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Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

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Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Source | Center for the Study of Ancient Chinese Literature, Fudan University

Author | Meng Xianjun

Share | Shuyi Commune (ID: shufaorg)

Editor's note: At the invitation of Professor Du Zexun and Professor Liu Xinming of Shandong University, Mr. Meng Xianjun came to our institute on the afternoon of April 15, 2016 to give a special lecture on the identification of inscription rubbing. Mr. Meng Xianjun is a senior editor of the Cultural Relics Publishing House, who has studied the identification of inscriptions with Mr. Qigong, Mr. Wang Jingxian and Mr. Meng Xianzhang, and is a well-known expert and collector of inscriptions in China, as well as a distinguished expert of the Stone Carving Rubbing Group of the National Ancient Books Protection Center and a member of the Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee. At the same time, he also has profound skills in the identification of ancient book versions. The old extension of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the relics of jujube stones, are innumerable. The identification of the inscription belongs to the specialized learning, Mr. Meng's lecture is a rare learning opportunity for my future generations, and it is specially compiled into a text according to the recording of Mr. Meng's lecture for the benefit of readers.

I came to Nishan School because I was honestly afraid, and the class got an axe. I am an old friend of Mr. Du Zexun, who is more than ten years younger than me, and he has made great achievements, and I admire him very much. Actually, I wanted to do scholarship before, but I didn't succeed in it, so I took a step back and started appreciating. Of course, there are also enjoyable places for appreciation, cultural relics are pleasing to the eye, and the knowledge that comes out of play requires playthings without losing heart. Ancient inscription identification of this science, and calligraphy, academics is a trinity, but now it has been separated, has become three different fields, the identification of the authenticity of the inscription and the study should be one, you see some ancient or modern famous inscriptions for the inscriptions, such as Luo Zhenyu, Wang Guowei's inscriptions, which first reflects the knowledge and knowledge, which also contains the identification of the component. Then there is calligraphy, calligraphy appreciation and inscription identification are also integrated. But now we have separated learning, appraisal and calligraphy, and those of us who know appraisal, including my teachers, Mr. Wang Jingxian and Mr. Meng Xianzhang, can appraise, but calligraphy is not first-class. Mr. Wang has a stamp, that is, "Regret studying late", he is eighty-eight years old this year, and his writing is big, because his eyes are not good. His handwriting is also very old-fashioned and tasteful, but he is not a calligrapher after all. Nowadays, many calligraphers think that they write very well, but they hardly know anything about the inscription, so where did you get this character?

The ancients had such a saying, "Young and unknown teachers", which is a great regret in life, so it is still necessary to learn from famous masters. I don't have a degree, I'm self-taught. How did you get into the Cultural Relics Publishing House? Originally, I couldn't get in, but later because there was a Bole - Mr. Hu Jiacong, an old Communist Party member. He introduced me to it, and then he went to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as a researcher. I didn't know the old gentleman at first, when he made up a book of oracle bones, and it was a bit wrong, and I wrote a letter to correct the error. I didn't actually scratch the itch where I made the mistake, but he said, "Young man, how do you like Oracle?" Come and be an editor with us. "It happened to be 1980, and the 77th and 78th classes of undergraduates had not yet graduated. He strongly recommended it, so I joined the Cultural Relics Publishing House. Later, because I had no academic qualifications and couldn't evaluate my professional title, I went to Peking University to listen to a section of archaeology class, listened to the lectures of Li Boqian, Yu Weichao, Gao Ming, and other gentlemen, did not take the exam, made up a little basic knowledge, and later went to Fudan University for two years of further study. Nowadays, the identification of inscriptions, which was not originally a study, has become a specialized study, and there is no such course in universities, nor does it in art academies. Last year, the Central Academy of Fine Arts invited a Japan scholar named Itoshi to give them a lecture, but it was not systematic, it was just a lecture. Peking University doesn't have this course, the philology major doesn't have this course, the archaeology major doesn't have this course, and the library science major doesn't have this course, which is just marginalizing it. But in fact, it is a tool, just like the computer you use in graduate school now, the ancients must know this hand, how can you practice calligraphy if you don't know this hand? How to go about the imperial examination? Words can't pass the test. Therefore, I advise you, from now on, to start paying attention to this matter, and practice calligraphy conditionally, otherwise you will not be able to understand calligraphy, ancient inscriptions, and ancient characters. You see that in the past, the old gentlemen since the Republic of China have been very good, they have worked hard in this area, and they all know a little bit of inscriptions. You have to know a little bit about it. That's all I have to say about it. In 2010, when the National Library invited me to give a lecture at the Wenjin Forum, I wrote two lines to him, called "Self-ashamed carving insect skills, Wenjin Forum". What I said at the Wenjin Forum was not systematic and fragmentary. Just now, Mr. Du gave me a "relieved pill", and I am allowed to say casually, we will talk about two parts today, one part is about the identification of the inscription, and the other part is about my personal learning experience and understanding.

Let's talk about the stele first. In fact, the inscription is mainly a stele, a cliff, a statue, an epitaph, and all the words engraved on the stone. The inscription is first and foremost a practical object, its purpose is not for calligraphy, its purpose is to commemorate an event, to commemorate a person. But objectively, the words written by famous artists and calligraphers have artistic value, and they are preserved by later generations by hammering and rubbing, which is the stele extension. Each family has different definitions of monuments, such as Ye Changchi, Ma Heng, Zhu Jianxin, etc., so I won't be specific. The classification is very different, some of the classifications are particularly cumbersome, probably Zhu Jianxin is about the same, there are thirty or forty categories, bridge-building, tower inscriptions, and building accessories with words are counted. There is also a name, called ancient inscription, which includes oracle bone inscriptions, gold inscriptions and stone carvings. Then we will mainly study the stone inscriptions. The so-called post is to let people learn the calligraphy work specially carved on the stone or wooden board, probably from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty to the "Chunhua Pavilion Post" as the representative of the rise one after another, so continued. The purpose of the post is to let people learn to write, so the characters of famous artists are engraved on stone or wooden boards and then extended. The earliest prototype of the post is the letter and the like, the words are only words, like Wang Xizhi's book, so there are many words in the "Chunhua Pavilion Post" that are not too smooth, and we can't read it now. The earliest ink "Pingfu Post" is still there, and it was later engraved into a post, which is difficult to interpret, and the words of the Jin Dynasty people are very brief, and the words of modern people are too different. I remember that it was first read by Mr. Qi Gong in 1942, and it was found in the "Yongmutang Fashu". Mr. Kai was born in 1912 when he was in his thirties. Mr. Qigong is really a genius, we really can't compare.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

I just said that I don't have a degree, but I'm very lucky, and my luck lies in this learning method. I have been visiting Mr. Qigong since I was 80 years old, and at first he didn't like to take care of me. I wanted to visit him in the seventies and met a friend, his father was a student of Mr. Kai, so he had this condition. He said don't go yet, Mr. Qigong is very busy, why do you ask me in advance, meaning not to let me go. I also encountered this kind of thing, in 1977 I went to Liu Bingsen's place, and we had a good conversation. Liu Bingsen was a calligrapher in the Forbidden City, and I had already started writing at that time. Not long after I arrived at Liu Bingsen's house, that night, a person came to the door, who was a student of Liu Bingsen, and said that Liu Bingsen was my teacher, and you could not come. Hey, it's so fresh, this teacher still has a monopoly. In fact, I didn't want to learn anything from Liu Bingsen's house when I went to Liu Bingsen's house, my teacher's name is Gui Qianchen, and he is a student of Lu Hejiu. I just want to seek more teachers, more teachers, and more exchanges. The motive for visiting Mr. Qi is also like this, my signed book "On the Quatrain of Books" was given by Mr. Qi Gong, and at that time it was supposed to be written "Qi Gong Seeking Advice", which is Mr. Qi's consistent way of writing, but as a result, the guest came, so he left there. Mr. Qi is a very good person and very helpful to our juniors. At that time, the gentleman said that Mr. Qi was very busy, and I could convey something to you for you, which meant that he would not let me go. In the 80s, after I entered the Cultural Relics Publishing House, the director of the editorial department sent me to Mr. Qigong to ask what to do and what to sign, and I was an errand runner. After more contact, my husband got to know me and liked me more.

At that time, I had already started to buy books, and in 1991 I made a name called "Little Fragment Zhai", and Mr. Qi gave me a plaque.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

After Mr. Qi wrote the question, Mr. Zhu Jiaming, Mr. Wang Shixiang, Mr. Gu Tinglong, Mr. Jao Tsung-i, and Mr. Shi Shuqing wrote one after another. At that time, Mr. Gu wrote a seal character, I was not happy, it was 98 years, Mr. Gu said that the seal character is good, but the seal character is difficult to write. Mr. Gu wrote it in March and passed away in June. Mr. Qi is in regular script, Mr. Rao is in official script, Mr. Gu is in seal script, and I am not the same as this one. The identification of the inscription is mainly due to Mr. Qi, because I like this thing, so I always go to him, I haven't learned calligraphy from him, we just talk about the inscription. Later, after I came back from Fudan University in 86, I became more specialized, so I concentrated on the identification of inscriptions. Mr. Qi said at the time, teach me this inscription identification, if you are interested, I will introduce you to a few teachers, in fact, he is the best teacher. He has two good friends, one is named Meng Xianxian, Mr. Meng is a manager of a vegetable company, but the family is profound, he has bought steles since he was a child, he is rich and rivals the country, things can be comparable to the Forbidden City, things are very good, more than 70% of the steles are Mr. Qi to sign the inscription, and it is still kept at home, and the life is poor, but it is not sold. Another one is Mr. Wang Jingxian, the editorial director of the People's Publishing House, born in 1928, 88 years old this year, his collection is also good, because he was assigned to Beijing after graduating from the China Academy of Fine Arts in Zhejiang, and used his salary to buy a little, and the things are slightly inferior to Mr. Meng, but the variety is complete, and the research is very deep. Mr. Qi said that you should study this, and I will introduce you to two teachers, so I have been learning from them since '86, and in fact, Mr. Qi has benefited the most. I remember that in the early 90s, I once went to Mr. Qi's place, and I showed Mr. Qi a copy of "Zhiyong Thousand Character Text", and Mr. Qi immediately gave me an inscription. After a while, I went again, at the request of the editor of the People's Publishing House, I was asked to go to Mr. Qi for an inscription, titled "General Theory of the History of Chinese Philosophy", and saw that there was a copy of "Zhiyong Thousand Character Essays" on Mr. 's case, and Mr. said you take it, I said how can I do that, but Mr. Qi gave me this post. I said you sign it, Mr. Qi said no, what to sign, I begged to sign one, and then Mr. wrote "This Ming and Qing Dynasty rubbing." In the winter of Yihai, Mr. Xianjun came to visit, thinking that he could be rewarded, that is, to pay tribute. When you are sick, you can't write a book." Later, the editor of the People's Publishing House told me: I let you go, you are a good deal. asked you to sign a sign, and Mr. Qi sent a post and added a post. This is really the style of a senior scholar. I'm with young people now, and I'll say that I can't compare with the older generation, not only can't compare with the older generation, but I can't compare with the mind, it's good if I sign and send you a new book, I can't bear to give you such an expensive thing, I'm really reluctant. I also told a friend some time ago that the ancients have something here for me, and you can take it if it suits you in your way. Now we don't have this demeanor, we don't have this mind.

For the identification of inscriptions, first of all, we must be familiar with the information. I don't know if you're interested in this. You have to know the history of the inscription, and you also have to know the evolution of Chinese characters, oracle bones, golden scripts, big seals, small seals, and the golden scripts are divided into Warring States characters, then Qin and Han characters, and then cursive, regular script, and line script. You must be familiar with the evolution of writing, the style of books from different eras, famous inscriptions, and the works and writings of representative figures. There is also the time when important monuments were erected, when they were unearthed, or when they were discovered. For example, in the past, second-hand booksellers generally liked to exaggerate, including the current National Library also made jokes, holding an exhibition description called "Zhang Menglong Tablet, Song Ta". Where did "Zhang Menglong Monument" come from? It was obviously unearthed in the Ming Dynasty. "Cao Quan Tablet" was unearthed in the Wanli period, and the antique dealer inscribed it with Song Tuo in order to sell gimmicks, but the Song Dynasty has not yet been unearthed. There are also many inscriptions recorded in the Song Dynasty, but many of them do not have rubbings. Song Ta what is more? There are many Fa Ti and Tang monuments, and the Han and Wei monuments are generally Ming Tuo, and there are very few Song Tuo. For example, there are two copies of "Huashan Tablet" in the Forbidden City, which were originally set to be Song Ta, and later one was changed to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. "Confucius Monument" was originally set in Song Tuo, but now it has also been changed to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. This is because the descendants have received more information than the predecessors, not that we are smarter, but that we are standing on the shoulders of the predecessors, and the dynasties have changed. So you have to know when this monument was unearthed, this is a knowledge. There is another one, that is, which one has which rubbing, which is a question of survival. For example, there is only half a copy of "Shence Army Monument", Jia seems to have hidden it, and now it is hidden in the national map, and there is such a thing in the world. Four copies of "Huashan Tablet" have been handed down, one Japan, two in the Forbidden City, and one in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. It's not much of a science, but you have to know. For example, Dong Meiren's epitaph, I now count ten pieces, maybe more than that, but I know, published and announced, and disclosed by collectors, are ten, and this information must be mastered.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Now there are several important collection towns in the country, and the National Library is one, like what "Shence Army Tablet", "Dazhi Zen Master Tablet", this is a very famous thing, "Shence Army Tablet" is a unique book. The National Museum also has a fine art. In the past, because Mr. Gu Tinglong and Mr. Pan Jingzheng were there, these old gentlemen knew both inscriptions and versions, so they paid attention to interviews at that time. There is Mr. Zhao Wanli in the national map, Mr. Zhao's version is very good, he knows both lexicography and gold and stone science, and his "Han and Wei Dynasties and Northern and Southern Dynasties Epitaph Collection" has so far no one can surpass him, rigorous. There are a lot of good things in the Shanghai Museum, after the death of Wu Hufan, many things to the Shanghai Expo, recently held a Wu Hufan collection exhibition, "Dong Meiren Epitaph", "Chang Chou Nu Epitaph", etc., this is the famous domestic inscription. The National Map, the Upper Map, the Shanghai Expo, the National Museum, and the Forbidden City, these are probably the more famous inscription collection units, but other museums also have things. I went to Qingdao the year before last, and the Qingdao Museum took out a thing - a 29-character book of Mount Tai carved stones, which is enough for first-class cultural relics, and there are famous inscriptions. Zhebo also has some things, Nanjing also has some good things, Nanjing University has a Weng Fanggang collection of Song Ta's "Daguan Post" volume 6, it is very famous.

The identification of inscriptions is these basic situations, which should be summarized and summarized through long-term practice and reading books. If you know the more famous books, I always like to give people a list of books. To see Zhang Yansheng's "Rare Book Tablet Record", as well as Fang Ruo's and Wang Zhuanghong's "Essay on Supplementing School Tablets", this book is easier to buy. There are many books for the identification of steles, but these are the most authoritative and classic.

Mr. Zhang Yansheng was born in 1901, he is the owner of the Qingyuntang tablet shop of the Liuli Factory, and is also a member of the National Appraisal Committee. He died in 1982 and lived to be more than 80 years old, with a lot of experience. Most of the things he recorded and contradicted others were him, and this was tried and tested. In the late Qing Dynasty, Fang Ruo had a "School Monument Essay", he made a summary of the school monuments of the past dynasties, and this book is very good. This person later lived to the liberation, Mr. Wang Zhuanghong was acquired by Shanghai Duoyunxuan, this person is very hard-working, ten years and eight years older than me, we both know each other, he has passed away, died in Hong Kong. On the basis of Fang Ruo, Mr. Wang Zhuanghong added more than double the length of the article, some corrected the errors, and included some new information. In addition, a lot of books have been published in recent years, for example, a series of books published by Mr. Zhong Wei of Shanghai Library are good and can be read. But some of them are too large and complicated to remember, so these two books are the most effective. I always wanted to write a book on general theory, but I delayed it for several years, and in 2007 I gave a lecture at the National Atlas, and everyone welcomed it, but now I haven't made it yet, and I guess it's hopeless, and it's not systematic enough, just to summarize some practical experience. The book I just gave to Mr. Du is an ancient book for me, and the name is "Ancient Books of Paper and Ink Fragrance", which is based on actual combat and my own experience in buying and collecting books for decades. I remember that in the past, Mr. Mao Chunxiang had a book called "Ancient Book Versions", which was very good and very targeted, I don't know if you have read it. Mao Chunxiang is a senior researcher at the Zhejiang Library. At that time, the book was transmitted to Beijing, and Zhao Wanli said, Mao Chunxiang can still write a book? looked down on Mao Chunxiang and felt that Mao Chunxiang's book was useless. Not really. Zhao Wanli has Zhao Wanli's height, and Mao Chunxiang has Mao Chunxiang's strengths. It is the so-called "the ruler is short, the inch is long". For example, my book belongs to "inch long", to Mr. Li Zhizhong, Mr. Li said, "Everyone should express their own opinions", and I belong to "each to express his own opinions". I didn't dare to give this book to Mr. Li, but if I don't give it, I and Mr. Li are also teachers and friends, don't give it, do you want to hide it secretly? Give, this is also called a book? Of course, it was given in the end. But I know the weight of my book, it's self-aware.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Jin Nong's Old Collection, "Huashan Stele", "Shunde Ben" (detail)

Then let's talk about the task of the identification of the stele, first of all, to see whether the stele is the original or the re-engraved. It's not that it's all bad. I participated in the formulation of the national "Grading Standard for Rubbing of Tablets" with Mr. Liu Xinming, which logically says that the original engraving can be determined, and the translation can not be determined, but it is not necessarily. For example, if you look at Song Tuo's "Lou Shou Tablet" and "Xia Cheng Tablet", they are all Han monuments, and the original inscription is gone, but they are Song Tuo. So what to do? Level 1. From the perspective of historical relics, because it is enough for the Song Dynasty, it must be first-class, but it should be noted that it is a re-engraving, there is no original engraving, and the original engraving has been lost. This thing is both contradictory and unified, and it is necessary to master this. Another important point is that it is more important to get started in practice, which cannot be solved by just reading books. For example, if you want to look at the ink color, you can know the time by looking at the ink color. Now I basically don't pay attention to the examination documents. Of course, we also have to look at the examination of the word, the examination of the word is an aspect, for example, "Zheng Wengong under the stele", the word "Song" is not damaged, it is a good book, but some people say that the earliest is only the early years of Guangxu, some people say that it was discovered during the Qianlong period, this is not too unified, it is all mentioned by famous artists. But as long as the word "Song" is not damaged, and the word "show" of "Lifting Xiucai" is not bad, it is a better book. It also depends on the color of the paper and ink. When to use what paper, for example, the Song Dynasty carved books, we claim to be hemp paper, white linen paper, jute paper, that is, the fiber is particularly coarse this kind of paper. Mr. Pan Jixing is an expert in the history of papermaking, and he believes that the so-called hemp paper belongs to the category of leather paper. Then the Ming Dynasty was cotton paper, white cotton paper, yellow cotton paper. In the Qing Dynasty, paper had more patterns, and of course the craftsmanship was more elaborate. Early paper was more rustic. The day before yesterday, I went to a company to see the Tang people writing scriptures and carving scriptures, and the curtains were very wide, which were all early paper, and the later the paper curtains, the narrower the curtains. So look at the paper, look at the ink. The paper is different in different regions. Like Shaanxi paper, such as Hanzhong Thirteen Pins, it is all that kind of large leather paper. What kind of good? Light ink is good, because at that time, this kind of Tuomo Cliff atmosphere just began to rise, because it is not easy to extend, all on the cliff shelf, so the initial extension is light ink, and the later extension is a touch of a hand black. This exhibition of the national map showed a timidity, and the word "high" in the whole paper of "Ode to Shimen" was torn out, and the thick ink also said that it was Qianlong's rubbing, how could Qianlong come from? That's Guangxu rubbing. The last part of this cliff has the word "high", and it happens that the original stone is a depression here, so the word "high" in the initial extension book does not cut out the lower half of the "mouth", which is characterized by light ink. Later, the word was pulled out, but it was complete, thick ink. The word "high" must be complete before and after Guangxu. The people in the library have a weakness, he doesn't care about things that don't belong to them, and he is fine after work. We have a "Dong Meiren Epitaph" at home, I can't wait to sleep with it, this is different, the feelings are not the same, I can still study it after work. If I buy the wrong one, I will pay 600,000 yuan; If you buy it right, you will earn 600,000 yuan. Of course, I'm not here for profit. I bought "Dong Meiren's Epitaph" for 600,000 yuan, and the starting price was 6,000, and I bought it for 600,000 yuan. It took several years just to repay the money, and I sold a lot of books, which made me feel very distressed. At that time, I was also entangled. Don't buy? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you want to buy it, you have to sell a batch of good books and sell them one after another. The books I sell can produce a rare bibliography. It's distressing, but I can't help it. Last year, another "Epitaph of Dong Meiren" came out, which was also very good, 1.2 million, doubled. So the experience of those of us who have a collector's habit is also bitter and sweet, but it feels more real, these things are wearing your ribs, with blood, with flesh, which is different. Of course, we don't mean that everyone should buy books to learn, but that you have to go deeper. In fact, you don't necessarily have to buy it to understand, that is, you can see it if you look at it. Zhang Yansheng also bought it, because he is an antique dealer. Like Luo Zhenyu, needless to say, Luo Zhenyu is also a scholar and a collector. I don't know what Mr. Du thinks, but I think he is really remarkable except for the fact that he is following Pu Yi. Later, because this person had political problems, he was not promoted or commended for a long time. In fact, this person is very knowledgeable, his foundation is too thick, and his face is too broad.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

In addition to looking at the paper and ink, there is also a reference to the word. Fang Yaoyu lived until 1954 and was a native of Dinghai, Zhejiang, and his book "School Monument Essays" did a good job. For example, you say "Zhang Menglong Monument", there are so many words, what do we grasp, you can grasp the four words "Winter Warm and Summer", "Winter Warm and Summer" is not damaged, the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. "Gai" and "Wei" are not connected, Mingtuo. You don't have to memorize this, just look at it more and look at it repeatedly. "Zhang Qianbei" looks at the word "worship", which is the word "worship" in "Zheng Bai Langzhong", and the word "worship" is not damaged, which is before Qianlong. If the word "讳" in "Jun Zhi Qian" is not damaged, it will be the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. Pay attention to keywords, just pay attention to one or two words for a tablet. For example, in "Ritual Tablet", the word "ancient" is "chasing only the great ancient", and the stone flower at the bottom is late, and the stone flower is Mingtuo. There is also a reference to the back, the tenth line of "absolute thinking", "absolute thinking" and "thinking" are not connected, which is the early Ming Dynasty. This means that you have to grasp the keywords of the key monument. There are thousands of kinds of steles, and no one can memorize them. You don't have to memorize it, it's enough to catch dozens of kinds. Dozens, highly generalized, and then the rest depends on the ink color of the paper. Some of them need you to look up, and there is this book, so that the basic rules will be mastered.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

There are 17 kinds of small fragments, such as the old collection of Mr. Dongxin's writings

What else should I pay attention to? Also pay attention to the additional culture value. That's how about the décor of this rubbing. I use a popular analogy, "a good horse with a good saddle". If you break into the Beijing Hotel in a suit and leather shoes, you may be able to get in and have a meal. If you wear shorts and a vest and slippers, they won't let you in. Generally speaking, the decoration of a good stele is also very elaborate and very magnificent. There are also tablets with withered decoration and excellent quality, but there are very few. What is a good décor in general? It is the cherry tree surface, the brocade surface, surrounded by mahogany edges, and the most subordinately Nanmu surface. Of course, there are also gold and jade that are ruined on the outside, and that is a commodity. But generally speaking, this is the same, and it is important to note this. Another is to pay attention to the inscription. There are many kinds of inscriptions, like inscriptions, you don't look at the inscription on a name, some names are very particular, saying that it is Song Ta what monument, it will give you a date, a certain old collection, a certain inscription, who has hidden, who has inscribed, when the inscription, there are a lot of contents. There is also a side book, the so-called side walk is some inscriptions written around the heart of this post. Finally, there is also the view of the paragraph, for example, so-and-so has seen it, and so-and-so has inscribed. These bring you a lot of information.

For example, the National Library has a piece of Song Ta's "Dazhi Zen Master Tablet", the water stains are very bad, and there is no walk, nothing, so Zhang Boying inscribed a signature, "Song Ta Dazhi Zen Master Tablet, Library". The so-called warehouse decoration is the decoration of the inner house of the Song Dynasty. At that time, I was involved in the grading work, and this thing was immediately designated as a first-class and a national precious ancient book. Although there is no inscription, its decoration itself speaks of its era, preserving the framing skills of the Song Dynasty, how powerful this is, and how much information this can bring you.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

I have a copy of "Jade Edition Thirteen Lines", which should be a Kangxi rubbing, with a Luo Shen drawn in front and a copy of "Luo Shen Fu" in the back, Shen Zongqian in front and Chen Zhuo in the back. As soon as I opened this place, it was written on the back "Yu'an master Qianlong was installed in Hangzhou in the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong", then Chen Zhuo's last paragraph is "Yu'an master", which is the word given to Yu'an master, which is a painting for Yu'an master. I didn't check this Yu'an, but at least my post was framed in the 57th year of Qianlong, and this rubbing cannot be later than the 57th year of Qianlong. This information is important and helps us to determine the age. There is also a seal and seal. Some have no inscriptions, only stamps. The general seal is the earliest at the bottom, one by one to the top, but there are also not according to the conventional cards, some people do not pay attention to this, for example, the emperor does not care, sometimes the words are also covered, because he is a big official, he is unreasonable, but the general literati are very fond of this next to the row, to the top. Like Mr. Zhou Shutao and Mr. Zhao Yuanfang, these big bibliophiles have their seals at the end of the book, and a small seal on the corner, which means that future generations who don't like you can dig it, it will not affect the book. The most ignorant person is to carve a rubber stamp from the street, and cover it with the oil that receives the salary, which is called "Buddha's head with dung". The tablets and books in my collection have not been stamped, and the seals cannot be stamped indiscriminately, which will affect the circulation of this thing.

Let's come back to studying the inscription. There are basically three ways to study the inscriptions: one is the connoisseurship, represented by Weng Fanggang. In fact, Weng Fanggang's collection is the "Fuchuzhai Anthology" and "Poetry Collection", which are very rich in content, but because of the "Huadu Temple Tablet", he regarded the Song people's translation as the original carving, and now he is criticized, but in fact, he was an academic champion at that time, and he participated in the compilation of the gold and stone class of the "Siku Quanshu". The other is the examination school, represented by Qian Daxin, his "Qianyantang Jinshi Wen Bawei", which we don't understand. There are very few such studies in contemporary times, and there are also articles that use unearthed stone carvings or epitaph materials, but there is no such thing that can be called Zhuo Ran. There is also a school of collecting materials, such as Wang Lanquan's "Golden Stone Collection", which unifies all the materials of the previous generations, collects them, and arranges them here, and this work can probably be done. In ancient times, it was roughly divided into three categories, so now I will learn a little bit of Weng Fanggang's fur and appreciate it. I recently bought a copy of "Fu Chu Zhai Poetry Collection", which was originally engraved by Daoguang, with a little annotation by Ye Zhixu, who was his student. There are poems about Mount Tai carved stones, I think there is nothing behind my twenty-nine characters of Mount Tai carved stones, I copied Mr. Weng's poems, add some color. Connoisseurs, researchers, bibliographers, and inscription research are about three ways, if the students here are interested in this, you can choose one of them to do, I think this has a bright future.

In the past, in terms of connoisseurship, he also had a focus. The Song Dynasty had a climax, then the Qing Dynasty was a climax, the Song Dynasty lexicography was a climax, and the Qing Dynasty lexicology was another climax, which is very interesting. You see that the last four great lyricists, Zheng Wenzhuo, Wang Pengyun, Guo Zhouyi, and Zhu Xiaozang, have done a good job in words and made great contributions to spreading words, and at the same time they all understand Jinshi, and they are all very good. I have their works, and I have their inscriptions. I also collected some word collections, because I bought some good word collections by chance, which are particularly rare, such as "Drinking Water Poetry Collection", which is the earliest book of Nalan, it turns out that Ye Gongyu has a copy, burned, Xie Guozhen has a copy, I have a copy, it is very rare, and I have been interested since then. Later, I didn't see it, the words of the Qing word are vast, vast as a sea of smoke, I get a hundred kinds of inscriptions, basically I took down the important ancient Chinese inscriptions, thousands of words are in vain, too many, you have to know all the genres, the masterpieces of each genre, where to take it? Uneven. I'm almost seventy years old this year, and it's not enough to live to be two hundred and ten years old, so it's impossible. Mr. Yang Chengkai used to remember my "Drinking Water Poetry Collection", he didn't have this, he played the dictionary so well and never saw this thing. It was also very accidental that in a Chinese bookstore, for 200 yuan, I bought a "Collection of Drinking Water Poems" published in the original journal of Kangxi for 30 years.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification
Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Tang Yan Pagoda Holy Religious Preface Records Lingjia Mountain People Inscription and Inscription

Then the collection principle of the traditional inscription is to emphasize the Han and Wei dynasties, and light the Tang and Song dynasties, because there are many Tang monuments, and the former Poly auction took a Tang monument for me to see, which is the "Sacred Order of the King", and there are many of them, and the whole country wants to list the Song Tuo, and there must be dozens of copies above the Southern Song Dynasty, so I don't attach too much importance to it. Of course, he was ridiculed as an antique artist because of this. Mr. Kai said the same. There is also the emphasis on early extension, light near extension, because after all, early extension survives less, more words, the value of historical materials is high, the value of literature is high, and the value of cultural relics is also high. There is also a heavy helper. The so-called "helper", is the inscription, inscription, inscription, view, some of the stele extension without the stele, the early rubbing of the book without the stele, not the stele, then the famous will give a stele, for example, Zhang Zuyi to make up a stele, Huang Shiling to make up a stele, that is precious, the book is an early book, the famous man to make up a stele, complement each other, how interesting, and then a famous view, Duanfang, Zhang Zhidong, Yang Shoujing to give one, that status is very high. That's what it means, you need to have a helper. Another one should be re-qualified, such as magnificent, cherry-faced, nanmu-faced, and brocade-faced. Of course, it's not completely important to look at, some things are particularly good in themselves, but there is no helper, and the decoration is not good, and there are 1 in 10,000 cases, so you have to pay attention to it, then you have to see that it is more capable. Like Mr. Zhu Yixi, that is, Mr. Zhu Jiaming's father, is a modern person who collects inscriptions, he has a unique vision, his things were later donated to the Forbidden City, he had an appointment with Ma Heng, so after his death, the four Zhu Jiaming brothers donated all the inscriptions to the Forbidden City, accounting for more than 30% of the rare books and inscriptions in the Forbidden City. The quantity of his things accounts for 23 percent of the total, and at most 5 percent, but in the rare books it accounts for almost 30 percent, and the quality is particularly high. Another re-description. Bibliographies, that is, this book, this inscription, was once in the bibliographies of an important collector or scholar. For example, I have a "Jiang Yao Broken Monument", which has three pieces in the country, one in the National Museum, one in the Shanghai Museum, and one in Hanzhai. Then my piece was published by the Zheng Book Company during the Republic of China, and it is an old collection of Duanfang. For example, I have a "Cao Quan Tablet", which has been published by Zhengshu Company, and it is printed with me, so my book is better than the one that has not been recorded. It is either recorded in the "Rare Book Tablet Record", or it is recorded in the "Essay on the Supplementary School Tablet", or it is mentioned in other notes and scholars' works, which is very valued by everyone.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Let's repeat it again. The focus of the stele identification is on the evolution of the text, the evolution of the book, the famous monument, but also to know the paper, the ink, this is not a matter of a day, this is to be accumulated for a long time. Another is to memorize some test words, test words to repeat, why is it difficult to get test words? Because the book says that the test is based on the words, it is the first few lines and words of the whole sheet, and what we see is the book, so the cost of your cutting and mounting should be compared with the whole paper. Also, you have to recognize the seal characters. I've seen a lot of book collectors, including those who have a considerable level, don't recognize the seal, the seal can't be recognized, I don't know who has collected it. In ancient times, some of the seals were not standardized, and they added strokes casually, and there were self-made seals. If only the Qing Dynasty was better, the rules. The seal characters of the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty are not standardized enough, he is nonsense, you have to guess. Also, to know the life of the collector, the life of the collector, some of this knowledge is not in the books, and some of it can be found in the computer now, and we will know it if we handle it more. Some small masters, such as Yu Lianke in Beijing, as well as Tao Beiming, Qin Gengnian, Wu Ding, Wu Zhen, and Wu Zhongjiong in the south, these are all looming, you don't have a dictionary, in fact, it is very important, these people have a very good collection. If you want to say that everyone knows Wu Hufan, you really don't know these people, there are many people in Beijing who are in such a situation. Pay special attention to the inscription, not only to increase its artistry, but also to study this thing. Another one is to pay attention to photocopies, because we can't everyone have this rubbing, photocopies are printed according to good bases, and very few are bad bases, which are generally good bases. Because I was like this when I started out, when I came back from Fudan in '86, I concentrated on buying photocopies of the inscriptions, and Mr. Qi said to me at that time, "You buy the inscriptions, and I will be your staff officer." As for how many photocopies have been handed down, whether the base book is good or not, and whether the price is expensive or not, Mr. Qigong's brain is like a computer, so he told me immediately. I learned this hand as well.

To sum up, I have summarized decades of experience in the identification of inscriptions into ten words, I don't know if it's right. What is the task of identification? Don't look at just ten words, it's not easy, I think it's the core thing that has been summed up over the decades. Not everyone can do these ten words, and I can't do it either. 1. Authenticity. Now it's annoying to use high-tech to cheat, and sometimes I fall for it. It's really easy to see, there are a lot of pseudo patterns, there are silicone, there are gypsum, there are inkjet, I don't know what method to print, I have bought inkjet, with the naked eye to see no problem, the test word is no problem, with a magnifying glass to see, a lot of small ink spots, inkjet. Second, morning and evening. That is to say, sooner or later, even some of our professional workers have not yet figured it out, and some of them have arguments. For example, let me give you an example, there is a word "yellow" on the last line of "Yang Huai Table", and Mr. Zhong Wei said that there is a word "yellow" early. But what? Weng Fanggang's "The Legend of the Two Han Dynasty Jinshi" said that there was no "yellow" character early, because there was no "Lianghan Jinshi Ji". Wang Senwen's "Shimen Stele" also said that there is no "yellow" early. In Luo Zhenyu's writings, it is also said that the early extension lacks the word "yellow". Which do you want to believe? Of course I believe in Weng Fanggang. Zhong Wei said that there was a Zhu Tuo, and he said that Zhu Tuo originally had yellow characters, early. This one is wrong. Weng Fanggang was a native of Qianlong, and "The Legend of the Two Han Dynasty Jinshi" was engraved in the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong. Weng Fanggang had never seen the word "yellow", so he must not have seen it at that time. It was later found that the stone was glued to Taku. Zhu Tuowan, this is not a printed book, first use a red seal, then brush the blue one, and then brush the black one. So Mr. Chung Wei turned this upside down. How could Weng Fanggang be wrong, how could Wang Senwen be wrong, Luo Zhenyu also said that there was no "yellow" word early, so do you say that you want to believe these three. So maybe Mr. Zhongwei has put the cart before the horse. Like this, you still have to combine literature and physical objects, and you have to read ancient books. If you don't read ancient books, those who do inscriptions don't understand the literature, and they don't connect with the literature, so it's easy to make mistakes. For example, if we look at Niu Yunzhen's "Golden Stone Diagram", the word "autumn" in "Spring and Autumn Salute" in "Shi Chen Tablet", there is only a little bit left of it. You look at the "School Tablet Essay", the remaining part of the word "autumn" is the Qianlong book, and the word "autumn" is all stored in the Ming Tuo book, and it happens that Niu Yunzhen is a Qianlong person, which is right, the literature and the tablet are on the right, so it is not good to read the literature. Just engage in the inscription, just look at the inscription itself, not look at the literature, I don't think it's okay, we have to combine the two. Look at this is a lot of explanation.,The word "autumn" is the last pen.,It's Qianlong Tuo.,It's the book that "Susu" is not bad.,It just so happened that Niu Yun Zhen saw that there was only such a piece left.,Isn't this right.。 These two examples illustrate the need to combine literature and inscriptions. Three, how much. It's harder to tell how much, you have to look at the bibliographies, you have to understand the current situation in the museums. Now that there is an Internet, it was even more difficult to do when there was no Internet in the past, and the museum does not publish its collections. You have to look at the writings of the predecessors, including notebook novels, which are all in the notes, how much is this. Fourth, good and bad. I understand that good or bad is the quality of the book and the quality of the book. For example, if there are two things, one is particularly finely framed, and the other is tattered, and the words are damaged, which is of course expensive and precious. There are also for example, the same stele, one is the whole paper, one is cut and mounted, from the original condition of our stele to see, the whole book can see the shape clearly, the other is well mounted, look at the process, each has its own benefits. Fifth, the noble and the low. This is difficult, it depends on different eras. There is very little information on the price, but there is a special catalogue for Luo Zhenyu, from 1918 to 1920, it was to be sold, and it was sold for disaster relief, and there was a catalogue and a price. Another is that before liberation, there were various exhibitions, and it had a price. For example, Mr. Wang Jingxian told me that buying a "this" word did not damage the original "Shimen Ming", ninety yuan, and "Dong Meiren's Epitaph" was sixty yuan, which was in the sixties. There is also the Forbidden City, doesn't the Forbidden City have a tablet registration form, where did he enter it after liberation, how much money, and the Shanghai Library also has it, this is the internal information, and it is not easy to know. Now you can look at the auction, he has an estimate. To sum up, authenticity, morning and evening, how much, good or bad, high or low, five standards, a total of ten words. I think that's about the number of tasks for the identification of steles.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

I'm going to talk about my learning experience next. I think that to do anything and do a discipline, you must have these several conditions to encourage my classmates. One is talent, which is given by my parents, there is no way, but to realize what material you are and what you want to do, you have to have a good judgment. In literal terms, it means "who I am, where I came from, and where I am going". For example, I know Mr. Li Xueqin, Mr. Li is extremely smart, I have listened to his lectures, Oracle Bone Inscription, Jin Wen's class, that is what he taught at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Mr. Lee's comprehension, insight, analysis, and memory are all top-notch, far beyond the reach of my generation. Having said that, in 1980, I easily entered the Cultural Relics Publishing House, because I had no academic qualifications, I couldn't evaluate the title, and then the Cultural Relics Bureau and Fudan held a class, that is, a cadre training class, two years, belonging to the history department of the cultural and museum major. The leaders of other units of the people are eager for their comrades to go, and the letter of recommendation has written a lot of good words, and the director of our editorial department is more economical, writing "This person loves to buy books and read, but his knowledge is not systematic", three sentences, I was admitted with good grades, otherwise I would have been returned. "I love to read, I love to buy books, and my knowledge is not systematic", I had no choice but to go to Peking University every day to listen to lectures and listen to the classes of Mr. Li Boqian, Mr. Yan Wenming, and Mr. Gao Ming. Evil supplements, or not, that is, to recognize what material you are. And one more, to have a good teacher. I think you are very lucky, under Mr. Du, there is such a good leader, such a good platform, you will follow this correct path, and it will be easy to produce results in the future. At the time, I said that I was unfortunate and fortunate, and I said it just now. At the end of the seventies, the college entrance examination was officially resumed, I was too self-righteous at the time, and the middle school teacher said, "You can do it at this level", because I was the representative of the Chinese class in our class, and I was okay with ancient Chinese or something, and I just got married and had children, so I didn't take the university entrance examination, and I didn't have any preparation to apply for Mr. Qiu Xigui's graduate school in paleography, of course, I didn't get in, and I scored more than 50 points in my major, 80 points in politics, 70 points in ancient Chinese, and more than 60 points in ancient history. Later, I got to know Mr. Qiu, so I asked Mr. Qiu for advice in private, and I had a close relationship. Later, I listened to Mr. Li Xueqin's class, and later met Mr. Wang Shimin and Mr. Chen Gongrou. Mr. Chen Gongrou has helped me a lot, he is very knowledgeable. Because of his background and historical problems, he was degraded after liberation. In fact, Chen Mengjia's "Han Jian Commentary", as well as the later "Western Zhou Dynasty Bronze Dynasties", the follow-up finishing work was done by him, including Ma Heng's "Han Stone Classics Collection", which he sorted out after Ma Heng's death. This person is very knowledgeable, I had a very close relationship with him in his later years, and then I ordered a copy of Luo Zhenyu's "Preface to the Xuetang School Magazine Group Book" and "Ji Zhi Compilation", but it was not published, and asked Mr. Chen to review it, Mr. Chen said, "Give you eighty points", I said, "It's not low, give me eighty points". This means having a good teacher.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

It caused a double shock in the academic and calligraphy circles in the 20th century

The core of the "Lanting Debate".

——"Epitaph of Wang Xingzhi and His Wife" unearthed the first rubbing

I am very honored that I have consulted Mr. Qigong, Mr. Zhu Jiajun, and Mr. Wang Shixiang. To say a very interesting thing, once the State Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee held a meeting, I first went to Mr. Zhu Jiajun to talk. Because I work for the Cultural Relics Bureau, I always attend meetings as an observer, not a committee member. Mr. Zhu said: "I don't have anything here, it's just 'pig running knowledge'." "What do I mean by "pig running knowledge"? I don't know. When I got to Mr. Qi's place, I chatted again, and understood, "Haven't you ever eaten pork, haven't you ever seen a pig run?" "This is the academic demeanor of the old gentlemen. Mr. Qi also didn't go to college, he didn't have this condition.

Another Mr. Li Ling, who is now a professor at Peking University, used to be a graduate student of Mr. Li Xueqin. When I was a graduate student, I often came to the Red House of Peking University (where the Cultural Relics Publishing House is located) to come to me, and I benefited a lot from eating and communicating at noon. In 2010, I was hospitalized to regulate my blood sugar and was admitted to Tiantan Hospital. I happened to see Mr. Li Ling's article in the newspaper, saying that he was eating "Sangu rice", what is "Sangu rice"? - Ancient characters, ancient documents, archaeology, so Mr. Li Ling is very confident and knowledgeable. After reading this article, I felt a lot of emotion, so I wrote a smooth poem: "I am not good at heaven, and I have been wandering outside the Sangu Gate for a long time." "I've also done all of this" Three Ancient "Ah, I put a lot of effort into archaeology, sorted out the information of bronzes, and walked around for a long time without getting into it before exiting. "Since I am fortunate that the former sages have been rewarded, the pig runs and learns the same." So many old gentlemen have brought me up, and I said, "Pigs run and learn the same." Later, I showed my classmate Feng Steam that he was the famous professor of the First Normal University, an expert in "Shuowen". He asked me to polish and polish the mediocre or something, and my polishing was in line with the mediocre, but it didn't agree, so it was just limerick. "Heaven is false and I am not a talent", I am a stupid person. "Wandering outside the Sangu Gate for a long time", even if I turned around for a long time, I didn't get in. "I am fortunate that my predecessors have been rewarded", that is to say, I am very fortunate that we have all been in contact with, learned, and asked so many masters. "Pigs run learning the same way", which is also "pig running learning", this is also quite interesting.

I told you that "young unknown teacher" is a big regret in life, of course, talent, knowledge is not inherited, but also rely on yourself, learning to have a correct path, especially to learn calligraphy, academics, you have to follow the right path, the greater the effort, the greater the achievement. If the road is crooked, the greater the effort, the worse. In calligraphy, He Shaoji's family walked out of a way, He Shaoji's writing is more energetic, and he has succeeded, which is very special. Mr. Qi has talked about a few points, natural, moderate, and suitable. He said that some people write with their tongues, with their left hand, and directly with their hands, which are all evil ways, that is, they want to win with crazy monsters and take shortcuts, but there are no shortcuts, traditional, well-behaved, let it be natural, suitable for human physiology, this is correct. If you have to work hard, that's not good. Another thing, which is not up to us, is the life span of people. For example, Qi Baishi, he lived so long to have such great achievements, if he died early, it would be over. Some people are a pity, Xu Beihong is fifty-three, Chen Shaomei is forty-eight, and there are early, that Jiang Biao is only thirty-eight years old, how talented he is, unlucky. Like me, I will be seventy next year, life is short, the years are near, I can't achieve anything, it's too late. Anyway, it's the heart that yearns for it, tries to work hard, and dies at night, that's the kind of spirit.

I've been chasing all my life, I've been chasing others, and I'm always inferior to others. Chasing the ancients, these things I like now, talking to the ancients, the inscriptions of the ancients, the books of the ancients, the inscriptions of the ancients, the criticism of the ancients, I really learn from the ancients. Chasing the former sages, chasing Mr. Qi, chasing Mr. Wang, of course, can't catch up, just work hard to chase. Chasing Shixian, I read Mr. Fang Guangqi's article that day, I am very familiar with Mr. Fang, Mr. Du and we both participated in the review work together, and we all communicated together. Mr. Fang has a lot of knowledge, and this Dunhuang scroll, you can know that it has high practical experience and theoretical level. Including Mr. Du, as well as Mr. Liu, and many of my contemporaries, such as the deceased Mr. Yang Chengkai, the level is very high, and I have always held an attitude of learning with an open mind. Even now that I'm starting to chase the younger generations, some of the up-and-comers are so powerful that I am stunned, and I take the inkjet printing things seriously. Last year, Poly auctioned a piece of "Master Dao Yin Tablet", and I was in bed with a broken waist at the time, so I didn't go to see it. I read it when I was reviewed, and there was a "Dao Yin Monument" written on the form, and I didn't pay attention to it, the starting price was 3,000 yuan, and the transaction was 900,000 yuan. Later, show me the photos, it's so good, I said at least enough for the Ming Dynasty. Later, the buyer called me that night and said, "Mr. Meng, I have bought a good thing, the Northern Song Dynasty Tuo, second only to the Forbidden City in Taipei and the Forbidden City in Beijing, which is just a millimeter." So young people are amazing, really tall. So I want to learn from the ancients, learn from the predecessors, learn from the sages, learn from the younger generations, and chase them all my life. Teacher Gui, who used to teach me how to write, told me a story, and I don't know where this allusion came from. He said that people are like digging a well, some people are not attentive, dig twice and do not see water, leave, dig in another place twice, and then leave. Some people concentrate on digging in one place, and when they finally see water, they succeed. I said that I belonged to that stupid person, just guarding a place to dig, just such a small category, finally seeing a little water, nothing more than concentration, perseverance. Just mentioned Mr. Fang Guangqi's article, he didn't study Buddhism, and he said a few words very well. He said that there is a "good fate" and a "bad fate". The so-called "good fate" is the people who have helped you, and the so-called "bad fate" is the people who have hindered you, both of which are good for you. I read other people's anthologies for a long time and got these four words, and I can't understand the others, it's too deep.

Mr. Qi Gong also said one thing, let me tell you about it. Mr. Qi wrote a couplet, he said, "Mr. Yu Guannian is involved in the world, this gentleman is choked in everything, but at that time, he was compatible, and Yu was widowed, and he was ten times as bad as he is now." In the summer of 1986, Qi Gong". The content of the couplet is "Jade I am in success, out of Mr. unexpected; repay the king with virtue, and die without saying a word". He didn't say who it was, and I don't know who it was, but Mr. Qigong was also quite miserable at that time, and he was ostracized because he had no education. Their family has a good relationship with Mr. Fu Zengxiang, one year someone wanted to ask Mr. Qi to write an inscription, asked me to beg, he asked how much money to give, I said you don't have to give money, just give him the pair of Mr. Fu Zengxiang in your house, I took it, Mr. Qi was very happy, and wrote on the spot. I didn't know it at the time, but I later learned that Fu Zengxiang and his predecessor were admitted in the same year and in the same period, and they had this friendship. At that time, Mr. Fu Zengxiang said that this child was so smart, he could write and draw well, and he didn't have a job, so he asked Mr. Chen Yuan to arrange for him to teach art and Chinese in Furen High School. The principal of the attached middle school is more traditional, saying that you can teach me without a degree, and it took a semester to use him. Chen Yuan was angry, come to my Fu Jen University, teach Chinese in the first year, so Mr. Qi regards Mr. Chen as a father. Mr. Fu Xinian is the grandson of Mr. Fu Zengxiang, who is both highly talented and deeply educated, so it is no wonder that Mr. Qigong attaches great importance to him. Mr. Fu Xinian is now the director of the National Appraisal Committee, and the original five-person team is Qigong, Xie Zhiliu, Liu Jiu'an, Xu Bangda, and Fu Xinian, and Mr. Fu Xinian is the youngest. There is this relationship, so I took Fu Zengxiang's couplet, and Mr. Qi immediately helped someone inscribe the words.

I am such a layman, an amateur player, and I was later selected to participate in the review of the National Rare Ancient Books List, which is a great honor. I've been lucky all these years, I've counted the things I've been involved in, and we'll end it today. In 2000, Weng's collection of books, is Weng Wange's batch, he is a descendant of Weng Tongxiao, dozens of things, how wonderful, at that time Mr. Li Zhizhong of the National Library said that most of them have, not much chasing, Shanghai is more hard, so this batch of things finally returned to the Shanghai Library. At that time, everything had arrived at the airport, and Beijing also issued an approval document saying that it wanted it, but it was too late. The report I drafted for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics was also interested, but it was difficult for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics to keep up with the map and the national map. I drafted the article, and I also read it, and in the morning it was read by the old gentlemen, Mr. Qi Gong, Mr. Zhu Jiaming, Mr. Wang Shixiang, and the old gentlemen in the book industry, all of whom are still alive. In the afternoon, we are the "little gentlemen", Mr. Yang Chengkai, me, Tian Tao, and Song Pingsheng. I have participated in this matter, everyone is staring at Song Yuan, I have another picture, I am watching "Mr. Winter Heart's Sequel Self-Preface", the book was handwritten by Ding Jing on the board, and it was printed very little. Because I collect more gold winter hearts, I have eight kinds, and I have written an article about it. The second thing is "Yuan Guan Zang", "Yuan Guan Zang" is the official engraving of the Tripitaka in the Yuan Dynasty, I didn't know that there was this thing, and later Yunnan produced a few copies, which were introduced in the "Cultural Relics" magazine, and then Fang Guangqi wrote an article, and then gave the national map 20 copies from several collectors in Hebei, which was very cheap. Two million is still a lot, of course, they also contributed, and now one out will get one million. At that time, I participated in the appraisal work, there were experts in the museum, and I was one of the experts outside the museum, and I was fortunate to participate in this work at a grand event. The third thing is the Northern Song Dynasty "Open Treasure" collected by the National Atlas. Da Chang Juanzi, Pan Jixing, an expert in papermaking research, and Mr. Bai Huawen, we participated in the appraisal work.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Luo Zhenyu's inscription "The First Monument of the Eastern Han Dynasty" - Han "Three Old Men Taboo Diary"

The most direct time was in 2007, when I went to Shanghai with Mr. Shi, Mr. Yang, and Cheng Youqing, and the two of us read the inscriptions, and the two of them read the books. One day one of Mr. Shih's old people, an old lady, a native of Singapore, said that there was a "Yongle Grand Canon" and wanted to sell it to Guotu, and I said it was impossible. In the evening, the Shanghai Cultural Bureau invited me to dinner, and when I went back after eating, I said that it was not very likely, "Yongle Ceremony" was too little, and it was too expensive, what kind of person is this? Said to be an old intellectual. Later, when I came to the hotel, the old lady was already waiting there, and when I opened the baggage, I saw that it was a photocopied "Yongle Ceremony" by Fu Zengxiang during the Republic of China, and I said: "Look, where can I find the real "Yongle Ceremony"?" "She said don't worry, there is another copy at the bottom, open it and take a look, it is really "Yongle Canon". I said that this must be true, no problem, and then Cheng Youqing called the museum and asked if there was this volume in the museum, what a coincidence, the upper volume is there, and the lower volume is also available, and the middle volume is missing. Who is this collector? "Shanghai Xiaokai" is a banker, I still have his collection of books, he is reluctant to sell to the Shanghai Library, because there are some entanglements in the Cultural Revolution, he is willing to sell to the National Library, and he also wants a suite. I was not involved in the follow-up negotiations, but I was involved in discovering and drafting the report. This has to be hidden from Shanghai, because living in the guest house of the Shanghai library can't let people know, and doing an underground job is a bit of a "latent" taste, because people are landlords, and people should take it for granted. Later, seven million were taken, which was too cheap! I was familiar with Tuo Xiaotang, who was the head of Guardian Auction at the time, and I told him afterwards, he said that you tell me, I can sell this thing to him for 20 million. At that time, there was discipline, and I was not allowed to say it until the state was decided, and I didn't dare to say it, and no one could say it. Later, after several rounds of negotiations, the talks were settled, and a meeting was held to enter Tibet, and I went, which was a very honorable thing.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

Meng Xianjun in "Little Fragment Zhai"

Later, there was the discovery of the Yunlou collection, mainly the Song version of "Splendid Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers", forty volumes, complete, which was sold in 2005, and later bought by the Phoenix Group in 2012, and I participated in that press conference. There is also "Ritual Rhyme", Jiangxi unearthed a Song version, everyone does not say where it came from, in fact, it may be unearthed, and there are complete Song ancient books in some ancient tombs in Jiangxi. Mr. Li Zhizhong: They went to see it, and later I also participated in this seminar.

The year before last, there was a big discovery, that is, "The Buddha said that Maitreya Sutra was born", which was engraved in the second year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (927), which was 59 years later than the "Diamond Sutra" in the ninth year of Xiantong in the British Museum. I had the honor to write a joint letter to the Central Committee with Mr. Li Zhizhong, Mr. Fu Xinian, Mr. Bai Huawen, Mr. Song Pingsheng, and experts in the museum, and did such a thing. Later, after the incident was completed, the Minister of Culture and the Director of the Cultural Relics Bureau met with us once. I think it's very important, the country has to do it, it cost 22 million, it's not expensive, because it's second only to the British Museum, it's really good. So I am an amateur who has participated in so many things, which is quite honorable, and I have no regrets when I die, and I can be regarded as making a small contribution to the country and doing my part. When I participated in the national rare ancient book review with Mr. Yang Chengkai, someone said that you two "ticket friends" gave tickets to the "national team". This is a joke, because Mr. Yang is not in this system, he is engaged in language research at the Institute of Linguistics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and I am the editor of the Cultural Relics Publishing House.

I will pull a miscellaneous today, one is to tell you about the key points of the identification of the inscription, the other is to talk about my own learning experience, learn from you, encourage you, please criticize and advise, thank you!

The transcript of this article was compiled by Dr. Zhang Hongming of Peking University, and was originally published in the 16th issue of "Chinese Studies Teahouse" edited by Mr. Du Zexun (Shandong People's Publishing House, September 2017), and the content is slightly different from the time of publication.

Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

1. Small fragments, Zhai Tibetan rare books, inscriptions, and inscriptions 1

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Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

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Meng Xianjun | The method of stele identification

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