Reading Records from La Yan Pavilion (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Huang Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-03-01
Features: "Lai Yan Xie" is the name of Huang Chang's study, and "Reading Records" is essentially "Annotations." "Annotations" are a special genre, where ancient scholars would jot down their thoughts and reflections after reading a book, often writing them directly in the text or on the front or back of the book. The content usually revolves around (research and verification) and (criticism and evaluation). Among those who excelled in writing annotations and gained fame, the Qing Dynasty book collector Huang Pili stands out. The book world reveres him as "Huang's Annotations and Gu's (proofreading)," referring to books annotated by Huang Pili. It is said that "once annotated, the book's value increases tenfold." Huang Chang also remarked, "The value of books annotated by him (Huang Pili) was inflated to an unbelievable and absurd extent. Whether it was a worn-out book, as long as it bore even a few lines of his annotations, its value would increase tenfold—or even more. This is quite unreasonable." Beyond providing meticulous and reliable evaluations of the books themselves, Huang Pili's annotations also included details about his book-buying experiences, bookstores, dealers, prices, and collectors, as well as casual notes about daily life. This formed a unique and vivid style of annotations. In fact, Huang Chang's "Annotations" also bear the charm of "Huang's Annotations." "The spirit of the poor scholar lingers in old paper," though separated by centuries, the sentiment and principles remain deeply connected.