鳳子

葉景葵(1874—1949)，字揆初，號卷庵，浙江杭州人。光緒癸卯年(1903)進(jìn)士。辛亥革命后，棄官就商，走上實業(yè)救國的道路，擔(dān)任浙江興業(yè)銀行上?？傂卸麻L達(dá)三十年，是著名的銀行家。

在民國的金融業(yè)發(fā)展中，“葉氏”的名字鮮明地浮現(xiàn)，除了銀行家的風(fēng)采之外，更緣于其在另一片書香彌漫的世界中所留下的印跡，深刻到令人難以忘懷。左手金錢，右手書籍，“書香銀行家”是很多人給予葉氏最貼切的稱呼。

葉氏一生酷愛讀書藏書，《小謨觴館詩集注》是其購藏的第一部書。那年他剛十八，“得東城講舍月課獎銀七元，不足，向先母乞三元，遂得此書”。

1917年，藏書家吳昌綬嫁女，挑出所藏四十種明刊及舊抄善本，標(biāo)價千元求售，充當(dāng)嫁資。葉氏聽聞后大方出手，從此引發(fā)數(shù)十年搜集與整理古籍之“癖好”。但是，葉氏并沒有停留在秘籍珍玩的層次，而是別具匠心地以名家稿本、抄本及批校書為收藏對象。數(shù)十年苦心經(jīng)營，葉氏傾其積蓄，藏書兩千八百多部，計三萬余冊。嚴(yán)可均輯《全上古三代秦漢三國六朝文》、惠棟作《周易本義辯證》手稿、王念孫父子合校《管子》等，皆借用其所藏。

葉氏最珍貴的稿本要數(shù)從杭州抱經(jīng)堂購得的顧祖禹《讀史方輿紀(jì)要》手稿。葉氏剛拿到這部被書蟲蛀過的“世間孤本”時，是一大包碎爛不堪的故紙。葉氏“燈下排目整理，剔除蠹蟲蛀蟲不下數(shù)百”，接著請修書高手修補(bǔ)，費(fèi)時兩年，使瀕于毀滅的珍品重現(xiàn)，并在著名學(xué)者錢穆、張其昀等協(xié)助下，考訂出手稿為顧氏原稿。

“八一三”以后，滬上圖書文獻(xiàn)大量流失海內(nèi)外。葉氏親眼目睹了一些親朋故友的藏書，如鄧邦述“群碧樓”、宗舜年“咫園”、沈曾植“海日樓”、曹元忠“箋經(jīng)室”等，在戰(zhàn)火中毀亡殆盡。

1937年，葉景葵赴武漢公干，而寓所卻臨近火線，藏書面臨被毀的危險。張元濟(jì)在隆隆炮聲中，到葉家收拾整理。葉氏聞訊后深為感動，并致函稱謝。顧廷龍認(rèn)為，在此尺牘中，葉氏“第一次透露欲將個人藏書創(chuàng)辦私人圖書館的意愿”。的確，這則書史佳話成為上海私立合眾圖書館創(chuàng)辦的一個重要契機(jī)。

張元濟(jì)與葉景葵結(jié)識于張氏創(chuàng)辦的通藝學(xué)堂，葉氏當(dāng)時為學(xué)員。張氏挽葉氏詩云：“京洛論交始，今逾五十春。維新百日盡，通藝幾人存?”張氏主持的商務(wù)編譯所，從1913年始多次選舉葉氏為董事，共事中兩人交往漸深，相互推重。對于張氏的藏書實踐，葉氏極為贊賞：“海內(nèi)藏書家，能各就鄉(xiāng)先哲之遺著，加意收集，又能出其私藏歸諸公眾，則事得系統(tǒng)，可以積小成大，化零為整，于全國文獻(xiàn)，實有裨補(bǔ)。愿后來者，皆以菊翁（張元濟(jì)）為師也?！庇纱丝梢?，葉氏邀請張氏同為合眾發(fā)起人，并不是偶然的。

1937年11月5日，葉景葵在致張元濟(jì)的信函中第一次提到創(chuàng)辦私人圖書館的意向，“菊丈臺鑒，頃接通丈(陳叔通)信，知長者于危險之下為葵理故書，感惶無地”。信中還流露出了葉氏初喪妻室的悲傷：“近歲室人物故，私計不再購書，并擬訂將難得之本。一為整比捐入可以共信之圖書館?！比~夫人朱氏識書達(dá)禮，常為夫君伴讀，忽然病歿，留給葉氏的不僅是難平的傷痛，同時也堅定了他獻(xiàn)身圖書館事業(yè)的決心。

合眾創(chuàng)辦于1939年，典藏之外，還孜孜于提供閱覽和刊布流通，讓文獻(xiàn)資料發(fā)揮更大的價值，嘉惠士林，獲得了廣泛贊譽(yù)。在總干事顧廷龍的主持下，抱著“不求近效，暗然日章，風(fēng)雨如晦，雞鳴不已”的宗旨，苦心經(jīng)營，善始善終。經(jīng)過十四年的辛苦經(jīng)營，合眾的藏書達(dá)到二十五萬余冊，金石拓片一萬五千余種，具有相當(dāng)規(guī)模。1953年，在張元濟(jì)、陳叔通倡議并經(jīng)董事會決議后，將合眾全部文獻(xiàn)連同館舍，捐給上海市人民政府，成為上海圖書館歷史文獻(xiàn)的主要來源之一，在中國圖書館史上寫下了光輝的篇章。

合眾的發(fā)起人為葉景葵、張元濟(jì)、陳陶遺，第一屆董事會還包括陳叔通與李拔可。確如顧廷龍所說“諸位先生的貢獻(xiàn)都是巨大的”。然而葉氏作為首倡者，功勞尤其卓犖。有學(xué)者指出，憂國憂民的情懷貫穿了葉氏一生，豪爽俠義的性格在與朋友的交往中時時得以體現(xiàn)，此二者便是他熱心圖書館公益事業(yè)、創(chuàng)辦合眾的深層因素。

1939年，徐森玉寫給葉景葵的信中有這樣一段文字：“寶前在西南各地奔走……交通阻滯，盜匪出沒無常，將來為功為罪，不能自卜。唯北平圖書館存滬最精之本，盧溝變前，悉數(shù)寄歸平館，內(nèi)閣大庫舊藏明末清初地圖，全部陷在南京，此則最令人痛心者也?！倍瑯拥男耐匆渤翝撛谌~氏的心中。

合眾的創(chuàng)立源于葉氏對歷史文獻(xiàn)整理與保護(hù)的責(zé)任感和使命感，是他“化私為公”“化身千百”的藏書思想的實踐。葉氏在《抱經(jīng)堂藏書圖》題記中寫道：“古今藏書家，或供怡悅，或勤纂述，或貽子孫，終不免有自利之見存。若為利人之藏書，則整理研究，傳抄刊印，事事與自利相反，其功更溥，其傳更久。此即先哲所云‘獨樂不如眾樂，慎初其有意乎?”

合眾“志在使先賢未刊之稿或刊而難得之作廣其流傳”。葉氏倡立之旨即“建設(shè)一專門國粹之圖書館”，化身千百，嘉惠來學(xué)。合眾成立之初，葉氏“搜殘編于亂后，系遺獻(xiàn)于垂亡，已將敝齋舊藏悉數(shù)捐贈”。其后他陸續(xù)收羅捐獻(xiàn)，共計三千余種三萬四千余冊。

葉氏有傳統(tǒng)的藏書觀念，但并未受限于私藏思想的束縛。他所處的是新舊交替、求變與保守、新異與混亂、政治黑暗與思想活躍相交織的時代，社會上最受沖擊的是最早接觸外來思想的知識分子；新文化運(yùn)動發(fā)生，有譏諷者、有謾罵者，但同樣也有反思者，有限度地汲取新的思想與方法。葉氏堪稱是其中的一個代表，他的藏書思想集中地反映了這一點。

葉氏不僅是首創(chuàng)合眾的最大功臣，而且長期主持館務(wù)，為了合眾的發(fā)展殫精竭慮。在物色人才、采訪文獻(xiàn)以及接納捐贈等方面，葉氏都付出了巨大的心血，尤其是合眾的財務(wù)工作。他早年游學(xué)日本研習(xí)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)，后來又擔(dān)任浙江興業(yè)銀行董事長，所以深諳金融財政之方。建館不久，他就采取了幾項重要措施，以保證合眾的正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，維持于不倒。

合眾的創(chuàng)辦含藏著葉氏的高風(fēng)亮節(jié)，合眾的屹立成全了他人格的偉岸。葉氏不求致富，淡泊持己，雖長年處于膏腴之地，潔身自好，不斂資財，僅有的積蓄也用于購書和籌建合眾。1949年4月28日，葉景葵病逝。張元濟(jì)飽含深情作《挽葉揆初》四首，其一云：“萬卷輸將盡，豪情亦罕聞。君能成眾志，天未喪斯文?！?/p>

“平生有戀皆能舍”，“高風(fēng)世或無”，陳叔通、張元濟(jì)的評價，葉景葵當(dāng)之而無愧。

（本文圖片由作者與沈海濱提供）

Banker and His Precious Books

By Feng Zi

In the banking history of the Republic of China (1911-1949), Ye Jingkui (1874-1949) is a big name. He served as president of Shanghai-based headquarters of Zhejiang Industrial Bank for 30 years. Moreover, he is also celebrated as a prominent bibliophile and collector.

A native of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, Ye was a metropolitan graduate in 1903. After the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, he turned to business for a living.

His passion for books started when he was very young. He was offered an opportunity to buy a precious ancient book at the age of 18. He was paid seven silver dollars for a teaching job and it was three dollars short of the asking price for the book. He loaned the three silver dollars from his mother and brought the book back home.

In 1917, artist and book collector Wu Changshou put 40 ancient books from his private collection on the market for 1,000 silver dollars, in a bid to raise the money to buy the dowry for his daughter. Ye bought the books. This purchase marked the beginning of his decades-long career as a book collector and bibliophile.

Ye was a collector with a focus. He collected manuscripts and copies by masters and annotated books. Eventually he built up a private collection of more than 30,000 volumes in over 2,800 titles. What made Ye proud was that the books in his private collection helped scholars write books and write annotations on ancient classics.

The most valuable manuscript in his collection was a pile of notes on history by Gu Zuyu (1631-1692). The manuscript came in a huge bag of loose pages in disarray and in poor condition. Ye personally sorted disordered pages out and removed all the bookworms. Book repairers spent the next two years fixing and putting the book together. With the assistance of Qian Mu and Zhang Qiyun, both scholars of Chinese classics, Ye determined that it was the authors original manuscript.

When Japan invaded Shanghai in 1937, many well-known private libraries in Shanghai were destroyed in bombing and fire and many valuable books were sold to overseas collectors. While Ye was in Wuhan on business, Shanghai was in battle. His friend Zhang Yuanji came to his house to take care of the library. Ye was touched by the help and wrote to Zhang to express his gratitude. In the letter dated November 5, 1937, Ye said he would like to donate his collection. His wife had just passed away and he decided to discontinue the personal project. On the other hand, he knew an open library would help scholars and the public in various ways.

In 1939, Shanghai United Library opened to the public. The library offered opportunities for the public to read and reprint the books from Yes collection. Managed by Gu Tinglong, the library expanded. By 1953 when the library building with everything in it was donated to the Shanghai Municipal Government, the collection had 250,000 volumes and about 15,000 rubbings of inscriptions from stone steles and metals. Ye had added over 34,000 volumes in 3,000 titles after the collection turned public. The donated books and rubbings are now a significant part of the collection of ancient books at Shanghai Library.

A traditional scholar, Ye did not allow himself to be constrained by the practice and ideology of a traditional book collector. His was a time when China experienced upheaval and faced momentous clashes between the old and the new and when some people clung desperately to the past and some people wanted radical changes. When the New Culture Movement swept the whole nation in the late 1910s and the 1920s, some people lampooned and dismissed the radical movement and some absorbed new ideas to varying degrees. Ye was one of those who embraced changes.

Ye Jingkui was more than the mastermind behind the library. He also had his hands on the operation of the United Library. He helped find talents to run the library, collect literature, and accept donations. In particular, he managed the financial affairs of the library. After the library was up and running, he made financial arrangements to ensure the librarys financial soundness. That was how the library survived and flourished. □

No professor in the history of Hangzhou University has a more storied life than Professor Sun Xizhen (1906-1984) did. Sun Xizhens arrival in early September 1950 was sensational on the campus of Zhejiang University (at that time, this campus was part of Zhejiang University. In 1952, it was converted to Zhejiang Normal University, and in 1958, it became Hangzhou University).

Zheng Dian, the dean of the Chinese Department, informed his secretary that a professor surnamed Sun would come soon one day shortly after the new semester started in September 1950. On a rainy afternoon a few days later, Professor Sun stepped into the department office. He was dressed meticulously in a western suit, all the hair in place and wearing glasses.

The professor himself rarely mentioned his past. He was on loan from Nanjing University. When universities and colleges on the mainland underwent a national reorganization, Sun stayed in Hangzhou.

Suns arrival was sensational not merely because of his legendary life in the 1920s and 1930s but also because of his prominent scholarship in modern and foreign literature. The Chinese Department of Zhejiang University at that time had plenty professors of ancient classics, but there was no professor of modern literature and foreign literature. The three professors who taught modern literature had left. Suns arrival on the campus filled the gap of the Chinese Department.

Sun was fully qualified. Sun began to publish in 1922 when he came as a student to Beijing University. After the North Expedition, he published war novels. He also wrote a few novels about rural people, making him standing out in this field in the Northern League of Left-Wing Authors. In short, he was part of the modern Chinese literature when it was in full swing in the early 20th century.

Moreover, he taught western literature at universities in the 1930s and 1940s. During this period, his published research results included “Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and Art” and “A Study of British Literature”, which are considered pioneering in the respective fields in China. After leaving the North Expedition, Sun wrote four biographical books on Sinclair, Maupassant, Shelley, and Gorki, and translated East Indian Stories into Chinese.

After taking the teaching position at Zhejiang University, Sun as an authority on foreign literature participated in national seminars on foreign literature organized by the Ministry of Higher Education. In conjunction with other professor, Sun formulated a teaching synopsis s. He contributed to the establishment of a system for teaching foreign literatures in universities and colleges: four-year college students of Chinese major would study foreign literatures for two years starting in the third year, with two semesters for western literatures, one semester for Soviet and Eastern European literatures and one semester for oriental literatures. This system was later adopted across the mainland. When professors in China joined hands in writing textbooks, Sun was commissioned to translate “A History of Ancient Greek Literature” by Gilbert Murray (1866-1957). Sun and two teachers from the Foreign Languages Department translated the book. This book is a must for students who study foreign literatures.

Professor Sun Xizhen single-handedly authored a series of textbooks and lecture materials for students of Hangzhou University, covering almost all the fields of foreign literatures and including more than 10 histories of foreign literatures. A History of Western European Literatures was published by a publishing house in Shanghai. Others were published as textbooks by the universitys press and circulated to other universities and colleges. The manuscripts of these textbooks were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Only A History of Eastern European Literatures survived.

In the early years of his teaching career in Hangzhou University, Sun taught modern literature and foreign literature. Later he focused on foreign literature. After the Cultural Revolution, he gave up teaching foreign literature and turned his attention to creative writing.

Lin Tanqiu, vice president of Hangzhou University, once commented that Hangzhou University had 13.5 professors as academic pillars of the university and the Chinese Department had three professors: Xia Chengtao, Jiang Liangfu and Sun Xizhen.

Sun Xizhen was more than a pioneer in teaching modern literature and foreign literature at Hangzhou University. He was also the first at Hangzhou University that used Marxist viewpoints to analyze literature issues. He was able to do so largely because he had majored in philosopher in Beijing University and he had been a left-wing writer and revolutionary in his younger years. The background and experience enabled him to look into deep causes that drove the trends of thought in literature and art.

Students loved his lectures. More often than not, his lectures attracted students from other departments: philosophy, history, politics and education. In classroom, he spoke eloquently and cited anecdotes and examples without referring to any notebook. He did not bring any notebook to classroom. He used a brief guideline written on a matchbox or a cigarette pack. He was a professor who did homework most diligently. He had special notebooks on individual authors. In a notebook, he would jot down all the important information about an authors life and work and academic significance. Then he would add his thought and notes. The number of notebooks on an author varied, the largest number being more than ten.

Though Hangzhou University merged into Zhejiang University in 1998, Professor Sun Xizhen is a brilliant chapter in the history of Hangzhou University. He will be forever remembered as a poet, a soldier, a revolutionary, a scholar, a professor who established single-handedly the education of modern literature and foreign literature at Hangzhou University. □