I

   Chapter 600 597 [Books, Calligraphy and Painting]

   "Leave the idle ship, retreat the idle ship!"

  On the Yangtze River, the Datong Navy, which has not existed for a long time, suddenly mobilized collectively this winter.

  More than 300 large and small warships sailed towards Nanjing in a mighty way. The governor of Datong Navy, Gu Jianshan, personally led the team.

  The people watching the excitement at the pier gathered more and more, and they didn't know what happened. Some people even suspected that there was a rebellion somewhere.

   Immediately, the police force in Nanjing was dispatched.

  Three steps and one post, five departments and one post, from the pier to the Forbidden City.

  Fei Ruyi sat in a palanquin and called friends to come, all standing at the pier watching strangely. This guy's opium addiction has been forcibly given up. During the detoxification period, he almost died, but after that, his temperament changed a lot and subsided a lot.

   "Idle people back away, idle people back away!"

  The ones who came this time were actually the guards of the imperial city. They are rarely dispatched.

  Whether they were business travelers or passers-by, they were all driven to the side of the road, as if some important person wanted to pass.

   Many officials came again, and even the palace ladies.

  The warships of the Datong Navy docked one after another, and many merchant ships that were berthed at the pier were ordered to leave temporarily to make room for the naval warships.

  This battle is too outrageous, and the common people are becoming more and more curious.

  Gu Jianshan was sitting on the deck of the flagship supervising the battle. Qian Qianyi and other officials from the Imperial Academy and Qintian Academy also got off the naval battleship.

  Navy officers and soldiers and imperial city guards lifted boxes from the ship.

  Each box must be opened and inspected when landing, and handed over after confirming that it is correct.

Only an official shouted: "The bibliography of Wenyuan Pavilion in Beijing has a total of 43,200 volumes. There are many lost volumes, and only 10,237 volumes remain. Now hand over the books of the imperial annotations made by the former Ming emperor, as well as the books of etiquette, law, politics, education and actual records of the former Ming emperor. "Ming Tai The first revised version of Zu Shilu is completely lost; the second revised version has 165 volumes and 183 volumes, all of which are well preserved; the third revised version has 250 volumes and 257 volumes, and 248 volumes and 255 and a half volumes are now in existence. Please check and hand over!"

   One box is opened for inspection, and each box has to be counted three times.

  The shouting made the onlookers excited. All the books on board were Beijing Imperial City Collection.

   At the same time, it is very regrettable that there are more than 40,000 volumes in the Beijing Wenyuan Pavilion bibliography, and less than 30% of them are preserved today.

   It was not destroyed by war, but by poor preservation.

   Some were eaten by moths, some were moldy and rotten. In addition, the cabinet and officials of the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty often took advantage of their positions to hand over the books in Wenyuan Pavilion to their homes. As early as the Wanli period, only two or three of them were kept.

  Ordinary people gradually dispersed, but scholars gathered more and more.

  Finally, the official shouted again: "The "Yongle Canon" has a total of 11,095 volumes, 60 volumes of catalogues, and 22,877 volumes of text. The first draft has been destroyed in Nanjing Wenyuan Pavilion. All originals are lost, and all copies are intact. Please check and hand over!"

  The onlookers stand on tiptoe, wanting to see what the "Yongle Dadian" looks like.

  When Li Zicheng left Beijing, he let go of burning down the imperial palace, but the area of ​​the fire was not large, and the Manchu emperor lived in it after minor repairs.

   Therefore, the original version of "Yongle Dadian" cannot be destroyed in the flames of war.

  But it is true that there is not a single volume left in the original copy. The biggest suspicion is Jiajing, and it is very likely that the entire set of "Yongle Dadian" was buried with him.

  Before Jiajing, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty didn’t take "Yongle Dadian" seriously, and even Zhu Di himself didn’t bother to read it.

   Only Jiajing loved the "Yongle Dadian" and often carried it with him to read it. There are a large number of proven prescriptions in this set of books, which can be used for alchemy and Taoism.

  In Jiajing's later years, someone suddenly copied a copy of "Yongle Dadian". In the second year after Jiajing's death, the original copy was kept in Wenyuan Pavilion and the copy was kept in Huangshicheng. But since then, the original has never been found, and no one has mentioned it again.

  For three days in a row, the acceptance and handover was going on outside Nanjing.

  In the end, more than 60 boxes were moved out, all of which were defective books, moth-eaten, moldy, and burned... It needs to be repaired and supplemented by the Hanlin Academy and Qintian Academy as much as possible.

   Chaohui.

Qian Qianyi led the doctors of the Imperial Academy to come out, and said with cupped hands: "Please revise and compile a set of "Minshi Dadian" on the basis of "Yongle Dadian". It is this "Yongle Dadian". There are many mistakes and omissions, and it has to be revised."

"allow!"

Zhao Han said: "After the compilation of "History of the Ming Dynasty" is completed, we will edit the "Minshi Canon". Well, it is more convenient to call it "Minshi Quanshu". Scholars’ books, works on mathematics, physics, etc. should also be included.”

   "Follow the order!"

  Qian Qianyi was overjoyed that these two tasks could last until the day he died.

  The memoirs of successive emperors of the Ming Dynasty, which were moved from Beijing, are temporarily stored in the Hanlin Academy for the convenience of the officials of the Imperial Academy to edit the "History of Ming Dynasty". As for the remaining books, half are stored in Wenyuan Pavilion and the other half are stored in the emperor's private library.

   Especially the calligraphy and paintings collected by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, all became Zhao Han's personal collection.

  By the way, the Manchu Palace in Shenyang also brought a lot, probably taken away when the Manchus withdrew from Beijing.

  The editing work of "History of the Ming Dynasty" officially started. At the same time, Zhao Han ordered the world to collect various books from the people, especially the works of scholars in the Ming Dynasty, so as to prepare for the compilation of "The Complete Book of the Beginning of the Republic of China".

   Of course, it is not compulsory to solicit.

  Those who contribute books can keep the original copy themselves, and ask someone to copy the book and send a copy. Once selected, there must be rewards, and even knowledgeable people can participate in the compilation of "Min Shi Quan Shu".

  Although folks are not required to donate books, local officials will always take the opportunity to please them.

Jiaxing, Zhejiang.

  Jiaxing Magistrate Liu Xianwen, after seeing the content of the imperial decree, went to Xiang's mansion in person the next day.

   "Mr. Mo Lin, there is a great event!" Liu Xianwen said with a smile.

  Xiang Yuanbian said puzzledly: "It's hard to understand the late birth, please tell the county lord clearly."

Liu Xianwen took out the notice copied by the clerk: "Mr. Mo Lin, please read it." Before the other party finished reading it, he continued, "Mr. Why not ask someone to copy the book and present it to the court? This will surely win His Majesty's favor, and you may be able to participate in the editing of "Min Shi Quan Shu."

  In the whole of Zhejiang, the one with the largest collection of books is Xiang Yuanbian in front of you, and the other is Fan Qin in Yin County.

  Xiang Yuanbian thought about it carefully, and felt that this was an opportunity.

  Anyway, the emperor does not ask for the original copy, so he can invite more copyists to make copies and present them to the court.

   Moreover, Tianlai Pavilion has a catalog of books, so take the catalog directly to the capital. Let the officials of the Hanlin Academy look at the catalog and choose, and then ask someone to copy it after they are selected.

  After sending the magistrate away, Xiang Yuanbian went to see his clan brother Xiang Dushou.

  The two brothers are very confident about this. They have too many books, and many of them are orphans. They will definitely be selected by the Imperial Academy.

  Xiang Dushou said: "Only presenting the collection of books can't stand out from the crowd. Maybe you can present the world's treasures to your majesty! In the hands of the foolish brother, the most precious thing is the authentic work of Su Shi. In the hands of the wise brother..."

  Xiang Yuanbian was silent. He knew what the clan brother was talking about, but he was really reluctant to reveal it.

  Xiang Dushou laughed and said: "I heard that there is Huangcheng Primary School in Nanjing, and the prince also studies there. My virtuous brother presents that thing. My virtuous brother's youngest son is at the right age, so maybe he can be a classmate with the prince."

  Xiang Yuanbian suddenly became enlightened, and immediately clapped his hands and said: "It's better for the elder brother to see the long-term!"

  The two brothers, with their bibliography and entourage, went to Nanjing together.

  When they arrived at the Imperial Academy, they first took out the bibliography, which shocked the officials a little.

   Immediately afterwards, Xiang Yuanbian said again: "Could you please convey that Wan Sheng has the guts to present a treasure to His Majesty in person."

   Zhang Pu fell ill again in winter, and Qian Qianyi had the final say in the Cultural and History Museum of the Imperial Academy.

  Qian Qianyi smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's hard to face an ordinary treasure."

   "Please watch it, gentlemen."

  Xiang Yuanbian untied a long bag from his back, opened the bag, and it was wrapped in leather paper. The parchment was opened, and inside was a delicate bamboo tube.

   Pull out an item from the bamboo tube, still wrapped in leather paper.

   Opened several layers of leather paper one after another, finally revealing the scroll inside.

  Everyone laughed immediately, and at the same time they were very curious, why are calligraphy and paintings so careful?

  Xiang Yuanbian slowly unfolded the scroll, before seeing the content of the text, all he could see was a pile of seals and inscriptions.

  One of the lines is particularly conspicuous, it is the thin gold script written by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty: Tang Li Taibai on the balcony!

  Everyone's eyes narrowed sharply, and their breathing became short of breath.

  The scroll continued to open, revealing the cursive script inside: the mountains are tall and the waters are long, and there are myriad images. Without old pens, Qingzhuang can be poor. Go to the balcony to read on the 18th, Taibai.

   Is it actually Li Bai's authentic work?

  Qian Qianyi trembled slightly, picked up the glasses on his chest, put them on, and leaned closer to observe and appreciate them carefully. The more I looked at it, the more I felt it was true. At least with his level of identification, the inscriptions and seals of Song Huizong and other celebrities were real.

   "Don't squeeze it, don't squeeze it, don't squeeze the original work of Shixian!"

  Xiang Yuanbian shouted anxiously, and quickly put away the scroll, for fear that the treasure would be damaged.

  Qian Qianyi roared angrily: "Everyone back down! Wait for the authentic works of Shixian to hang up, and then come and admire them one by one!"

   Everyone retreated quickly, Xiang Yuanbian hung the treasure on the wall, separated by a stool in the middle, and everyone could only stand three feet away to admire it.

  In addition to the Museum of Literature and History, scholars in other museums of the Imperial Academy were also alarmed one after another.

   There are really three floors inside and three floors outside. This is the only authentic work handed down by Li Bai. Before today, they had never heard of it, and some people copied it out of thin air with their fingers on the spot.

  Wang Tiaoding, the top leader of the Imperial Academy, also came to the scene quickly.

  Wang Tiaoding looked at it for a while and said: "Bring the pen and ink, if you want to copy it, do it as soon as possible. It must be collected before evening, and it will be presented to His Majesty tomorrow. Putting it here will lead to nights and dreams. If it is stolen, I can't afford it."

  So the tables and chairs were placed around the treasures, and no one was allowed to cross the boundary. Each of them was like a child who had just learned calligraphy, repeatedly copying Li Taibai's authentic works.

  Waste paper was thrown on the ground constantly, and people kept lamenting their dissatisfaction.

  I kept copying until evening, but everyone still refused to leave. Wang Diaoding could only prolong the time, and finally came over with a wind lantern for lighting.

  The next day, the two brothers Xiang Yuanbian, with their respective collections of treasures, were successfully summoned by the emperor.

  (end of this chapter)