"Readings at the Pavilion of Swallow's Arrival (Volumes 1 and 2) (Hardcover)"

Author: Huang Chang
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: "Laiyan Pavilion" 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 insights after reading a book, often writing them directly in the book. Annotations written at the beginning are called "titles," while those written at the end are called "postscripts." The content mainly 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. In the book world, he is revered as "Huang's Annotations and Gu's Corrections," with "Huang's Annotations" referring to books annotated by Huang Pili. It is also 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. No matter how worn-out the book was, as long as it bore even a few lines of his annotations, its value would increase tenfold—or even more—which 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 his daily life, creating a unique and vivid style of annotation. 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 same sentiments and principles remain deeply connected.