1937 After the Japanese invaders captured Shanghai, Zheng Zhenduo, together with colleagues of the Association for the Protection of Literary Gays, shouldered this important task in order to protect the literature of the motherland from being plundered. Over the past few years, a large number of precious ancient books and documents have been "rescued" by their hands, which has made important contributions to the preservation of chinese heritage.
Mr Zheng Zhenduo is a famous scholar, bibliophile and publisher in modern China. 1937 After the "August 13th Incident" in which the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of preserving Chinese documents and "rescued" a large number of precious ancient books for the country, with outstanding achievements.
1937 after the Japanese captured Shanghai, many intellectuals left Shanghai for the home front, but Zheng Zhenduo didn't leave, so he resolutely stayed in Shanghai. After the fall of the southeast provinces, the rare books and pictures collected by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shanghai book collectors have been scattered to second-hand bookstores in Shanghai, which are not only snapped up by Japanese aggressors and traitors, but also flowed overseas. Zheng Zhenduo deeply felt that "if these post-war ancient books fall into the hands of Americans and Japanese, people who study China's ancient studies will also study abroad one day" [1]. Most importantly, the puppet Manchukuo "North China Communication Company" and other institutions are also collecting books, and they are mainly based on county records and related historical documents, with ulterior motives. At that time, it could be used as a reconnaissance resource to study local intelligence and marching routes; In the long run, it is enough to control the historical materials and documents of our nation for thousands of years. Thinking of this, he was worried, but he didn't have the strength to "turn the tide". At the same time, the news that a book is going to be released keeps coming out, and some unscrupulous booksellers are also making trouble, which makes him anxious day and night and desperately thinking about the "rescue" strategy. He Bingsong, president of Jinan University at that time, Zhang Yongni, president of Guanghua University, Zhang Yuanji, director of the Compilation Institute of the Commercial Press, Zhang Fengju, an archaeologist, edition appraiser and collector, also stayed there because of their duties or tasks. Zheng Zhenduo and the above-mentioned people who care about literature deplore the loss of national treasures, discuss ways to save them every day, and finally decide to take immediate action to save the literature. In view of the limited personal economic strength and a large number of scattered books, Zheng Zhenduo initiated five people to send a telegram 1940+65438 to Chongqing authorities on June 5, requesting funds to rescue ethnic literature.
In the previous two years, Zheng Zhenduo shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving China's cultural classics with his own efforts. Among them, the national treasure "Mai Wang Guan Copied School-based Ancient and Modern Zaju" is "comparable to the opening of the Cabinet Library, the discovery of Anyang Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and the discovery of Dunhuang Thousand Buddha Cave manuscripts. [2] "Even so, he is still weak and deeply hit. He once said: "My husband's efforts in preserving the country's contribution and national culture are not enough to attack the battlefield and give up the life of a person who defends the country. However, I won thousands of copies just by combining it with Jia Jing. It's really delicious. " However, he tried his best to do it. "Although it is time-consuming and laborious, it cannot be counted by numbers. However, it is really a national effect, so there is no regret! " [3] "shows his determination.
At that time, the situation in Shanghai was very tense. On June 4th, 65438, Zheng Zhenduo telephoned He Bingsong and others to tell them that there were *** 14 people on the blacklist, all of whom were leaders of the cultural salvation association, and they were kidnapped and told to take precautions. Zheng Zhenduo was forced to move to his house for the night, but he was determined, and he was still running around with Mr. Zhu to win the support of the authorities to rescue the documents. He once said: "My generation of scholars are powerless and useless, but they have a lofty spirit. Speaking of rebellion, when you know it, you are in your own position. [4]"
On June 65438+ 10/0, Zhu Jiahua, Minister of Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party of the Kuomintang and Chairman of the Board of Directors of China and Britain, and Chen Lifu, Minister of Education of the National Government, replied to the telegram. Although they expressed their support for "proposing to organize a book purchasing committee in Shanghai to find lost documents and preserve them so as not to fall into enemy hands and flow overseas", they also said that it was difficult to raise huge sums of money in Shanghai during the Anti-Japanese War, especially to remit them to Shanghai. If we can't help the government at present, the central government will repay the principal and interest and nationalize it in the future. what do you think? [5] "Chongqing's call is true, but the solution seems to be" kicking the ball ". But with the efforts of Zheng Zhenduo and others, they finally agreed to allocate funds to rescue ancient books.
A few days later, He Bingsong came to tell Zheng Zhenduo that the Ministry of Education had sent Jiang, the director of the Central Library, to Shanghai, and told the Ministry of Education that it was determined to rescue and buy ethnic documents in Shanghai (later, the Sino-British Cultural and Educational Fund Committee, the former Sino-British Geng Fund Committee, allocated funds to buy books). Zheng Zhenduo was at home with a high fever. He was overjoyed when he heard the news and rushed to help the patient at once. After research, it was proposed to put Zhang Yuanji in charge, but Mr. Zhang refused on the grounds of age and had to put Zhang Yongni and Zheng Zhenduo in charge. A few days later, several people met again to discuss buying books, and thought it was more appropriate to buy books in the name of a private person or in the name of several schools that are still open to the public, such as Jinan University, Guanghua University and Hanfen Building (Commercial Press Library). After discussion, it was finally agreed to set up a "document preservation comrades' association" and said that "from now on, Jiangnan documents will never be allowed to spread to other places." "There are good books and books worth saving, and we will save them for the country. This wish has been saved for a long time, and it has finally come true today, which is very gratifying! [6] "The specific division of labor is: Zhang Fengju and Zheng Zhenduo are responsible for the interview, Zhang Yuanji is responsible for the appraisal of rare books in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and He Bingsong and Zhang Yongni are responsible for keeping the funds. Although Zheng Zhenduo was in charge of the interview, he was positive by nature, and what he actually did was far beyond the scope of his duties.
Since then, Zheng Zhenduo and others immediately took action and started arduous and meaningful work. If two years ago, Zheng Zhenduo spontaneously collected books for the country on his own, out of his hobby of "loving books like life", then the work of "rescuing" ethnic documents at this time was planned and organized by the power of the country, which reflected the passionate feelings of patriotic scholars with a sense of justice for Chinese culture. In principle, the goal of buying books is to buy books of some "book collectors" in Jiangnan. Those who don't sell are going to persuade them not to sell, and those who want to sell are going to find a way to buy for the country. When Zheng Zhenduo bought Liu's library in Suzhou Yuhaitang and Deng's library in Qunbi Building, booksellers began to stir up. These collectors' collections were originally the goal of booksellers' "fighting for deer", but they have not been touched for a long time. Now that they meet strong rivals, they know that they can't compete, and they also know that there will be no more gains in Jiangnan area, so they shift their targets and often go to Zheng Zhenduo's house to get some good books from time to time. Zheng Zhenduo was looking forward to it. After consulting with Mr. Zhang Yongni and Mr. He Bingsong, he did not hesitate to accept it.
As a result, the number of booksellers is increasing day by day, and Zheng Zhenduo's home is crowded with "samples" piled up in several boxes. He has to discuss with you gentlemen from time to time, and the letters are piled up more than a foot high. At that time, Zheng Zhenduo was immersed in the collection of books. In his words, "I tried my best to do it, and almost put everything else down and forgot. I even forgot to collect books for myself. I'm afraid my refusal to accept books is unprecedented in twenty years. But because I have a lofty goal, I completely forgot "self". [7] "This statement makes sense, because Zheng Zhenduo himself is a bibliophile, and his greatest hobby is to go to the bookstore to" find gold ". For decades, he has collected many rare books and cheats. He would never give up his goal if the war and national interests were not above all else.
As can be seen from Zheng Zhenduo's letter to Zhang Yongni, for all the rare books, materials, acquisitions and price negotiations distributed by collectors at that time, because He Bingsong and Zheng Zhenduo met in Jinan University, most of them agreed first, and then agreed with Zhang Yongni, that is, they paid for the books. From1940,65438+10 to194,65438+February, in less than two years, Zheng Zhenduo wrote as many as 270 letters to Zhang Yongni about books, of which 2/kloc-was the most in one month. Besides talking about buying books, there are heartfelt feelings in the letter, from which we can see Zheng Zhenduo's heart of serving the country. Here might as well extract two paragraphs:
"My generation is responsible for the country and national culture; As long as you do your best, you will be loyal, work hard to the end, and there will be no flaws. If you buy it from our generation, you will never waste a penny of public money; The quality and price of books will be clear if you know Zhejiang! On the one hand, we should focus on thrift, and at the same time, we should aim at obtaining books: we should cover the original purpose and focus on preserving documents. Waste, buy indiscriminately, of course sorry for the country; If an orphan book, a book about culture, is lost through the eyes, or lost for a period of time, it will especially lose our original intention and be very sorry for the country. Therefore, I spare no effort to run for this matter. Among them, hard work and sincerity are' self-knowledge'. [8] ""Our generation is confident, with a far-sighted vision and a strong sense of responsibility, and we will never refuse what we should do. Everyone is willing to work hard and complain. Preserving culture for the country, such as fighting on the battlefield, can only move forward and must not escape. " "Every time I think about the life and death of the soldiers in front, I feel a hundred times of courage and painstaking efforts." [9]
Zheng Zhenduo specially carved two stamps to collect books. According to his later recollection, "We once had a rectangular seal:' Today loves the ancients', which was a secret record for the ancient books and new books we received. This applies to any picture book and also shows our attitude. " [10] There is another chapter called "Scholar's True Color", which is used to open a bank account. Since the establishment of the "Documentary Preservation Comrades' Association", Zheng Zhenduo has devoted all his spare time to the rescue work except teaching in Jinan University. He receives booksellers all day, evaluates editions and book prices one by one, and often haggles with booksellers on the number of books, taking pains, as he said in his letter to Zhang Yongni: "It is not easy to buy books for the public. I buy books for myself. If I like them, they are always worth it. But buying books for the public is cool. "The books received every day have to be checked, registered and catalogued by him, and then packed and transported. There is a special person in the shop, but he has to behave himself. In order to prevent accidents, we also try to record important rare books, or photocopy or take photos and print them.
It's heavy. Since taking over this job, Zheng Zhenduo has regained her former passion. He can see so many novel books, exquisite books and books he has never seen before every day, so he can get a sneak peek. What a blessing it is for him. As a cultural person, what does Zheng Zhenduo want?
In order to mobilize all patriotic literati to devote themselves to this meaningful "rescue" work, on June 25th, Zheng Zhenduo wrote the article "The Movement to Defend National Culture", calling on patriotic progressive cultural workers to "shoulder the task of defending national culture at this most difficult time". In the preface, the editor thanked the author for "writing this paper in spite of his busy schedule, and he sent a seemingly distant but urgent voice to the fighting intellectuals".
Due to the increasingly tense situation in Shanghai, Zheng Zhenduo is afraid of losing his books again. How sad it will be. In his letter to Zhang Yongni, he pointed out: "Now the environment here is getting worse and worse, and no one can guarantee' safety'", so while collecting books, he reviewed some important books and historical materials for photocopying and publishing, which was later named "Xuanlantang Series", which is another story.
At the end of the same year, the Ministry of Education of the National Government sent Xu Hongbao, director of the Antiquities Museum of the Palace Museum, to Shanghai. Xu is a famous expert in cultural relics appraisal in China. Among other tasks, he will stay in Shanghai to help identify and purchase rare books.
After buying books, Zheng Zhenduo is still busy classifying and cataloging "rare books". "For a year, I have been focusing on this matter, and he didn't ask anything." Although the work was hard, Zheng Zhenduo thought of so many good books and forgot everything. He proudly said, "My generation has several characteristics: First, copying schools is becoming more and more sophisticated; Second, there are many and specialized historical materials; Third, there are many Tang poems and they are quite refined. "
After Shanghai became an island, the Japanese invaders sent special agents to Shanghai Postal Administration to check the letters. At that time, Zheng Zhenduo sent a lot of e-mails, which were related to the rescue edition library in Otawa. If the Japanese invaders find out, the rescue of ancient books will fail. Just Wen Youtang? Zheng Zhenduo (a famous writer) is a postman in the post office. Through him, he sent the mail about book purchase and printing to Chongqing and Hong Kong to avoid the inspection by the enemy and puppet troops. Don? Every day, I have the opportunity to put the mail entrusted to me into the mail bag and seal it after the Japanese invaders have finished the inspection and before the mail bag is sealed. This is foolproof. Thanks to his insider, the mail sent to Chongqing and Hong Kong later left and arrived safely.
194 1 At the end of April, after a lapse of 1 years, Zheng Zhenduo finally finished buying books and then began to compile a "rare bibliography". Since June, Zheng Zhenduo has been busy loading and delivering books. This is also a very heavy job, and it will be dangerous at any time. He should do it carefully every day and deliver it in batches. I am busy with this matter during the day and I have to compile a bibliography at night.
On July 24th, Xu Hongbao left Shanghai with two boxes of high-quality goods, and Zheng Zhenduo went to see him off. After coming back, he wrote to Zhang Yongni and said, "In half a month, everything in Sam will be shipped out." Later, he recalled: "The international situation is getting tense day by day, and the situation in Shanghai is getting worse day by day. We really can't guarantee the safe storage of our books, so we must make a relocation plan. First of all, more than 80 kinds of the most precious ancient books that can be classified as "national treasures" were brought to Hong Kong by Mr. Xu Hongbao, and then transported to Chongqing by plane from Hong Kong. The whole packaging and mailing work took us nearly two months. " Xu Hong
After the package arrived in Hong Kong, I called to urge Zheng Zhenduo to bring the second batch of rare books to Hong Kong. Zheng Zhenduo, who had planned to leave Shanghai first, was uneasy because there were too many things unfinished, so he decided not to leave for the time being, and basically finished delivering books in early August.
Due to limited funds, Zheng Zhenduo was very sad that he was cautious in buying books and occasionally missed the opportunity, so that some books could not be obtained. "I am most resentful in my heart", "I have been wandering all night, and I deeply feel that I have not done my duty. I am sorry for my country!" Zheng Zhenduo is such a very serious and responsible person. He wants his works to be perfect. Although he has tried his best to masturbate, he still feels the fly in the ointment.
On February 7, 65438, the Pacific War broke out, and the Japanese invaded the concession the next day, and the "island" of Shanghai finally fell. On the same day, Zheng Zhenduo arrived at Jinan University early in the morning to attend the school meeting. He decided at the meeting: "When you see a Japanese soldier or a Japanese flag passing through the school gate, you will immediately suspend classes and close the university." Zheng Zhenduo insisted on finishing the "last lesson". When he saw the Japanese car coming at 10: 30, he "immediately straightened up, made a stand-at-attention gesture, covered the book with his heavy hand, and announced in a firm tone:' Class is over now!'" "。 It reproduces the patriotic complex in French writer Dodd's The Last Lesson.
From 9th to16th, Zheng Zhenduo moved his books every day for a whole week. Some of them were shipped to another rented place, and some important Song and Yuan editions were sent to Mr. Ruo and Mr. Wang in Zhang Qian. He mobilized the whole family, including the children, and several guys from the bookstore helped him. Just moving books cost more than 2000 yuan.
After "December 8th", Zheng Zhenduo's "rescue" work also stopped. First, it was interrupted by economic sources; Second, the enemy and puppet forces are pervasive, and it is absolutely difficult to allow organizations like them to exist; Third, for the personal safety of books, he also had to leave home. 12 16, Zheng Zhenduo was forced to leave home to take refuge. He recalled, "I have no clear plan, no place to live, and no money left." Walking in the street with only a bag of clothes and a toothbrush towel on his back. At this time, I feel like a martyr, and I feel miserable, but I am firm and abnormal. "
From the spring of 1940 to the early winter of 194 1, Zheng Zhenduo and others were national collections. Although it only took two years before and after, they rescued and collected many important documents. Most of the books collected by famous bibliophiles in the south of the Yangtze River, including the bronze sword building in Changshu and the old mountain building in Zhao, are listed as state-owned, with more than 3,800 rare books. "Although it can't be said to be all-encompassing, it is equally amazing in terms of quantity and quality. Even I can't believe I have such good grades!
"At that time, Beiping Library (now Beijing Library) compiled the Catalogue of Rare Books with four volumes, and there were 3,900 rare books alone. The rare books rescued by the Document Preservation Association were equivalent to the original collections of the country in those years, and the achievements were considerable.
Ye Shengtao later said: "At that time, many friends in mainland China were worried about his safety and even blamed him for being reluctant to leave Shanghai. I don't know that he is standing in the position he thinks he should stand in this difficult period, but he is doing such an obscure and extremely important job. "
Xu Hongbao spoke highly of the rescue documents of Zheng Zhenduo and other countries. In his letter to Chiang Kai-shek, he said: "It is really impossible for a person to do one thing wholeheartedly, with paralysis of hands and feet and being honest and meticulous. They have never used any public funds for transportation and liaison. " A few words outline the integrity of Zheng Zhenduo and others.
At that time, the rare books and pictures rescued by the "Literature Preservation Comrades Association" were once catalogued, but now they are missing. According to Zheng Zhenduo's letters to Zhang Yongni, all books can be divided into three parts:
1.80 kinds of the most precious ancient books, which can be listed as the first national treasure, were transported to Hong Kong by Mr. Xu Senyu, and then airlifted from Hong Kong to Chongqing to enter the National Central Library of Tibet.
Second, there are about 3,200 kinds of books and periodicals published and copied from schools in the Ming Dynasty. They were sent to Xudishan, Hong Kong, and temporarily settled in the University of Hong Kong. They were originally intended to be transported to the Library of Congress for storage. Shortly after the Pacific War broke out, Hong Kong fell, and these books and periodicals were robbed by the Japanese aggressors. After Japan surrendered, Fu Jianggui personally visited Japan. Because the book was stamped with the seal of "National Central Library", the Japanese side could not deny it, so it was all taken back, totaling 107 boxes. When the Kuomintang retreated, these precious books and records were transported to Taiwan Province Province.
Third, the rest was hidden in several places by him and Zheng. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, it was included in Nanjing Central Library (now Nanjing Library).
Zheng Zhenduo is a great man who has made great contributions in the history of modern literature in China. His research, his translated works, his works and his publication are all well known and admirable. However, as Zhou Yiping wrote in the article "One Grass and One Tree Know a Teacher", "I think the most valuable thing for Comrade Zheng Zhenduo is his patriotism, which is fearless and indomitable, loyal to the motherland and loyal to the people at the critical moment of national survival."