Story of Book Collection

Author: Yu Zhangrui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-05-01
Features: Book collection is a part of China's cultural tradition, with a history dating back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Records of the Grand Historian states that Laozi once served as the "Keeper of the Archive" in the Zhou Dynasty, with a note: "Keeper of the Archive refers to the historian of the Zhou Dynasty's archive." During the Han Dynasty, official book collections flourished. The Book of Han says that after the Han Dynasty rose to power, it revised the Qin policies, extensively collected books, and opened the way for offering books, "establishing a policy for book collection, appointing officials to copy books, and including works of various schools and legends in the imperial archives." As for private book collections, Confucius is recognized as the earliest. He set up a school to teach disciples and must have collected a significant amount of literature. Mozi was also a collector. He traveled south to the state of Wei and "carried many books." Since the Han Dynasty, private book collectors have appeared in every generation. However, before the Tang Dynasty, it was difficult to produce books, and there were fewer collectors. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the number increased.
Author's Self-Description:，important matters: Book collection is the foundation for reading and the root of learning. The Qing Dynasty scholar Sun Qingzeng said, "Seeking books is the hardest, most beautiful, elegant, and most joyful thing." This is a truthful observation. Throughout history, generations of book collectors have engaged in this difficult yet rewarding endeavor. Many collectors would go bankrupt to acquire ancient books and burn incense in reverence when they obtained rare works. The Ming Dynasty scholar Lang Ying would do his best to purchase good books, spending his entire fortune without hesitation, leading to an ever-growing collection, deeper knowledge, but increasingly impoverished finances. The Qing Dynasty scholar Ma Sizan learned that a family named Zhao had a Song Dynasty edition of The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government by Lu Zhuangyuan. He tried to purchase it multiple times but failed. Later, he discovered that the family had chosen a burial site that was on Ma Sizan's land. Overjoyed, Ma Sizan immediately exchanged ten acres of good land for a copy of the book. The Ming Dynasty scholar Wang Wenlu, when his home caught fire, shouted, "Reward those who rescue the books, and leave the rest." The Ming Dynasty scholar Yang Xungji loved books so deeply that he wrote poems: "No need to open the cover to read, handling them alone brings joy," and "When angry, reading brings happiness; when sick, reading cures." The Ming Dynasty scholar Yang Shiqi, orphaned and poor in his youth, wanted to buy a copy of A Brief History of the Dynasties, which cost over a hundred coins. Unable to afford it, his mother traded a hen for the book. Later, Yang Shiqi was recommended for the Hanlin Academy for his historical talent, became a compiler, and was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. People praised his mother, saying, "With such a mother, how could she not give birth to such a son." The son of Qin Hui, a powerful minister during the Song Dynasty, Qin , used his influence to try to seize Wang Lianqing's books, offering him high-ranking positions if he handed them over. Wang Lianqing, weeping, refused, saying, "I would rather die protecting my books than accept a position." Unable to break his resolve, Qin  gave up. Some stories tell of the difficulties and fortunate encounters of book collectors. Qian Qianyi's family owned a Song Dynasty edition of The Book of Han, which miraculously survived the fire at the Jianshun Pavilion. He cherished it deeply but lamented that it was missing two volumes, making it a incomplete copy. He searched everywhere but failed to find a complete version. One day, a bookseller moored his boat in Wuzhen in the evening to buy noodles for dinner. The shopkeeper took a page from an old basket to wrap the noodles and discovered it was a page from a Song Dynasty edition of The Book of Han. The bookseller immediately bought it and shipped it to Qian Qianyi's home in Changshu overnight. The collection was thus restored to its original form. Yu Li acquired the books of Li Zhengjun of Fanxie Mountain Villa, including a manuscript of Supplement to the History of Liao that was missing 50 pages. Despite his best efforts, he could not find the missing pages. One day, on Qingyun Street, he saw a monk carrying two baskets of paper and asked him to stop and examine them. They turned out to be old items from Fanxie Mountain Villa, and he bought them all. After two months of careful sorting, he found the missing 50 pages of the manuscript. Later, the book was published by the Wang family's Zhenqi Pavilion, and Yu Li's contribution was undeniable.
Ancient book collectors collected books for reading. "To collect books without reading them is no different from not collecting them" (Hong Liangji). The Ming Dynasty scholar Xu  owned 50,000 volumes and spent his days reading them, saying, "I believe the greatest joy in life is reading. Discovering an obscure phrase, recognizing an unusual character, encountering an extraordinary event, or seeing a fine sentence brings indescribable excitement." Chen Jieru loved reading and once said, "Reading books I haven't seen is like meeting a good friend; reading books I have seen is like encountering an old acquaintance." Ancient people often copied books to read, and book collections often included handwritten copies. Su Shi, after copying two Books of Han, proudly called it "the sudden wealth of a poor child." Ye Tingji often lamented his inability to copy all the books he borrowed, so he made dozens of large notebooks and copied only the useful parts, calling his copies The Sea Record.
From childhood to old age, I have always loved books and wanted to own many of them. However, in my youth, I lacked access to books, and in middle age, I lacked the means, so I could not fulfill my wish. But my desire to collect books has never faded, especially after reading some books about book collecting, which only deepened my admiration and longing. To express and alleviate these feelings, I collected stories of book collectors from past generations—those who loved, sought, copied, and read books—and compiled them into The Stories of Book Collecting. It is now published by Beijing Publishing House. I hope it will inspire young readers to develop an interest in book collecting.
(From the Overseas Edition of People's Daily, July 30, 2001, Page 7)