Rare books collated by famous scholars are treasures that scholars and bibliophiles scramble to buy. Some scholars even write down the proofreading process, write proofreading notes and attach them to the final version, which is an important reference for future research.
Generally speaking, it can be summarized as two criteria, one is that the content is correct, and the other is that the annotation can be closer to the original intention of the article. The so-called error-free, on the one hand, refers to completeness, neither omission nor redundancy, which is aimed at proofreading possible mistakes when books are printed or copied; On the other hand, it means that the book itself conforms to the original text, which is aimed at the possible mistakes in the circulation of the book content. Because the earlier version should be closer to the original text, therefore, the Cultural Relics Law stipulates that all books published before 60 years of the Qing Dynasty (1795) shall be protected by GJ law and shall not be smuggled out of the country.
Here, only a boundary is roughly defined in time, which is not absolute. Books before 1795 are not necessarily rare books. Judging from people's understanding of the contents of the book, the annotations are closer to the original intention of the article. Because many ancient books have been written for a long time, there are many obstacles to reading. To understand the author's original intention, we often need to rely on the comments of our predecessors. For example, most of the pre-Qin works we are reading now need the help of annotations since the Han Dynasty. So the version of this note is also important.
Generally speaking, the higher the knowledge, the better the labeling. On the other hand, the interpretation of emperors and literati driven by political forces is of little value. Therefore, it is important for the annotator to be independent of politics. In addition to the above two standards, some people think that ancient books with good printing and binding, or books with good paper and ink, can also be regarded as good books from the aspects of printing technology, paper application and binding skills. This is from the artistic nature of the book itself.
With the passage of time, the concept of rare books has been continuously improved by later generations, and finally the cosmological theory of three natures and nine articles has been formed.
Three natures
Books should have high historical relics;
Books should have high academic information;
Books should have high artistic expression.
Jiutiao
Books carved and copied before Yuan Dynasty;
Books carved and copied in Ming Dynasty;
There were few woodcuts and manuscripts before Qianlong in Qing Dynasty.
Books published by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the peasant revolutionary regimes of past dynasties;
Before the Revolution of 1911, there were original opinions or manuscripts with school characteristics in academic research, and there were also rare versions and manuscripts.
Manuscripts that reflect a certain period, a certain field or an event before the Revolution of 1911, as well as rarely circulated engravings and manuscripts;
Before the Revolution of 1911, famous scholars recognized, inscribed or recorded printed copies and transcripts with reference value recognized by predecessors;
Printing can reflect the development of ancient printing, all kinds of movable type printed books, overprint printed books or block printed books, with exquisite proofreading prints and illustrations;
The printed spectrum of Ming dynasty, the ancient printed spectrum of Qing dynasty, the printed spectrum of famous seal cutting, and the unique handwritten inscription.