One
Chen Chengzhong's (Tsinghua)'s collection of ancient books is undoubtedly a legend. When exactly did he start? How many ancient books have been collected, in fact, until now is not very clear. It is only according to Shen Zhaokui's "First Picture of Reading books in Gaozhai that the beginning of the Collection of Song Ben in Tsinghua was the Northern Song Dynasty Taizhou Ben "Xunzi", and the name of its Zhai number was also because of this book.
In the 1950s, the state purchased from Tsinghua 126 rare books, including Liao's Shiyitang Han Liuwen and Shu's engraved Ding Ji Collection, which are now in the National Library. In the 1960s, Chen once again sold twenty-five rare books to the state, including the Taizhou Ben "Xunzi", the Dade Ben "Mengxi Pen Talk", and Song Tuo's "Shu Shi Jing", which are now in the National Library. By 1980, Tsinghua widow Ye Aijin donated 676 ancient books stored in his Shanghai apartment to the Shanghai Library. In 2004, Guardian Tookt 23 kinds of Xun Zhai Cunmei's books, including the Song edition of Zhou Li, were brought back to China and later transferred to the Collection of the National Library.
On the basis of these collections, and with the addition of the parts that still exist in the hands of Guo Lang, the son of Xun Zhai, China Guardian Company, in cooperation with the National Library of China and the Shanghai Library, published the Catalogue of Ancient Rare Books of the Old Collection of Qiyang Chen Chengzhong, of which 59 kinds of Song engravings, 14 kinds of Jinmeng engravings, 30 kinds of Yuan engravings, 197 kinds of Ming engravings, 57 kinds of Qing engravings, 51 kinds of Ming manuscripts, 134 kinds of Qing manuscripts, and 15 kinds of inscription paintings, for a total of 557 kinds. This is by far the most comprehensive bibliography of Xun Zhai's collection, and it is the basis for the study of Chen's collection at this stage.
However, there are also some problems in this catalogue, such as some details are not clear, since only Xun Zhai Huyu has donated 667 copies of the above figure before, why is it that in this catalogue, after adding the other two collections, it only includes more than 500 kinds? Fortunately, the parties involved in the compilation of the catalogue are present and can still be consulted, otherwise, this issue will obviously cause a lot of confusion to researchers. According to Mr. Chen Xianbin, a research librarian at the Shanghai Library, the Shanghai Library actually contains more than 400 kinds of old Xun Zhai collections, and the 676 books mentioned earlier include the collection of the Qinghua son-in-law's family. Of course, in this catalogue, there may also be some engravings that are not included in it.
However, the problem did not stop there, Chen Xian's article "A Small Note on the Collation of the Books of Gao Zhai" said: "Since Most of the people who mr. Zhao (Wanli) passed through in the Chen residence in Shanghai were manuscript banknotes, and the books sold by the Chen family were Ming and Qing dynasty engravings, Mr. Zhao concluded that the Books kept by Gao Zhai in Shanghai were manuscript banknotes and Ming and Qing inscriptions. The fact is that in the collection of The ZhaoZhai in the picture above, there are fifteen kinds of Song engravings, twelve kinds of Yuan carved books, nine kinds of Zhao Cheng Jinzang zero books, six kinds of Jin Dynasty single engraving classics, eight kinds of Puning Tibetan zero books, six kinds of Ming copper movable type books, eleven kinds of manuscripts, thirty kinds of Ming manuscripts, and three kinds of Mao copies. However, as early as the 1950s, the state consulted through the Shanghai Cultural Undertakings Administration with relevant people who had visited Xunzhai Huyu, and this famous person had handwritten a copy of Chen's Huyu Collection from memory, counting "thirty-six kinds of Song Ben, two kinds of Gold Periodicals, one kind of Mongolian Ben, a total of thirty-nine kinds, four volumes of the Yongle Canon (Liao, Tang, etc.), about thirty kinds of Huang Pi Lie's school books, about twenty kinds of Liu DaZhong banknotes and Tang people's collections, and about twenty kinds of Xu Boming's old Tianyi Pavilion banknotes and other Ming manuscripts." Most of the things mentioned in it are found in the current catalogue, but some of them are not known, and it is not known whether their memories are wrong? As mentioned in the Yongle Canon, it is not found in this catalogue.
I once consulted Mr. Shen Jin, who personally created a register of chen's Huyu books on this issue, and he told me categorically that there was no "Yongle Canon" in Xun Zhai's batch of books. However, since other parts can basically be re-pressed, only the famous "Yongle Canon" is misremembered, which is also a very surprising thing. Therefore, the study of Xun Zhai's old collection still has many unknowns and needs to be explored slowly.
In terms of the most prestigious of the 1950s, when the first batch of books in Hong Kong were bought back, everyone is basically familiar with this matter, but what is the specific process? What stories happened in between? In fact, no one has explored it. Recently, I had the privilege of receiving a number of relevant letters from Mr. Xu Bojiao, who was in charge of the repurchase business at that time, and there were many accounts of this matter, most of which were not anecdotes and anecdotes, so they were picked out for it, and a little comparison was made to see the details of the repurchase in that year.
Two
In my frugal belly, the first person I have seen now to mention interest in Chen's collection is Zheng Zhenduo. In a letter to Xu Bojiao on December 15, 1952, he asked: "Is Chen Chengzhong's rare book available for purchase?" If this time is still a temptation, then in the letter to Xu Bojiao on December 23, it is determined: "Chen Chengzhong's rare books can also be negotiated, this is an extremely important thing, and it must be received." ”
By February 9, Xu Bojiao replied to Zheng Zhenduo: "As for Chen Chengzhong's rare book, because of course, when talking with him, he only asked what price the central government proposed when he talked to him? There is also no market price for rare books in Hong Kong to compare, so it is difficult to set an appropriate price. As far as memory can see, a single order has been issued for the important people of Chen's rare books, and it has also been forwarded to Comrade Wang Yi, please set a price for budgeting, etc. Go to Hong Kong in the suburbs, and then slowly discuss with Chen Chengzhong, I don't know if I think so? Obviously, for a shrewd seller like Chen Chengzhong, it is impossible to reach an agreement easily.
It is precisely for this reason that in the letter from Zheng Zhenduo to Xu Bojiao on February 19, Zheng asked Bojiao to return to Hong Kong and directly contact Chen Chengzhong: "I discussed with Comrade Yeqiu and planned to still invite you to Go to Hong Kong again in order to contact Chen Chengzhong's good books and other matters... Chen Chengzhong's good book should be approached as soon as possible. After receiving Xi Chen's instructions, Bojiao quickly replied, but in his reply on February 27, he also highlighted an important issue, that is, the arrangement of funds: "Chen Chengzhong's rare books, is it all necessary?" Please know. When I went to Hong Kong this time, I did my best to negotiate with him, hoping that the price would be appropriate. If the negotiations are good, I don't know if the money is in the budget of the first few periods? Because Chen is very good at calculating money. "In fact, when the cultural relics were repurchased, Bojiao was often embarrassed because the funds were not in place or not in time.
In view of this, in his reply letter on April 8, Zheng Zhenduo clearly informed the funding arrangement: "Chen Chengzhong's rare book, please contact him, and it is intended to be handled within the third or fourth quarter of the project." On April 28, Zheng Zhenduo proposed a specific way to request money: "Chen Qinghua's good book, I hope to be able to carry out it." After the price is negotiated, together with Chen Rentao's ancient currency, please ask for special funds. Since then, the repurchase of Xun Zhai's rare books has officially begun.
Xu Senyu and his wife take a group photo with their eldest son Bojiao
Three
Zheng Zhenduo, who was well versed in the value of Xun Zhai's collection of books, was well aware of this, and he once told Xu Bojiao: "The most important thing is Chen Chengzhong's books, please try to buy the domestic collection, the most important one is the only one." He also said: "If Mr. Chen Chengzhong's good books are obtained, he can become a great collector, and it seems that he must carry it out with all his strength, and hopes that it will bear fruit as soon as possible." It can be seen that Xi Di attaches great importance to Chen's collection of books. However, judging from the information revealed in these letters, the repurchase of Xun Zhai's collection of books did not go smoothly.
For this reason, on July 31, 1953, Zheng Zhenduo wrote to the respected Father of Bojiao, Mr. Xu Senyu, asking him to come forward and say: "The good book in Hong Kong Chen Chengzhong is in progress, and I don't know if Mr. Zheng can send a letter to Chen Jun to persuade him to do it?" If you do not take advantage of this time to step up the acquisition, it will not be easy to grasp. It is estimated that the acquisition will almost be completed within three or two years. In the future, even if there is a money, it can only be purchased separately, and it is difficult to have a batch of old collections for the whole family. At the same time, Zheng Zhenduo also wrote to Xu Bojiao, asking him to hurry up and handle it: "Has Chen Jun's Song Yuanshan ability been carried out?" How much does it cost? Do it for the sake of the Netherlands. ”
In fact, soon after returning to Hong Kong, Bojiao began to make efforts to contact Chen Chengzhong, and in Xu Bojiao's letter to Zhu Guang, he reported on the progress of his work: "Mr. Zhu: It has been two weeks since I arrived in Hong Kong, and when I first came, I was busy looking for a place to stay and meeting with Mr. Zheng, so I did not write a book. Today, I will briefly report chen shushi as follows: About the counter-offer. Six hundred thousand yuan has been returned, and he said that the difference is too much. At the same time, he suggested that he order books first, and if there were more books outside the eye, he decided to sell them together and the price would not be reduced. In order to determine whether the original book was consistent with the table of contents, I met with Chen every day for a week and helped him find books and organize books, because there were too many and at the same time they were not placed in one place, so it took a considerable amount of time to sort them out. Now there are only a small number of people who have been sorted out, and when all is sorted out, the official catalog will be sent. ”
In the process of sorting out, there are still some unexpected gains: "Mr. Zhu: I thought I had received the letter before. Today, I sorted out the Chen Shu and found that the book box contained a scroll of the "Jiguge Book Collection". This figure has always been famous, and the author is Wang Shixian, at the same time as Mao Jin, the master of Jigu Pavilion. There were a total of thirty or forty inscriptionists, all of whom were famous bibliophiles in The Ganjia period, such as Qian Daxin, Qu Zhongrong, Huang Pilie, Gu Qianli, and so on. This shaft was purchased from Xu Hanqing, the general manager of the Mainland Bank, and the price was very high at that time, about eight gold bars. The suburbs are asked to join the eye, and Chen ■ does not allow it. In the end, the delay reluctantly agreed and hereby reported. This volume of the "Book Collection" was later transferred to the state at a price of 30,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Bojiao was actually very hard at acquiring Xun Zhai's collection of books, and he once expressed his understanding and attitude towards the repurchase work in a letter to Xi Chen: "Doing things in Hong Kong is really not like in China, everything is very difficult, and in the future, it should be very confidential, very careful and careful, and have more contact with Mayor Zhu." This time I did things with the country, completely embraced the determination to win, fought for one more thing, and felt that I had done one more thing with the country. As for personal matters, I don't remember them at all, and I think you can trust this. ”
Perhaps it is precisely because of these difficulties in working in Hong Kong and the caution of the suburbs that they have also partly caused the slow progress of the work, but in any case, the work has been advancing. In a letter from Xu Bojiao to Zheng Zhenduo on 2 February 1954, he reported the latest work progress to Xi Di: "Most of my time in Hong Kong was spent talking with Chen Chengzhong about the issue of books, and sorting out books on his behalf. Ninety-nine percent of the books, with the exception of one or two that have not yet been found, are all sorted out, the same as the catalogues opened. Among them, the Song version is the real Song version, and the Huang Bao and Liu Dazhong banknotes are all true. As for Zhang Chengji (祜) ji, although he did not find out, he was absolutely responsible. The author's name is Hu, and the pen is mistaken for Zhang Ji, which is wrong. Now the biggest problem is still the price, he thinks that the cost is too high (such as "Zhou Yi" is now thirty thousand yuan, "Liu Wen" is fifteen thousand yuan, "Anthology" thirty thousand, etc.). For example, compared with his current Hong Kong dollars, it is much more than his asking price, so he still insists on the number of Hong Kong dollars of one million. At the same time, he stated that the books outside the list could be added, and had been added to the "Jiguge Book Collection Map". This picture is quite related to the collection of books, which is Li Muzhai's old collection, which he bought back from Xu Hanqing of the Mainland Bank, and the price is very high. This matter has long been asked by Mr. Zhu, (he) is afraid that he is busy because of the matter, and there is no reply. I hope to learn from mr. Wang after studying. It can be seen that Xu and Chen have basically reached a consensus on the return of Xun zhai books, and the obstacles that exist mainly lie in the price.
Since it was difficult for Bojiao and Tsinghua to reach a consensus on price, Xidi decided to promote this matter in a different way. In a letter to Mr. Xu Senyu on June 4, 1954, he proposed a new method: "Regarding Chen Chengzhong's good book, Brother Bojiao is already in contact, don't beg! When available for purchase successfully. I mean: We can appoint someone else to negotiate the price of the book. Regarding the identification of the version, it is the responsibility of the brother who is in the suburb. Such a division of labor and cooperation can save a lot of trouble. I don't know what I think? Ben Zhong begs and Brother Bojiao have a business. He saved many important cultural relics for the country, and his deeds are remarkable. However, in the future, there will not be too many calligraphy and paintings, and it is planned to temporarily stop for a period of time and wait and see. Otherwise, too obsessive, the price will be more expensive. ”
Has this suggestion been implemented in the end? It's unclear. However, it is true that this work has made progress soon, and Wang Yi said in a letter to Xu Bojiao on November 20: "Please complete the old goods once this year, and never proceed in batches so that the goods can be plated at the end of the year." But it can also be seen from Wang Yi's wording that it should be Chen Chengzhong's proposal to hand over these books separately, and Wang Yi clearly opposes this practice. I don't know if it was because of the differences in this regard, in 1954, the work of buying back Xun Zhai books could not be completed. The final completion of this work has reached the following year.
On May 16, 1955, Zheng Zhenduo wrote to Mr. Xu Senyu: "Chen Cheng's book has been negotiated. This is again the hard work of brother BoJiao (please keep it a secret!). For sense)! This batch of rare books is obtained, and the Song and Yuan versions can be ended. There are very few who have been left out. "This time the repurchase of the book of Xun Zhai is obviously also a major event for the republic that is in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt. Therefore, as the actual person in charge of this work, Zheng Zhenduo could not hide his joy, and wrote to Mr. Xu Senyu again on May 28, expressing his excitement and also putting forward some views on the preservation plan after the return: "Chen Chengzhong's book was completed, but since then it has been a big thing! We should all rejoice and encourage zhang Julao as well. However, although the book has been handed over, it has not yet entered the country, and it is still begging for secrets! A separate letter has been sent to Ju Lao to inform him of this matter. I thought he must have been very excited also. At this point, the domestic collection of books has been attributed to 'one'. In the private collection, there were only two families, Fu Zhongmo and Bojiao. Sooner or later, these two families will be owned by the 'public family'. However, if it belongs to the 'one', it must be properly protected and kept. The dryness and humidity of the air, the cold and warm of the temperature, and the intensity of the light must be adjusted and emphasized. As for avoiding insect pests, it is the first thing to do. At present, the conditions of the 'library' are still far behind, so it will take quite some time to do a good job in scientific storage and protection. At this time, it is urgent to complete the cataloging work for collection and examination. I think Fei Yun should be able to work hard to complete it in a short period of time. ”
Xu Senyu and his eldest brother and Bojiao and Wenqi
Four
The batch of books transferred by Chen Chengzhong was completely packed in boxes in mid-June 1955 and ready to be shipped at any time. On June 15, Xu Bojiao informed Zhu Guang in a letter to Zhu Guang: "Mr. Zhu, the letter was received on June 5. Chen Shu has been sorted out and counted clearly a few days ago, a total of six boxes, which can be shipped back in a few days. Regarding the measures for the Games, it has been discussed with Mr. Shen and intends to entrust China Travel Agency to carry out the transportation on behalf of the company. One side will be accompanied by the Bank of China to Shenzhen, and as for Shenzhen, please send one person to pick up the two sides at the Bank of China in Shenzhen. I don't know if this method is true? Please know. ”
Two days later, Bojiao wrote to Zhu Guang again to discuss the specific date of the shipment: "Chen Qinghua books, the packing work has been done, counting six leather boxes." Today, a boxed catalogue is presented, which indicates the number of books in each box and the number of volumes of each box, and the number of volumes per box. Please indicate the date immediately so that the Bank of China will send Mr. Li Bingzhong to Shenzhen, and when the honorable office will send another person to Shenzhen to meet him, so that it is very safe. ”
How Zhu Guang replied is unclear, but by the beginning of July at the latest, the books had arrived safely in Guangzhou. On July 2, 1955, Xu Bojiao wrote to Wang Yi: "Chen Cheng's six boxes of books have all been safely transported to Guangzhou, and there is a receipt from Mr. Cai (the previous packing catalogue, the sixth box 'Qiu Sheng Collection' six volumes', the 'six' characters are wrong, should be changed to 'two volumes', the total number of books in the whole box is not changed). Chengzhong receipt and list will be sent within the same day. ”
This problem is actually not big, as Bojiao said in the letter, "clerical error". More than a month later, Bojiao sent Chen's receipt and final catalog as promised: "There are 123 kinds of catalogues opened by Tsinghua Cargo Photograph last year, and then "Zhou Yi Zhengyi" and "Yangzi Fayan" were added, a total of 125 kinds. Finally, before the transaction, I counted the books and found that there were "Xiangshan Wild Records" stored in Shanghai and not brought to Hong Kong. In the Liu (signed) [You] banknote, there was an extra volume of "Yao Shaojian Collection", and finally it was sold with this catalog. There are 38 kinds of Song and Yuan ben, 88 kinds of rare books, and a total of 126 kinds. There are five kinds of books in Cunhu: Song Ben's "Mei Wanling Collection", "Zhang Chengji (Hu)'s Collection", Yuan Ben's "Mengxi Pen Talk", Mao's "Bao's Collection" and "Xiangshan Yelu", a total of five kinds, which are hereby filed for the record. Please check the two papers of Chen's receipt and a copy of the final transaction directory today. "The next work is that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage is responsible for counting according to the eye and checking them one by one."
However, in this final link, there was an unexpected interlude. Xu Bojiao said in a letter to Wang Yi on September 20: "When all the goods of Jin Kui were not shipped back, Jiao and Shen Jun had already found that no. 30 was missing, because the goods shipped from Shenzhen and Macao had a receipt and no. 30. And the whole batch that was finally shipped out did not have No. 30. Since the goods of the Zha Jinkui were transported to the Boc of China, they were collected and packaged three times in succession, and the location was in the BOC, and the only two people who handled them were Shen Jun and Jiao, and there should be no loss. However, when the third package was 178 packs, the time was too hasty, or the number 30 No. 1 was missed. First of all, the second package was about three hundred packs, and the shipper entrusted by Mr. Zhu thought it was too small after seeing it, so he changed it to one seven or eight packs overnight. Due to the time relationship, when handing over from the suburbs to Shen Jun, he could not count, and the next day began to bring luck. A brief report of the situation is hereby reported, and the Office of hope will unpack and count on the same day, if all the goods are the same as the catalog, that is, there is no error. If the number of one pack is missing, it should be traced again. ”
Although Wang Yi's letter has not yet been found, this letter is obviously a reply to the lack of No. 30 piece of the goods received by Wang Yi's letter to Yun. Fortunately, the disappearance, which was nothing more than a oolong, was quickly clarified. In a letter to Xu Bojiao on October 4, Wang Yi explained the reason for this misunderstanding: "In the old goods, due to the unclear list of goods, it is more difficult to check, it is about the same, and the No. 30 goods have been found because they are mixed in other packaging. ”
At this point, the repurchase of the rare books hidden in Chen Cheng was basically successfully concluded. These collections not only greatly enriched the collection of the Beijing Library at that time, but also laid a good foundation for the later cooperation between the National Library of China and the Shanghai Library with Chen and his family. At that time, the specific manager Xu Bojiao, overcame all kinds of hardships, did not dig hard, and the style of the Keshao family, and finally rescued these precious cultural heritages for the country, including the Xun Zhai rare books, these feats are really worth remembering forever.