“Collection of ancient and modern books, Hong Kong connects the world” is the city image slogan of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Among them, “ancient and modern book collection” refers to the book collection culture represented by Tianyi Pavilion, which embodies the scholarly tradition of Ningbo as a famous historical and cultural city.
Tianyi Pavilion is the oldest existing private library in China and one of the three oldest family libraries in the world. It is located in the beautiful Moon Lake Scenic Area. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi was appointed as the county magistrate of Yinxian County, and hired “Qingli Mr.five” in Yuehu Lake, which promoted education and emphasized learning. Since then, academic research in eastern Zhejiang has sprouted. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Tianyi Pavilion, which was built under the auspices of Fan Qin, was located at the Moon Lake, and since then, it has been full of books.
Tianyige Museum is a special museum with Tianyige Library as the core and collection culture as the feature. It covers an area of more than 30,000 square meters and consists of three functional areas: collection culture area, garden leisure area and exhibition area. Tianyige Museum has registered more than 220,000 collections, featuring ancient books, calligraphy and painting, rubbings, etc. There are more than 160,000 ancient books, of which 5,493 were selected as “National List of Precious Ancient Books”.
Ming Lou yuan yuan
At the west gate of Tianyi Pavilion Museum, the plaque “Southern Book City” was hung above the entrance hall, which was written by Pan Tianshou, a master of Chinese painting, in 1962. The couplets on both sides are written by Gu Tinglong, a philologist and former curator of Shanghai Library. In 1981, Gu Tinglong came to Tianyi Pavilion to visit a book and wrote this couplet with Zhong Dingwen: “The source of Tianyi’s legacy is long and long, and it is especially difficult for Nanlei to hide for a long time.” The first part says that Tianyi Pavilion has a long history, and the second part contains the allusion that Huang Zongxi, a thinker in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, boarded Tianyi Pavilion as the “first person with a foreign surname”.
For a long time after the completion of Tianyi Pavilion, Fan’s library was privately owned and kept secret. It was not until the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1673) that Huang Zongxi broke the ban, boarded the cabinet, copied books and wrote “The Secretary of the Tianyi Pavilion”. At the beginning of the article, he said with emotion: “It is difficult to read, especially to collect books, and it is difficult to hide for a long time!” Since then, Tianyi Pavilion has become increasingly famous and is highly respected by the majority of scholars.
When I entered the west gate, I first saw a bronze statue with a book in my hand. This is the founder of Tianyi Pavilion-Fan Qin, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War in the Ming Dynasty.
“Fan Qin is a native of Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province. He likes to collect ancient books all his life.” Lou Zhuoyi, a commentator of Tianyi Pavilion Museum, said that Fan Qin not only has access to all kinds of books for officials to read, but also has the opportunity to search for books in different regions. In addition, he has a unique eye for books, so his collection is not only large but also very distinctive.
Rao Guoqing, vice president of Tianyige Museum, told the author that among the existing books in Fan Qin, the most striking ones are a large number of Ming Dynasty local chronicles, political books, imperial examinations, factual records, poetry collections and so on. “These books were not valued by people in the Ming Dynasty, so they were not widely circulated. They were rare in the Qing Dynasty and even rare today.” Rao Guoqing said, “For example, there are 271 kinds of Ming Dynasty local chronicles and.More than half of a large number of records of the imperial examinations after having obtained the provincial examinations and taking the national examinations are unique in China, which has irreplaceable documentary value for studying the history of the Ming Dynasty and the civil service system in China. “
Go on and come to Dongming Caotang. Dongming is the number of Fan Qin, and Dongming Caotang is the place where Fan Qin collected books before the completion of Tianyi Pavilion. Because of its small area and its connection with residential areas, it is easy to catch fire, Fan Qin decided to build an independent library, namely Tianyi Pavilion. After the completion of Tianyi Pavilion, the thatched cottage no longer houses books, but only serves as a study and a place to entertain guests.
Fan’s former residence, separated from Dongming Caotang by a wall, was originally the living area of Fan’s family. Standing in the east hall of Fan’s old house and looking east, Tianyi Pavilion Library came into view. There is a high wall between the two buildings and a tunnel between them, which separates the living area from the library area. “This is an elaborate arrangement made by Fan Qin to prevent the fire from spreading to the library.” Lou Zhuoyi introduced.
Three sculptures on the east side of the former residence caught the attention of the author. The sculpture in the center is Fan Qin in his later years, with his eldest son Fan Dachong on the left and his second daughter-in-law on the right. The sculpture shows the story of the Fan family’s division of property: when Fan Qin was preparing to divide the property in his later years, his second son had died, and his second daughter-in-law represented the second room. Fan Qin didn’t want his hard-earned collection of books to be scattered and lost, so he divided his property into two parts, one was twelve thousand silver, the other was all the books, and asked future generations not to divide the books. Fan Dachong, the eldest son, chose to inherit the collection of books, and later perfected the management system of Tianyi Pavilion, such as “books don’t leave the pavilion” and “children and grandchildren who enter the pavilion without reason are punished and sacrificed three times”. It is through careful management and strict clan rules that the collection of Tianyi Pavilion has been handed down from generation to generation.
From Fan’s former residence to the east, through the aisle, you come to Tianyi Pavilion. Tianyi Pavilion, also known as Baoshulou, is named after the plaque of Baoshulou written by Wang Yuanxiang, the chief of Ningbo during the Ming and Qin Long Dynasties, hanging on the second floor of the attic.
“This two-story building has not changed much since it was completed in the last years of Jiajing, except for three major overhauls in the early Qing Dynasty, the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.” Lou Zhuoyi introduced that Fan Qin’s books in the building once amounted to more than 70,000 volumes, which were gradually lost. At present, there are only 1 in Fan’s original collection..More than 30,000 volumes. However, compared with other famous libraries since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is very rare for Tianyi Pavilion to have tens of thousands of books preserved so far.
“It is a highlight moment in the history of Tianyi Pavilion to present books for Siku.” Rao Guoqing said that in order to compile the Sikuquanshu, Emperor Qianlong ordered the Jiangnan book collectors to present books. Fan Maozhu, the eighth son of Fan Qin, broke the ancestral motto of “books should not be published” and presented 638 kinds of books. Later, 473 kinds were collected in the General Catalogue of Sikuquanshu, which was the most presented by the book collectors at that time. In order to reward the Fan family, Gan Longqin gave 10,000 volumes of The Integration of Ancient and Modern Books, and another set of copperplate prints “The Victory Map of Pacifying the Back Department” and “The Battle Map of Pacifying Two Jinchuans”. Today, these three sets of royal treasures are stored in the “Dragon Cabinet” with the pattern of playing pearls of Shuanglong in the Baoshulou.
When I visited the Baoshulou, I couldn’t help wondering: Located in the rainy south of the Yangtze River, how can this wooden structure keep the books intact? Ganlong was also curious about this and ordered Hangzhou Weaving Yin to come to Tianyi Pavilion for investigation. After the investigation, I summed up several points: first, build a wall with bricks on the left and right to isolate the fire source; Second, the bookcase opens the door before and after, storing books on both sides, which is ventilated and breathable; Third, put a stone under the bookcase to absorb moisture; The fourth is to cut a pool in front of the pavilion to store water and prevent fire. In addition, the name of Tianyi Pavilion is also meaningful. Legend has it that when the building was built, a pool was dug in front of the building, and the word “Tianyi” appeared faintly in the soil. Fan Qin understood the meaning of “Tianyi Life Water” and named the library building “Tianyi Pavilion”, and divided the first floor into six rooms, and the second floor into one room, which combined the saying that “Tianyi Life Water is 60% of the land” to achieve the effect of fire prevention.
When you step into the East Garden, you will come to the garden leisure area, the second visiting area of Tianyi Pavilion Museum. It used to be the garden of Shi Miyuan, the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the garden of Wen Yuan, the senior official of the official department, in the Ming Dynasty. The garden now presented to tourists was rebuilt in 1959 and was not fully completed until 1986.
The East Garden is surrounded by a circular corridor, and there is a big pond carved on the west side, with the name “Mingchi”. The combination of the garden name and the pool name is the name “Dongming” of Fan Qin, the founder of Tianyi Pavilion. On the east side of the park, cultural relics in Ningbo were relocated and translated, and many elegant scenic spots were arranged.
Passing through the Hundred Goose Pavilion, we come to Ninghui Hall, which collects calligraphy works. There are many copies of Lanting Preface since the Tang Dynasty, the most famous of which is the “Dragon Book” and Lanting Preface, which was carved on stone by Mo Le in the Ming Dynasty.
Why is “Dragon Book” and “Lanting Preface” precious? Rao Guoqing told the author that the original preface to Lanting was buried in Zhaoling mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, and there were many versions handed down by later generations. Today, scholars think that the “Dragon Book” is the most recent original. “Dragon Book” is a copy of Feng Chengsu, a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, and it is named because it has half a dragon seal before and after it. “Dragon Book” and “Preface to Lanting” can be divided into two forms: the copy refers to the double-filled ink book and the temporary writing book, while the engraving is the book carved on wood and stone for spreading. ancient book.Wang Lianqi, an expert in painting inscriptions and the “first person” in the calligraphy research of Lanting Preface in China, pointed out that the Lanting Preface in Tianyi Pavilion is the earliest stone carving of all the “Dragon Book” and “Lanting Preface”, that is, the “ancestral book” of all the “Dragon Book” Lanting engraving. Many calligraphy lovers have come to Tianyi Pavilion to appreciate Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy.
Collection of ancient books
Located in the north of Tianyi Pavilion Museum, the North Library is a modern library building built in 1981. Today, the first and second floors of the North Library are used to store ordinary ancient books, and the third floor is the ancient books restoration center.
Walking into the North stacks, you can see rows of neat bookcases through the glass. These bookcases are all customized by Tianyi Pavilion, the outer layer is made of elm, and the shelves inside are made of camphor wood. The bookcase usually opens the door from front to back, and stores books on both sides. The ancient books are placed flat on the shelf, and there are white bags of wild grass between the books.
“This kind of grass has a strong fragrance, which can prevent moths and drive moths and protect books.” Zhou Huihui, a research librarian at the Institute of Ancient Books and Local Literature of Tianyige Museum, told the author that “weeds and weeds, stones and stones are moisture-proof” is the old collection method of Tianyi Pavilion, which is still in use today.
Tianyige now has more than 160,000 ancient books, including more than 30,000 rare books, which are divided into classics, history, philosophers, collections and collections. In 2010, Tianyi Pavilion built a new stack room, basically achieving constant temperature and humidity, which is more conducive to book preservation.
Walking into the rare book library (not a tourist area) in the new book library, the author asked, “What is a rare book?” “Good is good, and rare books mean good books.” Zhou Huihui explained that ancient books are divided into four levels, one or two or three are rare books, and the fourth level is ordinary ancient books. There are three main sources of rare books in Tianyige Museum: one is Fan’s original collection; Second, donations from well-known bibliophiles in Ningbo, such as Zhu Dingxu’s Bie Zhai, Feng Zhenqun’s Fu Yi Shi, Sun Jia’s humble abode, Zhang Jiyan’s Qiao Zhai and Yang Ronglin’s Qing Fang Ge, etc. The third is the transfer of Ningbo Cultural Relics Management Committee and other units. “Although the variety and quantity of Tianyi Pavilion’s books are not comparable to those of the National Library, they have distinctive features and extraordinary value.” Zhou Huihui said.
Tianyige is the library with the largest collection of local chronicles and imperial examinations in Ming Dynasty. According to the statistics of “Textual Research on Local Records of Ming Dynasty Collected in Tianyige”, Fan Qin collected as many as 415 kinds of local records of Ming Dynasty, which was more than that recorded in “Records of Ming History and Arts”. Among the 271 kinds of local chronicles of the Ming Dynasty in Tianyige, 164 kinds are isolated in China.
China’s imperial examination documents in the past dynasties were best preserved in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, there were 89 subjects, and Tianyi Pavilion originally contained the records of the four-year trial of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1371) and the records of Jinshi’s entrance to the subject, as well as the extremely rare records of the two-year trial of Jianwen (1400). From the fifth year of Xuande (in 1430) to the thirteenth year of Wanli (in 1585), all the examinations and entrance records of more than 50 subjects were complete, and only 10 kinds were missing before Xuande five years ago.
Among them, the most representative is “Hongwu four years Jinshi Dengke”.Record “. “This is our’ treasure of the town hall’, which records the grand occasion of the first imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty-Hongwu’s four-year entrance examination. There are almost no imperial examination documents before the Ming Dynasty, and this one hidden in Tianyige is the earliest extant physical examination record. ” Zhou Huihui said.
The collection of poems and essays of Ming Dynasty writers in Tianyige Museum, as well as various records, political books, official orders, military orders, statutes, business rules, school rules, posts exposed, confessions, recitations and readings in Ming Dynasty are also quite rich.
“They are the first-hand materials that historians and judicial researchers urgently need. Without Fan Qin’s nearly 30 years of experience in politics and military management, these documents are hard to find. ” Zhou Huihui introduced that Tianshengling is a long-lost legal document in the Song Dynasty, and now there are only fragments left. It is a precious material for understanding the system of laws and regulations in the Northern Song Dynasty and the population problem, and it is also of great significance to the study of Tang Ling.
“Tianyige’s collection of white cotton paper manuscripts in the Ming Dynasty is unique.” Zhou Huihui said that Fan Qin always tries its best to copy good books that it can’t afford to buy. These manuscripts are excellent in pen and ink, and most of them use high-quality cotton paper, so they are durable. For example, the sixty-six volumes of the Ming manuscript “Chongwen Zongmu” collected by Tianyige is the earliest existing version of the large-scale official bibliography “Chongwen Zongmu” in the Song Dynasty.
Tianyige engraving is also quite distinctive. Fan Qin loves to engrave books, and employs dozens of engravers to make it scale.
“Fan Qin’s four volumes of” Memorial “are engraved treasures. Memorial is an official document, and the original manuscript is generally hidden in the cabinet or the imperial historical records, and it is impossible for emperors to include them one by one. Only Fan Qin himself, who is both the original author and an expert in book engraving, can save it and Fu Zi it. ” Zhou Huihui said that the Memorial truly recorded the relevant materials of the anti-Japanese struggle in the Ming Dynasty.
More than 20 kinds of Fan’s Wonder Books, Sima Wengong’s Record of Ancient Records, Annals of Bamboo Books and Shuoyuan were all personally engraved by Fan Qin, and Fan Qin’s collection of poems and poems, Tianyige Collection, was published and engraved by his eldest son, Fan Dachong. Most of the printed editions, such as Fan’s Strange Books and Tianyige Collection, are still preserved in Tianyige, and the books and leaves of the books reflect each other.
In addition to the rare books of the Ming Dynasty, the manuscripts, manuscripts and school-based books of famous writers in the Qing Dynasty are also the bright pearls in Tianyi Pavilion’s collection. Zhou Huihui told the author that the ancient books donated by local bibliophiles in the Qing Dynasty (including the late Ming and early Qing dynasties) included both illustrated and colorful manuscripts, as well as incisive and original proofreading and inscriptions by celebrities in different periods.
“Wan Sitong’s” Ming History Draft “manuscript is the only preserved manuscript in the twenty-four histories. The manuscripts of Ming Copywriting and Ming Ming Hai (the latter is an expansion of Ming Copywriting) edited by Huang Zongxi, the former has 217 volumes and the latter has 482 volumes, most of which are Ming Dynasty documents that cannot be found elsewhere, thanks to the compilation of these two books. ” Zhou Huihui added, “The Night Sailing Boat is an important work of Zhang Dai, which has been passed down to this day because of the Qing manuscripts collected by Tianyi Pavilion. Mao in late Ming and early Qing dynasty.Ji Yun, a copy of Ji Gu Ge’s shadow song dynasty, Pan Taohui, a copy of Qing Xi Geng Tang, and Xu Wenchang Yi Cao are all very rare manuscripts. The most famous school-based collection in the Qing Dynasty is Gu Guangqi’s Annotation on Rites, which contains more than 1,000 proofreadings by Gu, vividly reflecting the working methods and processes of collators in the Qing Dynasty. “
Ge Wen Tian Xia
From the private library to the public museum, from “the book stays in the cabinet” to “the cabinet is famous in the world”, Tianyi Pavilion has already completed the transformation of its identity. Today, Tianyi Pavilion is not only a symbol of traditional context, but also a cultural landmark and “meeting room” of the city.
In recent years, Tianyige Museum has held nearly 100 cultural activities every year, which has achieved good response. Since 2020, the series of activities of “Reading One Day and One Night” has been launched, each period interprets a collection in a new way, and makes the cultural relics in the collection “live” through wonderful audio-visual presentation. During holidays, Tianyi Pavilion will hold activities such as opera performances, Hanfu exhibitions, and national music flash, so that visitors can experience the charm of traditional culture in an immersive way in the antique garden terrace.
“We have held a number of activities to show Chinese traditional etiquette culture, such as the’ Burning Youth’ and the gift-giving experience in last year’s Festival, which reappeared the adult ceremony of ancient Han women-the gift-giving.” Wang Yizhen, deputy director of the activity promotion department of Tianyige Museum, said.
In February this year, the Bao Beizhuang experience activity of “Learning to Dress and Accommodate” was held in the Champion Hall of Tianyi Pavilion Museum. Under the guidance of professional teachers, participants “put on new clothes” for their love books with the special cover paper of Tianyi Pavilion ancient books. “Bao Beizhuang is a binding form of ancient books in China, which originated in the late Southern Song Dynasty and became the mainstream in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.” Li Jieying, director of the Cultural Relics Restoration Center of Tianyige Museum, introduced that the purpose of this activity is to let more people know about the evolution of the binding form of ancient books in China and the shape characteristics of Bao Beizhuang, and to feel the exquisiteness of China’s traditional handicraft skills by making Bao Beizhuang by hand.
“As a demonstration base for international exchange in Ningbo, Tianyi Pavilion Museum actively builds a bridge for international cultural exchange, tells the story of China and spreads Chinese culture.” Zheng Weiwei, deputy secretary of the Party branch of Tianyige Museum, introduced that in 2016, 11 kinds of precious ancient books collected by Tianyige went abroad for the first time and appeared in the exhibition “40th Anniversary of the Excavation of Xin ‘an Submarine Cultural Wealth” in South Korea. In 2018, Tianyi Pavilion Museum participated in the Hong Kong International Authorized Exhibition, and Fan Qin’s cartoon image “Pavilion Master” was displayed on the same stage with international cultural brands such as Astro Boy and Transformers; From 2015 to 2019, Tianyi Pavilion Museum held five consecutive “Chinese Contest for Foreigners in Ningbo”; The “Tianyi Pavilion Forum” has been held for seven times, and experts and scholars from more than 30 countries and regions have been invited to Ningbo to hold discussions on topics such as ancient books, writing, aesthetics, literature, and cultural protection of ancient buildings.
“We also use digital technology to carry out online communication and interaction.” Zheng Weiwei.Tian Yige Museum launched the international cultural dialogue program “Tianyi Talk”, connecting experts and scholars from Oxford University, Yanjing Library of Harvard University and Ohio University. This activity not only transmits overseas cultural knowledge to the domestic public, but also enhances the international popularity of Tianyi Pavilion. This year, Tianyi Pavilion will also hold two sessions of “Tianyi Talk” to talk with the Italian Medici Lorenzo Library and the Italian Malatesta Library, so that the three ancient libraries in the world will be more closely linked.
“In the future, we will continue to plan and carry out special cultural activities, and use new media and new ways to strengthen communication, so that Tianyi Pavilion will have an’ international model’ and the book will float further.” Zheng Weiwei said. Fang Peng Yimeng