of the same month.
Zhang Yuanji instead sought cooperation with Hartung. On January 30, Zhang Yuanji sent a letter to Cen Chunxuan, a prominent Qing Dynasty official at the time, imploring him to introduce himself and cooperate with Hartung to print the Siku Quanshu. After many efforts and the mediation of Cen Chunxuan, there is such a record in the annals: On April 16, Cen Chunxuan asked Ha to have lunch in the garden, and during the banquet, Ji Juemi said that there would be a large number of prints entrusted to the business printing, and Mr. Yun immediately sent someone to contact him. He also talked about the printing of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book". The next day, Mr. Zheng Yu sent Zheng Yu to meet Ji Juemi and Uncle Zou Jing. Ji Ethusian: The "Four Libraries Complete Book" can be divided into half and commercial printing. This Ji Juemi, the great butler of Hartung, was very popular, and he also supervised the printing of the "Pinjia Great Tibetan Scripture", which is naturally an expert in publishing. He enabled Zhang Yuanji to finally get the right to print the siku quanshu.
This silent historical data shows that Mr. Zhang Yuanji should have taken the lead in initiating the printing of the Siku Quanshu, and although the plan was not implemented later, the efforts made by businessmen to incarnate the Siku Quanshu and widely disseminate it have begun.
Originated in 1919, the beiyang government initiated the printing of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book", which has long become a well-known historical fact. At that time, after the end of World War I, the Chinese government sent a delegation to Paris to participate in the peace conference. A group of scholars headed by Ye Gongqi vigorously publicized the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" during the conference, suggested that the University of Paris in France set up the first Chinese Academy, and borrowed the "Four Libraries complete book" from the Chinese government to study Chinese culture. French Prime Minister Ben Lewei is a person who loves Chinese culture. He felt that the Siku Quanshu was as valuable as Voltaire's encyclopedia, so he suggested that it be printed in Geng. To this end, the Beiyang government quickly decided to set up a cultural bureau in Beijing to carry out the printing business. The promise was made to photocopy and distribute it to the President of France and the Chinese Academy. The matter was supervised by Zhu Qizhao, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ye Gongqiu was appointed to lead the matter. Immediately, Ye Gongqiu arranged for Zhu Qizhao to consult with Tao Xiang and Zhang Yuanji, and discussed that the Commercial Press would undertake the printing of books, and pulled the Commercial Press into the plan for the preservation and dissemination of the Four Libraries.
In May 1919, Ban Lewei visited China and stopped by Shanghai to visit the Commercial Press. Today, we find many relevant records in the Zhang Yuanji Annals:
On January 10, 1920, Bao Xianchang and other merchants photocopied the entire book of the Four Libraries. On February 6, to Fu Zengxiangshu, Todairan photocopied the Siku Quanshu. On September 28, Gao Fengchi, Bao Xianchang, and others discussed the photocopying of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book". On September 30, he sent a letter to Wang Xianhua, talking about contacting The Jing'en Company to purchase land on Nanjing Road, and entering the Beijing Commercial Printing "Four Libraries complete book" and other matters. On October 1, he and Xie Yantang carefully calculated the printing cost of the four libraries. On October 2, the merchant undertook the printing of the "Four Libraries Complete Book". On October 8, he visited Ye Gongqi in Beijing and talked about printing the "Four Libraries complete book". On October 12, he met with Zhu Qizhao and Tao Xiang to talk about the printing of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book".
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According to the printing plan formulated by Ye Gongqiu, it advocates photocopying as it is, planning to print 100 copies and allocate 300,000 yuan to be printed by the business. Considering the actual situation, Zhang Yuanji advocated the implementation of "a passive strategy, it is better to ask the government to advance a number, sell the reservation volume on the one hand, and buy some and then open the printing", and put forward the concept of conforming to commercial operation. And constantly adjust and formulate a feasible printing program. However, because the Beiyang government is difficult to raise enough funds, the efforts to prepare for printing have finally been in vain.
In 1924, the Commercial Press was about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the celebration of the museum, Zhang Yuanji decided to photocopie and publish the "Wenyuan Geben Siku Quanshu". In February of that year, Zhang Yuanji sent Gao Mengdan to Beijing to contact the Qing Dynasty Office to discuss the matter of transporting the Four Libraries of Wenyuan Pavilion to Shanghai photocopying. It is expected that after the book arrives in Shanghai, it will take half a year as the preparation period. A year and a half later, the printing began, and the book was published in ten phases, each issue of 200 copies, one issue in half a year, spending 5 million yuan, and printing in five years. After meticulous preparation and five years of waiting, the Qing Dynasty was also happy to obtain a sum of income, so it finally reached an agreement to draw up twelve measures for receiving the seal, and reported it to the Beiyang Government and the State Council, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Communications, and the Ministry of Education for the record, and the Ministry of Communications sent special trains to Shanghai for implementation. On April 5, the commercial dispatcher went to Wenyuan Pavilion as scheduled to check the packing, but unexpectedly only one-third of the boxes were packed, and Cao Kun's cronies used their power to ask for bribes from the business, and after being refused, they used the official letter of the presidential office to block the shipment.
In the face of such a tumultuous situation, Zhang Yuanji personally wrote to Premier Sun Baoqi of the State Council to explain the reasons for his feelings, saying in a letter to Sun Baoqi on April 15: "This book is related to Chinese culture, and the volume is heavy, the printing is not easy, and the cost is particularly large,...... The company printed by the company is a condensed photo of the original book, and the price is relatively cheap, which is intended to be widely circulated. The idea of stealing and maintaining is not inconsistent with the government's intention to publicize culture and benefit China and foreign countries. How dare you make a reckless attempt? "Request a release. He prophesied sadly: "Yuanji dares to say that if the Commercial Press does not print this book, no one will be able to shoulder this responsibility within a certain period of time." Within these periods, I do not know how many vicissitudes have been experienced, and only three of them remain today, and I am afraid that they will be the continuation of the Yongle Canon. ”
The printing of the Four Libraries was once again dropped.
In 1925, Ye Gongqi called Zhang Yuanji several times, saying that the government still intended to print it, and hoped to send someone north to discuss it. Zhang Yuanji sent Li Bake north, after consultation, and finally agreed to implement it according to Zhang Yuanji's miniature printing plan, and the Commercial Press signed a contract with the Ministry of Education to transport Wenjin Pavilion to Shanghai for photocopying.
But it did not happen that at this time, when the Zhifeng war broke out and the railway transportation was interrupted, Li Bake suggested that the sea should be changed to shipping, and Zhang Yuanji and other business leaders did not want to take risks, so they had to wait for the situation to stabilize before implementing it. Before this, Zhang Yuanji once sighed, "The Four Libraries are difficult at all levels, it is really like Tang Sanzang's scriptures, and at this time, he met Gao Taigong, which is really unbelievable. There is only one walker to help, which is a great pain. But I don't know when I can go to Lei Yin Temple. Unexpectedly, the development of current events really responded to this proverb.
In 1926, the situation had calmed down, but the government had replaced people. The new undersecretary of education said that not only were there many opponents in the ministry, but there were also few cabinet members who understood the truth. Rejection.
Business people only have to wait. During this period, Zhang Yuanji once wrote to his friend Fu Zengxiang and confided in his heart: Naturally, there are many magic obstacles in such a major event, but it is necessary for my generation to make unremitting efforts, and finally there will be a time to land on the other shore.
After the "9.18" incident, Beiping was in a hurry, the antiquities moved south, and Wen Yuange's "Four Libraries complete book" was transferred to Shanghai.
At this time of national peril, people of insight were deeply afraid of the fate of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" being destroyed by the "Yongle Canon", so they resumed the discussion of photocopying. In the spring of 1933, the Ministry of Education entrusted Jiang Fuxuan, the director of the Central Library who was then the collector of the "Four Libraries of Wenyuan Pavilion", to personally find Zhang Yuanji and hoped that the Commercial Press would print the unpublished "Four Libraries complete book". Zhang Yuanji then introduced the matter to Wang Yunwu, who was in charge of commercial affairs at the time. Although Wang Yunwu was not very familiar with ancient books, he knew that this was an opportunity that he had not waited for for more than ten years, so he said to Zhang Yuanji: "You can not do it for business purposes." For the sake of reputation and the purpose of the museum's fans, but it cannot but be done. ”
At that time, the business was in a period of recovery after being severely damaged by the "1.28" war, but the business people still hoped that based on rare books, they would try to continue to print for a long time, so that they could complete the "Four Libraries". "It is a pity that the four libraries cannot be fully printed, but it is a pity that the unpublished version can be printed, and the consolation is a victory."
What is even more unexpected is that in response to the preliminary draft of the "Photocopy of the Four Libraries of complete unpublished Materia Medica", a fierce debate has been set off within the cultural circles of education. At that time, Yuan Tongli, director of the Beitu Museum, and Zhao Wanli, director of the Shan Headquarters Department, advocated replacing the Kuben with the Shan Ben, and was supported by the cultural authority Cai Yuanpei. Suddenly, many well-known scholars expressed their opinions and commented on the thirteen principles formulated by the Ministry of Education, focusing on the selection of items. Chen Yuan, Wang Chongmin, Liu Yizheng, Sun Kaidi, Fu Sinian, Dong Zhong, Zheng Hesheng, Jin Liang, Dong Kang, Ye Gongqiu, Xie Guozhen, Huang Yunmei, Lü Simian, Meng Sen and other well-known scholars expressed their opinions on the three hundred and sixty-six selected books in the "Grass Catalogue". Although this controversy revolved around the printing matter, it played a role that could not be underestimated in expanding the circulation of the Four Libraries.
Finally, the Ministry of Education insisted on selecting the complete book of the Four Libraries of the Wenyuan Pavilion and discussing and revising the "Grass Catalogue". By October 1933, the "Catalogue of the First Collection of Rare Books of the Four Libraries" was finally compiled, and 231 kinds of bibliographies were selected.
The photocopying work began in July 1934, and the Provisional Supervision Committee composed of the Palace Museum, the Central Library, the Commercial Press and representatives of relevant parties went to Shanghai to monitor the opening of the boxes, check out the books according to the object, indicate the number of volumes and pages, and deliver them to the Commercial Press for photocopying in stages. By July 1935, the "First Collection of Rare Books of the Four Libraries" totaled 231 kinds, divided into 1960 volumes, and was successively published in four phases.
In any case, the publication was finally complete. This is the blessing of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book", and it is also the great contribution of the Commercial Press to the national culture. Therefore, as soon as the first collection of rare books came out, the academic community reacted strongly. Even today, the printing of the Siku Rare Books Series still has considerable historical significance and academic value. First, these unpublished works have been incarnated into thousands, relieving people of the fear of the essence of the four libraries being lost to their fate; second, the Commercial Press has undertaken the printing of the "Four Libraries" without controversy and is expected by all. The cause of the Commercial Press and the photocopy of the Four Libraries is like a rock.
Subsequently, the world was in turmoil, and although the Commercial Press also printed the "Concise Catalogue of the Complete Books of the Four Libraries" and the "Uncollected Bibliography of the Four Libraries" (included in the Basic Series of Chinese Studies) and other relevant bibliographies. However, after 1949, Wenyuange crossed the sea, and the Commercial Press, which moved to Beijing, was limited by the adjustment of publishing business, and for more than 50 years, the dream of photocopying and publishing the four libraries of the whole book was finally vacant.
However, it is worth expressing that due to historical reasons, it has become a business of four places, and it has continued the incense of inheriting science and culture, and the Taiwan business finally printed the "Wenyuange Four Libraries Complete Book" in the 1980s.
The Beijing Commercial Press and the Siku Quanshu met again at the beginning of another century.
In 2003, history finally showed its serendipity again. In order to enable the Wenjin Pavilion "Four Libraries" preserved in the National Library of Beijing to be incarnated in thousands of times before it is about to be moved into the new stone chamber, the Golden Treasury can be permanently preserved, so as to benefit the academic community and continue the lifeblood of the inheritance of Chinese civilization. The Beijing Commercial Press proposed to photocopy one of the most complete copies of the Four Libraries in circulation, Wenjinge's Siku Quanshu. On May 14, 2003, the Department of Book Publishing Management of the General Administration of Press and Publication of China issued the "Reply on Agreeing to the Commercial Press's Arrangement for the Publication Project of the Photocopy Edition of Wenjing Geben 'Siku Quanshu] (Tuguanzi [2003] No. 201), marking the official launch of this major project in the modern era and benefiting future generations. It is a continuation of the frontier for the photocopy and publication of the Commercial Press and the Siku Quanshu. (Wang Qi, Lu Renlong)