Research On Biliographies And Postscripts Of Bisong-Library

The Bisong-Library of the Lu family, Gui’an, Zhejiang, is one of the Four Proprietary Libraries that are famous for voluminous collections in the late Qing Dynasty in China. Its collections were mainly block-printed editions and manuscripts of masters of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.In Guangxu Thirty-three year (AD1907), the Sino-Japanese academic circles were shocked that the Bisong-Library sold its major collections to Seikado Bunko, owned by Iwasaki’s of Japan. Continuous attentions were paid by the academics for more than a century. But because the posterity of the Lu family played down the event over the years and Seikado Bunko also tried to keep the information private, available information was extremely scarce. As a result, the academics lacked a clear understanding of the two generation-masters, the overall collections, and the Sale of the Bisong-Library.Early researches made conclusions based on limited or no facts, and contained contradictories and absurdities therein. Additionally, the research topics were quite concentrated. Many researches were about the Bisong-Library’s collections and the Sale; few researches were about Biliography of Bisong-Library and Postscripts of Yigu-Tang. Although it doesn’t appear to put the cart before the horse, it is not balanced.In recent years, new materials and approaches have been applied to old topics, and new results are emerging constantly. It is also beneficial for us to take a new look at the Bisong-Library. Part Ⅰ of this paper presents new findings and complements of the Bisong-Library’s Sale, the doubts in the dispersing process, and the current situation of the collections. Part Ⅱ and Part Ⅲ of this paper center on Biliography of the Bisong-Library and Postscripts of Yigu-Tang, the representative pieces by Xinyuan Lu. Being the master of the Bisong-Library, Lu obsessed abundant collections and rare books, did in-depth researches and compiled several master works. The paper will expound Lu’s bibliographies and postscripts comprehensively, and evaluate the philology value in bibliography, science of edition, textualism, and collection.