文/ 夏春錦 陸冬英
鮑廷博知不足齋。吳蓬/繪Bao Tingbo’s Zhibuzu Zhai (Endless Knowledge Studio). Painted by Wu Peng.
鮑廷博(1728—1814)是清代乾隆、嘉慶年間聞名遐邇的藏書家、刻書家和校勘學(xué)家。其祖籍在安徽歙縣,自祖父時起寓居杭州,后又移家至桐鄉(xiāng)。家有藏書樓名為知不足齋,因清廷修《四庫全書》時躋身“天下獻書之冠”而受到兩代皇帝的禮遇。其精心刊刻的“知不足齋叢書”,亦因校訂精審風(fēng)行海內(nèi),成為時人和后世紛紛效仿的典范之作。鮑廷博由此成為中國藏書史上的著名人物,其知不足齋也成為天下讀書人為之向往的瑯?gòu)指5亍?/p>
有研究者著文稱,清代百分之八十以上的私家藏書樓都聚集于京杭大運河沿岸,不僅數(shù)量豐富,而且所藏之書始終是沿著運河流轉(zhuǎn)。就鮑廷博而言,京杭大運河不僅為他提供了便利的水道交通,更加強了他與各方的聯(lián)系,他借此得以自由地往來于南北,忙得不亦樂乎。
鮑廷博雖出生于徽商之家,但自其祖父鮑貴起就有儒士之風(fēng),雅好讀書。據(jù)記載,鮑氏“先世藏兩宋遺集多至三百余家”。這種“賈而好儒”的家風(fēng)對鮑廷博仁人愛物情懷的養(yǎng)成起到了潛移默化的作用。
鮑廷博一生嗜書如命,不惜重金求購珍本、善本,到了晚年更是因此而傾盡家財,淪落到不得已而鬻書以度殘年的境地。鮑廷博生前常用一枚印文為 “黃金散盡為藏書”的藏書印,正是其一生之寫照。
早在二十歲之前鮑廷博就已開始大量購書。據(jù)乾隆四十一年(1776)朱文藻所作《知不足齋叢書序》云:
蓋嗜書累葉如君家者,可謂難矣。三十年來,近自嘉禾、吳興,遠而大江南北,客有異書來售武林者,必先過君之門,或遠不可致,則郵書求之……
乾隆四十一年(1776),鮑廷博虛齡四十九歲,往前推三十年,即是二十歲不到的年紀。這一說法與翁廣平所說的“二十三歲補歙縣庠生,兩應(yīng)省試不售,遂絕意進取,竭力購求典籍”大體吻合。正是有了前期的積累,在其科場失意后才會變本加厲地投入,這份決心和魄力顯然是在告知世人,自己將以藏書為畢生志業(yè)了。
朱文藻的話揭示了一個重要的史實,即鮑廷博一生的活動范圍并不廣,除了曾回過徽州,晚年到過北京,其足跡主要還是集中于運河沿線的杭州、嘉興和蘇州等江南地區(qū)。這些地方即是鮑廷博開展購書活動的核心區(qū)域。
“嘉禾”即嘉興,“吳興”即湖州一帶,“大江南北”雖是一個比較寬泛的地理概念,但其核心地域則包含了大運河流經(jīng)的南京、蘇州、常州、無錫等地。清代以后,特別是康乾時期,這片地域的工農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)和商業(yè)得到空前發(fā)展,文化教育事業(yè)也隨之迎來了前所未有的繁榮。這其中刻書、藏書等文化活動異?;钴S,均達到了封建時代最鼎盛的時期。對于鮑廷博來說,其購書的首選之地就是這一帶書賈所開設(shè)和經(jīng)營的書肆、書船,那里品種繁多,選擇性大,是其購書的主要來源。
蘇州自古繁華,是鮑廷博除了杭州之外去得最多的城市。這源于有清一代,蘇州一直是書業(yè)最為繁榮的地區(qū)之一,有“書肆之盛,比于京師”之譽。乾隆五十四年(1789)十二月二十七日,他就在姑蘇城外的紫陽居書肆購得毛氏汲古閣所刻《中吳紀聞》六卷。此書系蘇州宋代文人龔明之所著的筆記小說,以記錄吳中地區(qū)的奇聞軼事和風(fēng)土民情為主要內(nèi)容。鮑廷博得書后,將之作為善本進獻四庫館,在其身后又被其子鮑士恭刻入“知不足齋叢書”第三十集,得以流布士林。
湖州作為著名的藏書和刻書之鄉(xiāng),也是鮑廷博時常到訪的地方。乾隆三十六年(1771),他受摯友吳騫之托,多年尋覓《千頃堂書目》而不得,后“始從苕估購得”一套舊抄本,才完成了朋友的夙愿。
鮑廷博舊藏宋淳熙刻本《金石錄》十卷。上海圖書館藏。The Song edition of Record of Bronze and Stone Inscriptions in 10 volumes, which were acquired by Bao Tingbo. They are now collected by the Shanghai Library.
鮑廷博舊藏明正德刻本《皮子文藪》,黃裳與其夫人曾六次題跋。A Mélange of Essays by Pi Rixiu, a Ming dynasty edition acquired by Bao Tingbo.
鮑廷博的藏書印。Bao Tingbo’s ex libris seals.
吳騫所說的“苕估”又稱“苕賈”“苕上書估”,是對當(dāng)時十分活躍又獨具特色的湖州書賈的泛稱。湖州書賈最大的特點是常以船販書,世稱“湖州書船”,他們借助四通八達的水網(wǎng)河道,特別是便利的運河水道,浮家泛宅,往來于江浙之間,所到之處,常常受到士大夫的禮遇。
鮑廷博還從湖州書賈手上購得極為珍貴的宋版《金石錄》三十卷。此書是宋代趙明誠、李清照夫婦的心血之作,而宋版《金石錄》更是稀世珍品。這一部僅為十卷,系北宋淳熙刻本,原為嘉興馮文昌所藏。書后來流落江湖,輾轉(zhuǎn)于阮元、潘祖蔭等眾多藏書家之手。今藏于上海圖書館。
在鮑廷博的青年時代,借抄是僅次于購買的最主要的聚書方式。其老友朱文藻曾記錄下一份與其互為借錄的藏書家名單,總共九家,位于杭州的有六家,分別為郁氏東嘯軒、汪氏振綺堂、吳氏瓶花齋、趙氏小山堂、盧氏抱經(jīng)堂、孫氏壽松堂;位于嘉興的有兩家,海寧的吳氏拜經(jīng)樓和桐鄉(xiāng)的金氏桐華館;位于寧波的僅一家,即慈溪的鄭氏二老閣。從地域分布來看,這些藏書家主要集中于浙江省內(nèi),且都是江南運河和浙東運河流經(jīng)的城市。但朱文藻羅列的并非全部,像杭州城內(nèi)厲鶚的樊榭山房、汪啟淑的飛鴻堂,桐鄉(xiāng)金氏的文瑞樓,還有位于蘇州的不少藏書家都沒有被提及,加上這些才共同組成了鮑廷博借閱傳抄的超強陣容。
目前可知,鮑廷博最早抄書的時間不晚于乾隆二十年(1755),時年二十八歲。在這一年當(dāng)中,他先后抄錄過四部書,其中孫承澤的《庚子銷夏記》八卷明確交代是“偶于吳下抄得之”,因此書內(nèi)容精審,得之不易,“竊有貧兒暴富之喜”。
在鮑廷博所抄錄的書籍中,質(zhì)量最高、品種最理想的部分主要就來自他的這個運河邊上的朋友圈。與此同時,那些生活在運河沿岸的好友如海寧吳騫、仁和朱文藻、嘉興戴光曾等也從知不足齋借抄和受贈了不少好書。
運河邊上的藏書家之間除了彼此借抄,還可以通過相互轉(zhuǎn)讓,以購買的方式從其他藏書樓獲得心儀之書。這類書往往最對藏書家的胃口,有些甚至是自己朝思暮想而不可得者。早年,鮑廷博就從錢塘藏書家吳允嘉(1657—?)營構(gòu)的四古堂購得五代時期和凝、和?父子合著的《疑獄集》三卷。
在定居桐鄉(xiāng)之前,鮑廷博已與桐鄉(xiāng)本地的藏書家多有來往。最早的一次是乾隆二十七年(1762)冬,偕吳長元專程拜訪世居運河邊上的甑山錢氏,向其借書。而與鮑廷博有私交的則是已經(jīng)遷居蘇州桃花塢的金氏文瑞樓,鮑廷博曾從該樓購得宋朱翌所著《猗覺寮雜記》抄本。仍留在桐鄉(xiāng)的金德輿和金錫鬯叔侄,也都熱衷于收藏,兩人都成為鮑廷博的莫逆之交。
此外,鮑廷博還有過多次向其他蘇州藏書家購書的經(jīng)歷。如乾隆三十年(1765)八月二日,從木瀆璜川書屋購得元代鄭元祐所著《僑吳集》明弘治刻本。他還曾以高價向吳江沈氏購得宋代錢文子著《補漢兵志》抄本一卷。
鮑廷博與運河更親密的接觸是在定居桐鄉(xiāng)之后。他依托京杭大運河,時常往返于以桐鄉(xiāng)為中心點的蘇杭間。當(dāng)時他走得最多的是京杭大運河的南段,即江南運河。該線自鎮(zhèn)江的諫壁口,經(jīng)常州、無錫、蘇州、嘉興至杭州,最終匯入錢塘江。
如乾隆五十二年(1787)春,鮑廷博偕吳騫、吳翌鳳泛舟吳江,拜訪好友楊復(fù)吉,在楊府巧遇同時到訪的王鳴盛,彼此得以詩酒為樂。吳騫有詩紀事,云:
其一
躡屐下姑蘇,揚帆徑石湖。為憐揚子宅,可釣季鷹鱸。
屏拓峰千疊,樓高酒百壺。此中容嘯傲,身世一菰蘆。
其二
遠塔垂虹外,孤城釣雪邊。碧蘿三徑雨,芳樹五湖煙。
客至巾初墊,春移景未遷。三高祠下水,相與定忘年。
在交通不便的古代,身居異地的朋友們見面的機會并不多,但有限的次數(shù)反而使得彼此的友誼更加牢固。
因為船行較慢,鮑廷博經(jīng)常攜帶書籍出行,于舟中校書成為他的一個習(xí)慣。據(jù)書上的一些題跋顯示,他曾于乾隆五十三年(1788)十二月二十七日“艤舟吳江”,同日又校宋刻本《云莊四六余話》“于平望舟次”。嘉慶九年(1804)歲末,鮑廷博有過一次蘇州之行,于舟中校閱明末汲古閣刻本《劍南詩稿》,有題識寫道:
甲子十一月十一日,次萬年橋閱。薄暮過五龍橋,乘月渡太湖,水天一色,風(fēng)平無波,天下絕景也,惜無放翁妙筆作一詩詠之。是日得吳枚庵兄手抄《游志續(xù)編》,又得《馬石田集》四冊,快正。泊吳江南門外,讀《游志》,燭盡始睡去。
萬年橋坐落于蘇州胥門外的護城河之上。五龍橋則是蘇州城南太湖水的進入口,其南面即是京杭大運河。題識中留下的這些地名和橋名,記錄著鮑廷博的運河行程,成為研究藏書家與運河關(guān)系的第一手史料。
移居桐鄉(xiāng)后,鮑廷博仍不顧年老體衰,時常光顧杭州的書肆,泛舟沿運河出行,一個來回往往要花費數(shù)天時間。八十四歲那年(1811)的八月九日,他從桐鄉(xiāng)趕到杭州城內(nèi)的積書堂,購得宋宗室趙與容所著《辛巳泣蘄錄》手抄本一卷?;丶液笥陬}識中記道:
月十二日閱于菜市橋舟次。十四日舟過謝村,校讎粗畢,與二孫正字舟中看月,至新墅始就睡。十五日午刻抵家記。(陸心源《皕宋樓藏書志》卷二十四)
跋文中寫到的新墅即德清新市,他們乘船從杭州拱宸橋附近的北關(guān)出發(fā),走謝村、十二里漾、塘棲、新市、含山、練市,再到烏鎮(zhèn)。其中杭州北關(guān)到塘棲這一段,就是明清的漕運河。到塘棲后,之所以不走崇德縣方向,是因為沿新市方向從爛溪回烏鎮(zhèn),路程相對更近。這條水路在鮑廷博的題跋中多有記載,可見是其往返于杭州和桐鄉(xiāng)之間的首選路線。
從塘棲經(jīng)大麻、崇德到桐鄉(xiāng)的是下塘河,雖然路程相對較遠,但鮑廷博并非從來不走,畢竟經(jīng)過清初的疏浚,這條水道更加寬闊和安全。如嘉慶四年(1799)十一月二十九日,他于行舟中校畢舊抄本《艮齋詩集》,題識中明確記載是在“舟次大麻”時完成的,顯然走的就是這段運河水路。
某種意義上,鮑廷博最終選擇桐鄉(xiāng)作為其家族的定居之地,運河應(yīng)該是一個重要的因素。這對于他的藏書刻書事業(yè)、文化視野和人生格局,都發(fā)揮了積極的意義。
鮑廷博七言聯(lián)。南京博物院藏。One couplet written by Bao Tingbo, collected at the Nanjing Museum.
By Xia Chunjin Lu Dongying
Bao Tingbo (1728-1814) was a renowned bibliophile with a good reputation as block printer and textual critic in the Qing dynasty (1616-1911). While his ancestral hometown was Shexian, Anhui, he lived in Hangzhou with his grandfather and later moved to Tongxiang. In 1772, Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) ordered the compilation of() and the Bao family presented the largest number of rare books from their private library named Zhibuzu Zhai (or the Endless Knowledge Studio),for which they were awarded by both Emperor Qianlong and his successor, Emperor Jiaqing (1760-1820). Bao’s meticulously collated() was popular in China, setting an example for his contemporaries and future generations. His great contribution made him a noted figure in China’s history of book collecting and his family library, a paradise for book lovers. Research has found that over 80 percent of private libraries in the Qing dynasty were located along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. They featured massive collections of books circulating among the bibliophiles. The convenient canal transport enabled Bao to travel freely between the southern and the northern parts of China and to build strong connections with his friends and business partners.
A merchant as he was, Bao Gui, grandfather of Bao Tingbo,loved reading and made it a family tradition. Records show that the merchant family amassed an impressive book collection of over three hundred Song dynasty (960-1279) writers, an important family legacy that exerted an invisible yet formative influence on Bao Tingbo’s love for books. An avid book collector, Bao poured all his money into book collecting. In his later years, he was reduced to selling books for a living after he spent his last penny on books. The life of the bibliophile was a true reflection of his ex libris seal inscription: “No expense is spared in book collecting.”
知不足齋主人淥飲先生遺像(楊澥原繪,華克齊臨摹,選自《鮑廷博年譜長編》)。Portrait of the master of Zhibuzu Zhai (Endless Knowledge Studio).
It is documented that Bao started to buy large quantities of books before he was 20. He tremendously increased his investment after his failures in the imperial civil service examination, as a testament to his steely determination to be a lifelong bibliophile.According towritten by Bao’s friend Zhu Wenzao in 1776, apart from occasional return to his ancestral hometown and a brief stay in Beijing in his old age, Bao stayed mainly in the cities along the Grand Canal such as Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Suzhou, which constituted the main areas of his collecting activities.
In the early Qing dynasty, these regions saw unprecedented growth in industry, agriculture and commerce and such developments were accompanied by an exceptional rise of literary pursuits, particularly book engraving and book collecting, both of which reached their heyday in the feudal age. That explains why Bao was a frequent visitor to the book shops and book boats in the above-mentioned canal areas whose great varieties spoiled him for choice.
Suzhou, a prosperous city since ancient China, was Bao’s second most visited destination after Hangzhou. In the Qing dynasty, it was hailed as one of the largest centers for book trade,boasting as many bookstores as those in Beijing. On February 10,1790, Bao bought the six-volumeby Gong Mingzhi (1090-1182?) who recorded the customs of Suzhou. The woodblock print Bao obtained from a bookstore outside Suzhou was produced by the private library cum publishing house set up by Mao Jin (1599-1659). Later, Bao presented the highly prized book to the editorial board of. After he passed away, his son Bao Shigong produced a block print of the book and made it the 30th volume of Endless, facilitating its wide circulation among the literati.
Huzhou, a center for book collecting and book engraving,was also where Bao frequented. In 1771, after many years of fruitless attempts to find, he finally managed to get a collection of old manual copies from a book trader in Huzhou, fulfilling a long-cherished wish of his bosom friend Wu Qian. Another book Bao acquired from a book dealer there was the extremely rare Song edition of the 30-volume, the lifelong undertaking of the epigrapher Zhao Mingcheng (1081-1129)and his intellectual wife, Li Qingzhao (1084-1155). The woodcut print Bao obtained consisted of 10 volumes only. Originally a collection of Feng Wenchang, a bibliophile in Jiaxing, it later became the possession of different private book collectors like Ruan Yuan and Pan Zumeng. Presently, the books are kept in the Shanghai Library. The active book merchants of Huzhou were particularly notable for their book boats. They lived and traveled in their mobile bookstores that frequented the areas between the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River through the convenient waterway network, especially the Grand Canal. Wherever they were, they were treated with courtesy by local officials and literati.
In his youth, Bao borrowed books from collectors and copied them by hand, the second commonly used method to collect books. Zhu Wenzao made a list of nine bibliophiles with whom Bao exchanged books for copying. Of them, six were in Hangzhou,two in Jiaxing, and one in Ningbo, mostly located in the cities along theCanal (the section of the Grand Canal south of the Yangtze River) and the Eastern Zhejiang Canal. Nevertheless,the list would have been a comprehensive manifestation of Bao’s transcribing efforts, had Zhu included in it other prominent bibliophiles in Hangzhou, Tongxiang and Suzhou who exchanged books with Bao, too.
Records show that Bao started to copy books as early as in 1755 when he was 28. One of the four books he copied in that year was eight volumes of1660, a collection of paintings, rubbings and calligraphic works compiled by Sun Chengze. It was specifically documented that Bao chanced upon the treasured edition in Suzhou and made a written copy of it,describing his surprise and joy at obtaining it as “that of a beggar becoming rich overnight”. Of all the books Bao copied, the best came from his friends residing near the Grand Canal who borrowed, copied and received quite a few valuable books as gifts from Bao as well.
Apart from exchanging books for copying, the bibliophiles living near the Grand Canal traded books in their collections with each other to get their long-wished-for books. For example, Bao purchased from Wu Yunjia (1657-?) in Hangzhou three volumes ofco-written by He Ning and his son He Meng in the Later Jin dynasty (936-947).
Long before Bao moved to Tongxiang, he had had many contacts with local book collectors. As early as in the winter of 1762, together with his friend Wu Changyuan, he traveled long distances to visit the Qian family for borrowing books. The Qians had been living in northern Tongxiang for generations.Additionally, he made good friends with another two local bibliophiles Jin Deyu and his nephew Jin Xichang, who chose to stay in Tongxiang despite their family’s relocation to Suzhou. Bao purchased from the Jin family’s private library a handwritten copy of, an anthology of essays on poems penned by the Song dynasty scholar Zhu Yi (1097-1167)during his stay at a monastic residence.
Bao bought books from bibliophiles in Suzhou as well. For instance, he acquired from the private library of the Wu family a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) woodblock print of, an anthology of poetry and essays authored by Zheng Yuanyou (1292-1364) while in Suzhou. Further, Bao purchased from the Shen family at enormous personal expense a manuscript ofwritten by the Song dynasty scholar Qian Wenzi.
After he moved to Tongxiang which was located between Suzhou and Hangzhou, where Bao traveled oftentimes via the Grand Canal, particularly the Jiangnan Canal, a route which started from Zhenjiang and passed through Changzhou, Wuxi,Suzhou and Jiaxing to Hangzhou before it finally merged into the Qiantang River.
In the spring of 1787, Bao took a boat trip on the Wujiang River with his two friends to visit Yang Fuji in Suzhou where the three of them bumped into Wang Mingsheng, an outstanding historian, who was also paying Yang a visit. The pleasant encounter allowed them to enjoy poetry composition over cups of wine. In ancient times when transportation was not so convenient, distant friends did not have many opportunities to meet face-to-face,which strengthened their friendships rather than the other way around.
As boat trips took more time, Bao, who always had books with him wherever he went, made a habit of collating books on his journeys. According to his prefaces and postscripts, his boat was anchored in the Wujiang River near Suzhou on January 22, 1789,and on the same day, while the boat was in dock at Pingwang,Suzhou, he collated the Song woodblock edition of. At the end of 1804, he took another boat trip to Suzhou during which he collated the late Ming dynasty woodcut edition ofHis postscript that showed his Canal boating route became a primary source for research on the relationships between the bibliophile and the Grand Canal.
鮑廷博批校過的清乾隆十年深柳讀書堂刻本《宋林和靖先生詩集》卷首。(現(xiàn)藏于芷蘭齋)The front page of An Anthology of Li Hejing’s Poetry, which had been annotated by Bao Tingbo.
After moving to Tongxiang, Bao, regardless of the agingassociated physical decline, patronized bookstores in Hangzhou through multi-day boat trips. On September 26, 1811, when he was 84, he obtained a handwritten copy of:by Zhao Yurong, a member of the Song imperial clan. Back home, Bao wrote in his postscript:
The above-mentioned Xinshu was actually Xinshi, a small town in Deqing. The postscript indicated that they set off from Beiguan near the Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou and traveled through Xiecun, Shi’erliyang, Tangxi, Xinshi, Hanshan, Lianshi before they reached Wuzhen in Tongxiang. The first half of the route, namely, the section from Beiguan to Tangxi was part of the Grand Canal. For the second half, they opted for Xinshi instead of Chongde county because the former was closer to the destination. The whole route appeared in many of Bao’s prefaces and postscripts, which suggests it was his choice when traveling between Hangzhou and Tongxiang.
An alternative route to Tongxiang went through Tangxi,Dama and Chongde, along a branch of the Grand Canal called the Xiatang River. It remained one of Bao’s options because the dredging project in the early Qing dynasty had made the waterway wider and safer, though it entailed longer travel time. The boat trip in 1799 was a case in point. On December 25, he completed collating an old copy of(Genzhai was a Vietnamese poet) on the journey and the final work, according to his postscript, was done while the boat lay “at anchor at Dama”, which demonstrated that the alternative route was in use.
In a sense, Bao Tingbo’s decision to relocate his family to Tongxiang had a lot to do with the Grand Canal, a move which contributed to his career as a bibliophile, expanded his horizons as a scholar, and broadened his perspective on life.