When Su Shi was young, he happened to meet the revolutionary period of this book, which also brought a lot of convenience for him to "learn a thousand words of classic history of the literary age" in the future. He once said, "I can still see Teacher Lao Ru." When I don't talk much, I want to ask Shiji and Han Shu, but I can't ask them. Fortunately, I understand. I'm afraid I've been reading books day and night. "
Before Su Shi, it was not easy for the older generation of literati to read historical books such as Historical Records and Han Shu, so they took pains to borrow them, copied them quickly, and then read them day and night for fear that they would not come back. However, Su Shi studied all his life until he was old, and no library was full of Liang Yu. Like many famous scholars at that time, he could sit down and read Buddhism and even some common classics.
Su Shi once said in the Map of the Sea: "You copy a Han Shu here, you copy another Tang book, and you will make a fortune." I haven't read any books since I was demoted to Danzhou, Hainan. I just copied a copy of Hanshu at a local scholar's house, imagining that if I could copy another copy of Tangshu, it would be like a poor man getting rich overnight. In fact, according to Lu You's Notes on the Old Learning Temple, when Su Shi crossed the sea to Danzhou, there were several boxes of pen and ink in his luggage. For him, he would rather take a lot of pens and ink than take books to an isolated island where he can read at will. On the one hand, it shows his self-confidence and strong creative demand; On the other hand, it also shows that he does not pursue fashion, but collects books with the wind.
At that time, many famous scholars liked books very much, and their private collections often reached 10 thousand volumes. For example, Yan, the son of Yan Shu, is famous for his rich collection of books, and his wife has to worry about moving books every time she moves. In addition, there is a small official named Tian Wei in Jiangling. His family has an antique museum with more than 57,000 books. When Huang Tingjian visited his house, he was shocked to see his book collection. He sighed and said, "I tasted the taste of being a secretary at school and traveled all over the south of the Yangtze River. The wealth of masterpieces is not as rich as that of fields. " Huang Tingjian's uncle Li Chang is a descendant of the Tang royal family. When he was young, he collected books and studied in a monk's house. Later, it was named "Lishanju" with a collection of more than 9,000 books.
Su Shi, who is in such a big environment, is not without the heart of collecting books. According to Su Shi's Notes on Qiu Chi, Emperor Taizong spent a lot of money to buy books and post stations from Jin people, and collected thousands of books and post stations from Wang Xizhi and others. When Wu Zetian was in power, his favorite younger brother stole these books and positions from inside the imperial court, and then scattered them in the hands of Prime Ministers Wang Ya and Zhang. After the "nectar change", Wang Ya was killed by the imperial army and all the gold, silver and jewels in his home were robbed. Because the imperial army didn't know the value of these books and posts, they were preserved. Later, Su Shi met Xie Shang, Wang Yan and other Jin calligraphy posts in Xu and Xujiazhong in 2006 and loved them very much. However, considering the inheritance process of these book posts, they are only a curse, and have no other use except as a decoration to show off in the bookcase house. So Su Shi lost interest in this kind of behavior, which seemed to be a collection of the past, but in fact it was a pity and novelty.
Later, at the invitation of a friend, Su Shi wrote down that Chang Li donated all the books from 0755 to 79000 for public welfare, and expounded his own point of view in the article: "Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the authors have benefited a lot, the paper paintings and calligraphy have become more and more simple, and there are more and more books." But scholars are simple every day. Why not? Since the Qin and Han dynasties, more and more people have written books, and the paper, pen and font used for writing have become more and more simple. Books can
Then Su Shi asked: "In recent years, people in the city have turned to imitate the books of a hundred schools and spread them around the world. Many people read books, which is easy to cause such problems. Their academic literature and writing are better than before. Since then, the imperial examination has been confined to books, with no roots and no evidence. How about this? " This means that today's printing industry is developed and prosperous, books are widely circulated, and it is much more convenient to find books to read. It stands to reason that the knowledge of scholars should be twice that of their predecessors. However, the imperial envoys did not read the books. On the contrary, they talk too much. What is this for?
Su Shi used these two questions to reveal several disadvantages of people's book collection. First of all, to appreciate the fame at that time, books were collected only for fame, not for learning. Second, the books collected at home are never read, and they are all placed on the shelves, just to have bragging capital in front of others. Third, books are regarded as private property. Not only do you not read it yourself, you don't borrow it from others, but you collect it for collection. Therefore, Su Shi spoke highly of Chang Li's book-giving behavior, and encouraged people who are interested in learning to keep forging ahead and make a difference.
Su Shi's book collection does not go with the tide, but also reflects his attitude towards life.