Book Annotations of Zhu Yan Lou: A Series of Catalog Entries and Annotations on Chinese Books (Volume 2)

Author: Pan Jingzheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Mr. Pan Jingzheng is a renowned bibliophile and specialist in textual criticism and bibliography in modern times. This book collects 403 prefaces written by him based on the rare books he has owned or encountered. It includes fine editions from the Song and Yuan dynasties, excellent prints from the Ming and Qing dynasties, manuscripts, annotated copies, and drafts, among which the ancient books in the fields of philology, epigraphy, the classics, late Ming history, rare local gazettes, and lyric and dramatic studies are particularly abundant. Many of the prefaces provide summaries of the transmission of the books, offering great help to scholars. It was reprinted based on the 1957 edition by the Classical Literature Publishing House.
The prefaces in this book total four hundred and three, collected over thirty years of my collecting and encountering. Gathering scattered fragments, only a small part remains. Like the firefly's light against Mount Sumeru, how could it ever be worthy of being shown to the world. But I recall my life's accumulation, like fleeting clouds passing before my eyes, and I dedicate this to the mud traces of my ambitions. As for those who speak without substance and whose affairs are in disarray, confined to the narrow world of oxen and sheep, and with the belly of a mole, only to bring ridicule to those who come later.
From a young age, I was orphaned and early exposed to the art of calligraphy and carving. My bed and pillows were filled with books, and the library was complete. Since my early twenties, I have roughly understood the path of learning. Master Zhang of Yuhang instructed me in the classics and history. Master Wu of Shuangyai guided me into the world of lyric and dramatic studies. Though confused and tight-fisted, I was deeply inspired by their teachings. Yet, my greed for more and my pursuit of knowledge still left me with fragmented and scattered studies.
Beyond learning and arts, I am deeply fond of books and inscriptions. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, I had already economized on clothing and food, determined to exhaustively search for ancient texts and rare characters from all corners of the world. From the year Renxu to Bingzi, over fifteen years, I accumulated thirty thousand volumes of books and twenty thousand inscriptions. My ledger books were filled with red and yellow annotations, and I am content in this realm of books.