[Editor's Note] From the capital of the emperor to the beautiful land, from the tragic city to the ten generations of cities, from Qinhuai culture, Qingliangshan culture to Zhongshan culture, from Ancient capital of the Six Dynasties to the capital of literature, Nanjing's complex connotation, temperament and soul are attracted by people. Nanjing writer Xue Bing episodes 40 years of experience in Nanjing history, archaeology, geography, culture research and writing. It has transformed Nanjing's mountains, rivers, characters and famous places into "Home Lives in the Smoke and Water of the Six Dynasties". It has been sold for 20 years since its publication. The new version was published in 2022. The author has made comprehensive revisions, studied urban space, explored historical events of the past dynasties, analyzed the true facts of the characters, added Nanjing's new chapter in the new century, and added more than 300 Nanjing pictures by the late German photographer Heda Morrison (authorized by the Yanjing Library of Harvard University) and Nanjing photographer Feng Fangyu, showing Nanjing's historical and cultural temperament in all aspects and space.
Authorized by the publishing house, chapters about old books and cultural relics in Nanjing were selected, and fresh images were attached to Heda Morrison captured by vivid images after visiting Nanjing in 1944. On the journey to deepen the "Literary Capital" in Nanjing, they looked back at the magnificent cultural context of Jinling and appreciate the active appearance and interesting news of the former Chinese cultural center.
"Home Lives in the Smoke and Water in the Six Dynasties", written by Xue Bing, Houlang | Beijing United Publishing House, July 2022
Nanjing is a place of cultural heritage - "Humanities Gathering" is a big topic, so here can only choose two small details of "old books" and "cultural entertainment" from the edge of "humanities" and "cultural entertainment" to say a few words for people to relax.
The current significance of the concept of "old books" should have been gradually formed since the 20th century. The development of its connotation can be roughly divided into three stages: in the first half of the 20th century, mostly refers to carved thread-bound books, which is what is commonly known as "ancient books". Compared with newly emerging dress books, its form is "old". After the 1950s, publications from the Republic of China were added. Insiders called "old editions of books" and "old paperback ". Compared with publications in New China, its content was "old", and publications before the Republic of China were called ancient books - this was the name of "old bookstore". Since the mid-1980s, Xinhua Bookstore has continuously reduced the price of the new version of "popular bestsellers" that was released. At first, it was called "special price". By the end of the 1990s, because "old books" were rare, the ancient books in stock in the old bookstore were sent to auctions. In addition to the newly printed ancient books, the store basically only sold popular "special price books". At the beginning of the 21st century, various publishing houses cleared their warehouses on a large scale, and dumped them as low as 10% off. "Five Yuan Bookstores" sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, becoming the main body of the "old book" industry.
As for "cultural play", it is commonly known as antiques and antiques. Perhaps because appreciating antiques requires sufficient cultural heritage, most of the people who can appreciate antiques are literati, so there is a "play" thing for "literary" people, which is a nearly patented title. Of course, the powerful and wealthy people also like this, while the literati have another saying, regarding it as "artificial elegance." In other words, literary and artistic works should be based on elegance, quietness, exquisiteness, richness, and endurance. The high-sounding statement is to "examine the gains and losses of the rules and regulations, and make up for the shortcomings of history and fishing for history", rather than winning by virtue of the value.
Nanjing has always been a distribution center for pictures and cultural relics.
books are like green mountains often stacked. Sanshan Street The charming scene of the used bookstore. All pictures in this article are provided by the publisher
Let’s talk about old books first. The old book market in a city can be regarded as an important yardstick for evaluating its cultural heritage. Nanjing's book market has a long history. In the Ming Dynasty, it was ranked as one of the four major book centers in the country, along with Beijing, , Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Until the late Qing Dynasty, the bookstores in the Confucius Temple area of Sanshan Street and the bookstores in the Zhuangyuan Realm area were still praised by scholars. During the Republic of China, Nanjing became an important book publishing center and marketing center in the country. The book industry distribution center gradually developed from south to north from Confucius Temple to Grand Palace , with Taiping South Road Street, and as many as 40 or 50 bookstores of all sizes and sizes.Especially the Yanggongjing Hua Pailou area has become the distribution center for new versions of dress books, including Nanjing Branch of Commercial Press, Zhonghua Bookstore Nanjing Branch, World Bookstore Nanjing Branch, Kaiming Bookstore Nanjing Branch, Beixin Bookstore Nanjing Branch, Shenzhou Guoguangshe Nanjing Branch, Central Bookstore, Zhengzhong Bookstore, etc. Although some old-style bookstores that operate carved thread-bound books moved to Taiping South Road, they still focused on the Confucius Temple area. This should be because ancient books, especially rare ancient books, are becoming increasingly far away from practicality and are closer to cultural relics. The main distribution center of antiques and cultural relics in Nanjing was still in the Confucius Temple area at that time.
Many scholars have written about the grand occasion of Nanjing's book market from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. The most commonly cited is Ji Yong 's "Baimen Mailing Secretary", which records the situation of Nanjing used bookstores in the early 1940s in detail. In fact, Professor Wang Pijiang, a professor at Central University, described the situation of the book market in Huapailou and the top scholar in his diary in 1928, and it is not as good as before. In 1929, Mr. Zhong Jingwen visited Qinhuai and wanted to buy some thread-bound books at the Jiangnan Official Bookstore. "After checking the catalog, it was so empty," he was still able to "buy a " Moling Ji " at will." It can be seen that the old bookstores at that time could also make up a saying, "A lean camel is bigger than a horse." To this day, even the bones of camels have turned into dust. After the victory of Anti-Japanese War , a new landscape appeared in the old bookstore, which is Japanese books, "and there are a large number of printed really exquisite archaeological excavation materials and large-scale art books." I still have the chance to buy several such books half a century later, but it must be noted that the so-called "archaeological excavations" are mostly archaeological excavations made by the Japanese in China, and should be classified as cultural invasion and colonial behavior. Not to mention the books they learned from the predecessors at that time, they mentioned the bookstores, Hanwenzhai on the north of Zhuque Road, Baowentang and Guocui Bookstore on the south of the road, Cuiwen Bookstore and Qingfu Bookstore on the south of Taiping Road, Youhai Bookstore and Wenhai Bookstore in Zhuangyuan Realm, Wenjing Hall and Cuigushanfang on Gongyuan West Street, Zhiyuan Bookstore on Mochou Road... Now it is simply incredible.
Meisheng Paper No., located in the prime location of Pingshi Street intersection of Shengzhou Road. There were many scholars and many paper businesses, and in the past, there were no less than dozens of paper businesses in Nanjing.
In the early 1960s, when I was able to read white books in old bookstores, there were still a wide variety of books on the bookshelf. I vaguely remember several old bookstores at that time. First, in the east and west markets of Confucius Temple, many ancient books were sold in line, and they also sell four treasures of calligraphy, painting and study. Second, in the Yanggongjing area, that is, the famous "Hua Pailou" during the Republic of China, the old books were also of high quality, mixed with newly published Soviet novels. Third, in the Xinjiekou vendor market, the categories of books were very mixed; Fourth, in the Tangzi Street , the street stalls were close to street stalls, and books were like waste paper. By the way, for nearly half a century, except for the original site of the Xinjiekou vendor market, the Jinling Hotel was built in the early 1980s, and since then, they have never had a chance with the old book market, and the other places have always maintained a subtle relationship with the old book transactions.
Since modern times, Nanjing’s antique industry has been relatively concentrated in the areas of Confucius Temple in Chengnan and Shengzhou Road in Chengxi to Chaotian Palace . The ins and outs of the two places also have their own stories.
Confucius Temple is a general term, and its scope is far more than a corner of the Confucius Temple back then, but roughly includes Jiangnan Gongyuan in the east, Zhanyuan Road in the west, Big, Small, East and West Shiba Streets in the south, Zhuangyuanjing and Qiwan Street in the north (now merged into Jiankang Road). Because the scope of Nanzhili in the Ming Dynasty and Jiangnan Province in the early Qing Dynasty all include Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Anhui. The candidates' provincial examinations are all in Nanjing, Jiangnan Gongyuan. During the year of scientific examinations, scholars from the two rivers flock to come, and various industries serving them come into being. The most prominent of them are brothel groups and cultural relics stores.
Qiwan Street was originally named Qiwang Street. Later, it was criticized as Qiwan Street because of the competition for many antique cultural and cultural stores. Among them, the longest-standing and largest scale is Qiwan Pavilion, which not only has a wide business scope, but also has outstanding reputation.In the late Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination was abolished, and the status of Qiwan Street was not greatly affected. In the winter of 1924, the warlord Qi Xieyuan was removed from the position of governor of Jiangsu. When he was withdrawing from Nanjing, the riots took the opportunity to rob Qiwan Street. Qiwan Pavilion and other businesses were looted, and Qiwan Street never recovered.
After the National Government established its capital in Nanjing, the antique and cultural relics industry began to revive again. The subsequent shops were transferred to Gongyuan West Street and the east and west market areas surrounding Dacheng Hall. At that time, the larger scale was included in Gongyuan West Street, Qiwan Pavilion, Jicuizhai, Yiyuanzhai, Chunyuanzhai, Songbaozhai, Leguzhai, Wang Yuji, etc. Lu Xiaosong, the owner of Chunyuanzhai, has a good vision of identifying porcelain. Legend has it that his father was originally a master of porcelain learning. Later, he was blind and could roughly determine the authenticity by using his hands instead of his eyes. Yang Lemin, the owner of Leguzhai, was once the chairman of the antique industry and has rich knowledge and experience in various antiques. Jicuizhai is a joint venture between Chen Xinmin and Li Shoutong. Li Shoutong went to Shanghai to learn art when she was young, and studied ancient porcelain for more than 3 years. She also had a high jewelry acquaintance. She once opened a Boyaxuan on Zhanyuan Road. Chen Xinmin was a high-level player in Lu Xiaosong, and later went to Shanghai to learn calligraphy and painting appraisal. Not only was he a master of painting in Confucius Temple, but he also imitated Qi Baishi shrimps and crabs that were all real. Therefore, at that time, the antique shops in Confucius Temple encountered difficulties in ceramics, calligraphy and painting, and the previous Jicuizhai was often able to solve the problem. Wu, the owner of Dihuazhai, is a family of antiques in Nanjing. His business was quite large before the Anti-Japanese War, and his Japanese invasion of Nanjing was declining day by day. Luo Xiangji's owner Luo Sixiang has a very high vision in identifying jade gems.
The middle section of Caixia Street is cramped and the shops are bustling.
In addition, there are Shen Runsheng, Jing Gushe, etc., and dozens of them are counted. There are many bronze and white jade, ancient pottery porcelain, Song and Ming engravings, calligraphy and paintings, and there are all kinds of exquisite and precious works. As far as calligraphy and painting are concerned, Wen Zhengming 's "Golden Jiao Felling Picture", "Banmen Orchid Picture", "Baiyan Picture", Jianjiang 's "Lonely Pine Picture Scroll of Cliffs", and Ma Yuan , Qiu Ying , Tang Yin, Xu Wei , Zhu Da, Shi Tao, Zheng Xie , etc., many works of Zhang Daqian , Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong , Fu Baoshi , Su Manshu , Liu Haisu , etc. have been circulated in Confucius Temple.
Some foreigners in Nanjing at that time, such as the Japanese Consul General in Nanjing Yoshiro Sumama, the German Ambassador to China Todman, and British and American Envoys to China, also often visited the Confucius Temple to search for antiques. Among them, Fu Kaisen, a sinologist who has lived in China for more than 50 years. He has served as the director of Jinling University for a long time. He was hired as an advisor to the Executive Yuan of the Presidential Office and the National Government. Later, he donated nearly a thousand antiques and treasures he earned in 40 years to the Chinese government. This batch of rare treasures has many varieties and large numbers. Zhou Keding in bronze ware, Song Xian's letters in calligraphy and painting, the only legacy works of " Picking Ertu ", Song Tunes "Wang Youjun Daguan Tie" and "Ouyang Lugeng Cursive Writing" are all national treasures and provide good conditions for the Institute of Culture of Jinling University to carry out archaeological and cultural research.
Pen and ink shop, pen, ink, paper and ink, and four treasures of study were indispensable for literati in the past. What is the appearance of
and high-quality treasures are constantly emerging, and fakes are emerging one after another. From the imperial seals to the tokens of famous prostitutes, people have forged them. Shen Runsheng Antique Store can identify antiques for free on behalf of customers, but there are more than ten casual seals in the store that are difficult to distinguish between real and fake. Some masters who imitate antiques also set up camps at Confucius Temple, such as Yin Chousheng, who was in the forefront of the imperial examination, specialized in imitating calligraphy and paintings of famous artists. He only had a few "works" a year, which was enough for him to smoke opium. There is also an old craftsman on Zhanyuan Road who has not been named. He specializes in repairing antiques and can be made seamlessly. Even people who spend a lot of money to buy fake antiques are most unwilling to make a statement because they will be laughable when they spread, and the loss is not just money. Of course, antique dealers dare not deceive people with high status and powerful enough.
There are roughly several sources of antiques, cultural relics and ancient books on the Nanjing market back then. First, we go to Yangzhou , Suzhou, Huizhou and other places to purchase it, second, we search for local dilapidated wealthy families, and then we are a special forex trading market from Nanjing - the black market.
The history of Nanjing's black market that can be verified has been directly pushed to the Ming Dynasty. There is a record in the notes of Ming people that "the ancient saying says 'Jinling City Heyueguangli'" and it also shows that in the late dynasty, there were still night markets on Yinhongqiao and Wuding Bridges, which were roughly in the western section of Changle Road today. The emergence of the black market has led to an unprecedented prosperity in terms of quantity and quality in Nanjing's freakfast industry. The first new industry that emerged was the black market dealers, who were active in the night, ruthlessly plundering all kinds of items from the old owners, and then sold them to their new owners. A profitable product can be resold several times on the black market overnight, and the price will be multiple or even dozens of times. The revenge on them was that all kinds of counterfeit and fake products began to appear on the black market, causing insensitive counterfeiters to suffer a lot. At this point, the black market has formed its own complete system with its unique "dark sky, dark people, dark goods, and dark prices".
Because the sources of goods in the black market are subtle, the real and fake are mixed, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad, it has become a place for antique cultural and cultural merchants to use gold. Back then, antique shops such as Qiwange and Leguzhai had elite workers who specialize in the black market. These people were quick-witted and clever. They were also smart and skillful. They often found a priceless treasure at a very low price. After repairing and sorting, they made hundreds of profits, which made people convinced.
