Streets of the Jinjiang River 40: Yan's father and son and the Ben Garden

Chengdu has changed dramatically over the past century. An American living in the western part of Sichuan Province lamented that Chengdu, with its long history and rapid urban development, has lost its old buildings and its ancient style! In fact, Chengdu, some of the narrow streets and alleys, there are still a very small number of old buildings remain, although as rare as a phoenix, but vaguely reveals the story of the old Chengdu, preserving the history of the city, which is difficult to know in the "foreigners". Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, not far behind the commercial field, the ancient Huayang County, now Chengdu Jinjiang District, Heping Street, No. 16, Sichuan Provincial Library staff quarters in Ben (read bi, four) garden library, that is, as an example.

Ben Yuan library for the early Qing dynasty bibliophile Yan Ouyang began to build, in the hands of his stepson Yan Gu sound completion, and his life's work and management. Its reputation, and Yan's father and son and his book collection is inseparable. Yan Oceans (1855-1918 AD) was originally named Zuxin (祖馨), with the character Deyi (德舆), later changed to Yanfeng (雁峰), and was called Benyuan (贲园). His ancestral home was Weinan in Shaanxi Province. His ancestors were wealthy salt merchants who lived in Sichuan. Yan Ouyang entered the Chengdu Zunjing Academy at a young age and studied under Wang Luyun. "After failing to pass the countryside examination, he abandoned the school and, with his family's wealth, "traveled to the north and south, searching for strange books and old books" (Lin Shanfu's words). Yan Ouyang to collect books as a lifelong career, and selected books engraved engraving, reading and writing books, become a generation of great collectors, but also scholars and poets.

As a poet, Yan Ouyi, Benyuan Poetry Banknote, collected by his book "both the crown set", "Taihua return set" (Paixue set) in the poems of 59. At the end of the volume, there are engravings of Mr. Yanfeng's Acts written by Zhang Senkai of Hezhou, Mr. Yan Jun's Epitaph and Preface written by Song Yuren of Fushun, Mr. Yan Jun's Family Biography written by Liao Ping of Jingyan, and Mr. Yan's Biography written by Jin Zhenwei of Guiyang, which show its far-reaching influence. Chui Yuan Poetry Notes" engraved when Yan Ouyang has died, is the compilation of the stepson Yan Gu Sheng published, the end of each volume signed with "male style teach school zi".

Yan Oceans had no heir in his life, and there was no one to succeed him in the family business and career, so he succeeded a man from his old family and named him Gu Sheng. Yan invited to search for a stepson, said: "only seek to protect my 50,000 volumes of Tibetan books, then life wish enough. "Its collection of books for the body before and after the important thing of the mood, overflowing with words.

? Yan Gusheng (1899-1976 AD) was originally named style sea, also known as Gusun. He was a bibliophile, a cataloger, and a connoisseur of goldsmith's paintings and calligraphy, and took his name from the Book of Songs: "There were beans and peas in the middle of the plains, and the people picked them. The lacewing has a son, and Eumenes carries it. The Eugene Eurowin carried it. He taught the son of Haier, and the style of the grain was similar to it. The poem borrows Eumenes (a thin-waisted bee) to raise the son of lacewing, urging people to educate their children and grandchildren, and to carry on the virtues of their ancestors. This implies that Yan invited the painstaking efforts, and his intention to compete to be realized, his stepson Yan Gusheng inherited his body, carry forward his cause.

? Yan Gusheng first arrived in Chengdu, has passed the age of school, Yan invited for his son's study named "time over the study of Zhai", encouraging him to bury his head in the study, can not be relieved. Yan died, Gu Sheng was only 20 years old. But he kept the ancestral property, there is a high collection of books can be read, and smart and studious, from childhood there are father and Zhang Senkai such as the learning of the great ear, taught to learn, and all the friends are the famous old people, learn by ear and learn by heart, and become a great man. A few decades later, he inherited the collection of books grew exponentially; over the years immersed in the study, so that he catalogs of ancient books, version of the ancient canonical system, local customs, celebrities, calligraphy and painting authenticity, are able to understand, to solve the problems and answer questions. Republic of China 26 years (1935), he and Zhang Daqian met in Beiping, Mr. Daqian also impressed by his knowledge.

Yan Gusheng inherited his father's business, book collection, reading, engraving and printing books, the number of varieties of books to reach the peak, the early days of the establishment of new China, has more than 300,000 volumes.

Chuan Yuan library, is Yan's book collection, the Qing Yongzheng years (1723 ~ 1735 AD), here is the Jingxun building, for the Qing Dynasty General Yue Zhongqi famous general's mansion in Chengdu. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Yan Oceans bought Jingxun building, according to the style of imitation Royal Archives, in the Republic of China in three years (1914) to thirteen years (1924) built Ben Yuan library.

Located in Locke Gongzhi Street (now Peace Street) of the Yan residence, for the three courtyards, there are three gardens. The mansion is elegant and spacious, with flowers and trees in the garden, surrounded by bamboos. At the beginning of the establishment of new China, Yan's collection of books donated to the state, the house became the Chinese Department of the Sichuan Provincial Library. Provincial Library, the late researcher Mr. Tian Yichao has recorded: "Yan's former residence, the old more flowers and trees, acres between, oddly spitting Fen, Jia Shu Han Bi, its former owner of the name of the day Ben Yuan, in the "Zhou Yi" 'Ben Yu Qiu Yuan' meaning."

Mr. Tao Liangsheng, who taught Yan's children, further documented the Ben Yuan library and the surrounding environment: "Library built in the garden, the Department of Nanmu structure, tall and wide, outside the Charlottes stone, through the lattice, for the shape of the stone library, surrounded by planting ginkgo, Huang Huang, warm in winter and cool in summer, fresh and elegant."

Responsible for the garden library for a stone library-like building, the entire small building modeling simplicity, chi Yun heavy, built in the three courtyards in the innermost courtyard. Small courtyard door shed carved with "Yile" two seal characters. The small building is a two-storey green brick building, with a hermit-style roof, double eaves, rough eaves, and a stone-carved forehead at the end of the three upper floors, inscribed with the word "library". The bookstore is surrounded by small square windows, building windows symmetrical left and right, small and exquisite, with a balcony in the middle; the walls are feet and a half thick, all windows are equipped with waterproof boards, the eave is repaired under the eaves with waist eaves, small windows with air windows, moisture-proof, fire prevention, sunscreen have been carefully considered. There are some reliefs on the base of the building, carved with scrolling grass and white clouds, green lions and elephants.

Time has changed, the former three courtyards are now gone, behind the concrete buildings, fortunately, Ben Yuan library preserved, but was imprisoned in a small piece of heaven and earth, in the two branches and trunks of majestic, straight into the clouds of the ancient ginkgo tree. In terms of library functions and the size of the collection of books, within China, located in western Sichuan Ben Yuan library and the distant Ningbo Tianyi Pavilion and Hangzhou Jiayetang can be compared to the current situation, however, Ben Yuan library does not seem to be considered fortunate: Tianyi Pavilion as an independent cultural relics institutions, its size, the situation, since it is not to be said; Jiayetang is now gradual Jiang Provincial Library branch, the gardens in the outside, the book collection in which the elegance of the same; the only Ben Yuan library do not need to be discarded! The situation is awkward. Good in 2001, the Chengdu Municipal Government announced the blame garden library for the first batch of cultural relics in Chengdu City, to avoid the removal of the destruction of the doom.

Yan Yanfeng had Ben Yuan authored a pair of couplets, and written by the calligraphy of Yu Youren. Read the couplet, that is, read the Yan's father and son of the spirit of integrity, that is, the first day of Ben Yuan's pride: no title since the respect, not the official is also noble. The book is full of room, its rich Mojing.

? "Reading is difficult, hiding the book is especially difficult, hidden for a long time and not scattered is difficult and difficult." This is the aphorism of the Jiangnan Tianyi Pavilion collection of books, the founder of Fan soft. Yan's book collection is not as early as the origin of the Tianyi Pavilion collection, Tianyi Pavilion was built in the Ming Dynasty, and responsible for the garden library was built in the early Republic of China, Yan invited to collect the book collection began in the Qing Dynasty, far earlier than the period of the book library was built, but still a few hundred years later than the Tianyi Pavilion. However, Tianyi Pavilion collection of the richest books in the early Qing Dynasty for more than 70,000 volumes, and the responsibility of the garden library in the early days, Zhang Senkai had compiled mention of "the responsibility of the garden library directory series strategy) (after the volume of the "power supply", Fushun Song Yuren compiled by the Yan Division of responsibility of the garden library record, well Liao Ping compiled by the Ben garden library record, Huayang Lin Sijin compiled by the Ziyuan book library record, the end of the volume of the Yichou cold dew four days after the Yan Gu sound trekking), that is, the book recorded Ben garden of the book collection of the four parts of the book **** counted 14145 kinds of books, 45982 books, 115,232 volumes, Long Fu A in Shu; Republic of China to the end of Yan's collection of books at most, more than 300,000 volumes.

? Yan's collection and Hangzhou Jiayetang more comparable, are pre-Republic of China building, Jiayetang although the late construction of a few years, but the collection of the most books up to 610,000 volumes, nearly doubled Yan's collection of the most period, but to the founding of the new China, the preservation of its canonical books is far less than the only remaining 110,000 volumes, lagging behind the collection of the Yan's books.

Ben Yuan library collection of scripture, history, son collection of all four, especially the odd book, fine engraving of good books, orphaned books famous at home and abroad. This is a lone Song version of the "Huainanzi", "Chunhua Pavilion double hook character posters", but also Hulinji, Yan Shusen, Zeng Guofan letters to and from the manuscripts and military maps of the mountains and rivers, Liu Yongfu's staff, "so that the Vietnamese diary", etc., as well as a large number of cultural, medical, economic and other collections. Yan's father and son are through the Chinese medicine, but "aiming at the medical doctor, not medical", hope that through the collection of medical books for the medical practitioner to provide more documentary basis, so in Ben Yuan collection, traditional Chinese medicine books are very rich. Liao Jiping, a great scholar of medical books, said Ben Yuan "rich in books, especially detailed in the Department of medicine". Song version of the General Records of the Shengji, Ming version of the medical system of the pulse), and Japanese "Danboxiutang series of books," "are unusual and unavailable book". Yan Gusheng will be this batch of books recorded, engraved as five kinds of books, 34 volumes, the number of words up to one million. Among them, "the Golden Poverty and Typhoid Fever", "Ben Jing Feng Yuan" and so on are rare books. Former director of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, famous doctor Wu Zhaoshan preaching and teaching, that is, only choose this series of books as a teaching book, the reason is very simple: "to its reliability, to avoid the blackmail." As time passes, the years pass, showing the preciousness of this series of books.

Yan's father and son, not only to collect books as a life-long career, but also to carve the book is well known. Paper quality, handwriting, engraving and printing are called top quality, highly acclaimed in China and abroad. Yan Gusheng in honor of his father, engraved "Ben Yuan Poetry Notes", the plate mark "Weinan Yan's filial piety family school published in Chengdu", yellow paper bound in line with the 5 volumes of the full 1 book, version of the broad word large, engraved with exquisite workmanship, open the volume of the pleasing to the eye, can be said to be a model of the Republic of China engraved plate.

The garden collection of books rhyme rhyme canon is vast, Gong Xiangnong, to the Chu after several degrees of summer and winter, its organization, compiled into the "phonetics series" of 32 kinds of 123 volumes of books, experts known as the Tang and Song dynasty since the Chinese phonetics of the great, and by Yan Gu sound to hire carvers to carve and print out. This is the Yan's collection of ancient books of the masterpiece. Yan Gusheng had brought the book to Hangzhou to seek advice from the great scholar Zhang Taiyan, Mr. Taiyan appreciated, personally for the preface. This series of books has been sent to the exhibition of Leipzig, Germany, the Universal Exhibition, won a favorable review.

Yan Gu Sheng spared no expense, employing master craftsmen, engraved leather collection of fine products, in addition to gifts to domestic libraries and scholars, but also to overseas books. Britain, the United States, France, the Soviet Union and other countries, many large libraries, there are Weinan Yan's fine engraved books. During the war, the Soviet government received a gift of books, and Stalin personally signed a certificate of appreciation. The British Museum, Oxford University Library, and the Lenin Library all have their engravings on display. The Library of Congress has a special "Weinan Yan's engraved books room".

During the Republican period, the civil official, the mob and the white way, the sea at home and abroad, coveted Yan's collection of books and rare and good books abound, Yan Gu Sheng defied violence, not moved by profit, through the tribulations of the book preservation to the establishment of the new China, and then all donated to the state. Yan's book collection has become an important part of the Sichuan Provincial Library collection.

Sichuan local and travel to Sichuan scholars and celebrities, such as Xie Wuliang, Lin Shanfu, Pang Shi broom, Meng Wentong, Zhang Senkai, Song Yuren, Liao Ping, to Chu, Shao Lizi, Zhang Shizhao, Yu Youren, Shen Yinmo, Gu Jiegang, Chen Yinke, Zhang Daqian, Ye Qianyu, Xie Zhiliu, Ma Jiming, Zhu Shaobin, Tao Liangsheng and so on, have been the guest of honor at Yan's house, ask for the books of the Ben Yuan collection. Many of the world's famous literati, to Ben Yuan talk about poetry and literature waving calligraphy and painting, such as Zhang Daqian, during the war actually lived in Yan residence for nearly two years. During the war, Chen Yin Ke arrived in Chengdu, introduced by a friend, had gone to the Yan House, access to Yan's collection of books catalog, look through the Ben Yuan rare good orphan books.

At the beginning of the civil war, Lin Shan Yu asked to become the director of the Sichuan Provincial Library, is the pioneer of Sichuan public **** library services. Responsible for the garden library was built later than the creation of the Sichuan Provincial Library, but in the service of the community, to promote academic progress, Ben Yuan library is not even inferior to the function of the library. Zhang Senkai to Ben Yuan collection of books as a source, written into the general history of the table, "twenty-four history of the collation", "Sichuan Province through the ages of geography table" and other historiographical monographs; Song Yuren repair the provincial records of the county; Liao Ping examining the typhoid fever ancient book, the study of the Gongyang Guliang, are Ben Yuan collection of books as a source of information cited by the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the Ben Yuan, after the return of the Sichuan Provincial Library, become part of its collection, the permanent library. Become part of its collection, permanent preservation and service to society's function further manifested, should be implicit with the original intention of the Ben Yuan master.

Ben Yuan library, now hidden in the Jinjiang District, a corner of the street (editor's note: located in the depths of Heping Street), stands alone there. But not only the surface looks like that does not look like an old green gray building, which has been stored in two generations of bibliophiles, preserving the rich and precious Chinese culture and Sichuan culture of the countryside of the books, swept through the figure of the great sages if so.

? (Next: "Yan Lu Gong said Hall")