"reading The Request In Mind" Research,

Dushu minqiu ji by Qian Zeng (1629-1701) of early Qing Dynasty has been recognized as a masterpiece since his time. As the catalog of his private library, Dushu minqiu ji not only follows the Han Dynasty tradition of explaining catalog items, but is the first to introduce good editions in the library in the form of prefaces and postscripts. This practice has an extensive influence on other bibliophiles of Qing Dynasty in regard to edition identification and their emphasis on good edition introduction, which promotes the development of edition bibliography.Books included in Dushu minqiu ji attracted great attention of the time, and were generally treasured. Centuries have passed, and Qian's library is no longer intact. Today, bibliophiles at home and abroad hold many of Qian's collections. Though some are not original copies, there are associations. Through the years, those copied from Qian's library are highly valued, added new prefaces and postscripts, and inscriptions appreciated, with vermilion of stamps and ink of lines brilliant. Dushu minqiu ji is still an important reference for evaluating the loss in Qian's library.Written in the form of prefaces and postscripts, Dushu minqiu ji describes books in different ways and overlooks respective characteristics of editions. Reading this book four hundred years later, there are doubts concerning original editions and volumes of Qian's library. This paper investigates books included in Dushu minqiu ji, their spread and whereabouts, and the number in existence.The paper falls into two parts. The first part, as background knowledge for the second, deals with Qian's life story, his studies and information concerning Dushu minqiu ji .The second part concentrates on the loss and spread of books included in Dushu minqiu ji, centering around catalogs of (?)ibliophiles since Qing Dynasty. A lot of researches have been done using relevant catalogs to trace a book. This paper looks into catalogs of all times for books. It is hoped that efforts of years could contribute to the study of Qian Zeng and his Dushu minqiu ji, and also to the research method of edition bibliography.