A Study On The Collection Of Books By Merchants In The Qing Dynasty

Private book collection in the Qing Dynasty was a peak in the history of private book collection in China.Unlike the past,where most collectors were officials,scholars,and other people with social status,there were more merchants among private book collectors in the Qing Dynasty.The number of merchant librarians in the Qing Dynasty is small,but their status is very important.However,their collection scale and influence are extremely prominent.In the Qing Dynasty,when compiling the "Complete Book of Four Libraries",the largest number of book collectors from various provinces were awarded a "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" by the Emperor Qianlong.Except for the Tian Yi Pavilion of the Fan family,the other three were merchant book collectors.Throughout the history of book collection,although the number of merchant collectors are small,their collection scale and influence are extremely prominent.However,the current research on merchant librarians in the academic community is relatively fragmented and unsystematic.Research often focuses on one or several merchant collectors,while as a group,no one has conducted statistical and comprehensive research on them,which directly leads to the data of merchant collectors being scattered in more than ten biographies of collectors such as Ye Changchi’s "Chronicles of the Book Collection" and other relevant materials.This situation is not conducive to our understanding of the merchant library community,nor is it conducive to our overall understanding of the private library community and the history of private library collections.As for the merchant library group,this lack of understanding of the composition and basic situation of the merchant library group seriously hinders the in-depth research and discussion of the merchant library group.Therefore,the primary purpose of writing this article is to clarify the number and personnel composition of merchant book collectors in the Qing Dynasty.At the same time,using the literature research method,through extensive collection and collation of records on merchant book collectors in various books,related papers,bibliographic inscriptions,anthologies,and other materials,a total of 118 merchant book collectors were collected,and the brief biographies of these merchant book collectors were collated.On the basis of these brief biographies,a summary table of merchant book collectors was prepared.After clarifying the number and personnel composition of the merchant library group in the Qing Dynasty,based on the collected data of merchant library collectors in the Qing Dynasty,this paper conducts a preliminary study on the geographical distribution,collection characteristics,and role of merchant library collectors,in order to grasp the basic overview of the merchant library group.According to the information collected so far,the core of merchant book collection is still Anhui and Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the south.During the Qing Dynasty,southern commerce was developed,and Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were also commercial centers in the south.However,there has always been a tradition of doing business in Anhui region.Compared to ordinary private collectors,merchant collectors have always taken the lead in the quantity,quality,and enlightened atmosphere of book collections.The contribution of merchant librarians to the cause of ancient books in China should be treated objectively in two parts,but in general,their shortcomings cannot be concealed.The contribution of merchant librarians to the cause of ancient books is far greater than their adverse impact on the cause of ancient books.