父親喜歡藏書，寫過一篇關(guān)于藏書的散文《艙前明月枕邊書》，最早刊登在寧波晚報的副刊上，獲了藏書征文一等獎，后又被評為該年度寧波市副刊作品一等獎。

普濟庵覓寶

在父親藏書的故事里，每一部珍籍的得失，都潛藏著人生的玄機，見證著時代的風云。

好幾次聽父親說起過“普濟庵覓寶”的故事。那是1960年，父親19歲，在漁業(yè)隊當會計。一天傍晚，隊里的一位漁民告訴父親說，在他捕魚的王家洋有座普濟庵，那里書很多。父親聽罷，第二天一早就跟隨這個漁民去普濟庵，進去一看原來是家造紙廠。那里堆著小山似的書，是準備搗成紙漿用來造草紙的。父親翻動書堆，發(fā)現(xiàn)了不少閃光的寶貝，其中有文化生活出版社出版的巴金主編的《文學叢刊》17輯160本，一本不缺，如此完整擁有這套民國版的書，這在全國一些著名的大學圖書館中也屬鳳毛麟角；商務(wù)版林琴南翻譯的《茶花女遺事》等156種，以古文的筆法翻譯，也別有情趣。面對這些書，父親愛不釋手，他抽空就去看。去了幾次父親覺得不好意思，就順便帶上些魚送給造紙廠的工人。那里的工人平常吃的都是咸菜，一見有透骨新鮮的魚吃，自然滿心喜歡。

他們對父親說：這些書你愛看就拿回去吧，你稱一下斤兩，找一些廢舊報紙來抵足分量就是了。父親喜出望外。那一次父親淘得明版書30部左右，清版書四五十部。明版書中以弘治十一年（1498）版的十二卷《劉隨州文集》最為珍貴，此書為劉集存世最早的完本——祖本。如果論價，這些書現(xiàn)在早就數(shù)以百萬元計了。

父親從小愛書卻無錢買書，他的藏書是靠自己一本一本淘寶似的淘來的。由于祖父早逝，為生計所迫，父親早年沒讀多少書就進入漁業(yè)隊掙工分了。不過祖母知道兒子好書，每當漁業(yè)隊發(fā)工資，祖母便準許他留下3元錢買書，他就憑著祖母給予的3元和從口中節(jié)省下來的錢，先后購買了清版王維、孟浩然、林和靖等諸家詩集，冰心的北新原版《春水》《繁星》，以及錢鐘書的開明原版《寫在人生邊上》等等珍貴書籍，如今他從王家洋造紙廠廢紙堆里一下子淘得這么多的書，頓時“大富大貴”，自然喜出望外！

然而誰能想到藏書也是禍。剛剛記事的我就經(jīng)歷了暴風般的一幕：父親的藏書統(tǒng)統(tǒng)被人扔進鲞簍，用四輪手拉車拖走了！

余光中回贈一鞠躬

父親迎來人生第二次藏書的春天，是在1980年以后。柳暗花明，歷盡坎坷的父親，得改革開放先機，毫無經(jīng)商意識的父親下海撲騰，竟也淘得了一大把金。父親樂了，因為有了錢就有了買書藏書的經(jīng)濟后盾，他戲稱要“以商養(yǎng)文”。鎮(zhèn)海新華書店對父親也另眼相看，把全國各種各樣的書訊報刊都寄給父親，看到喜歡的新書目只需打上鉤，到時自會送書上門。

有一次父親到大連后打的去火車站，想乘中午12時開往吉林的火車。沒想到出租車經(jīng)過繁華的天津街路段時，車堵得厲害父親就下車步行，因為那里距火車站已經(jīng)很近。就在這一刻，他無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)，大連市新華書店的門楣上懸掛著一條紅底白字的橫幅：熱烈歡迎余光中先生蒞臨我店簽名售書。

余光中先生是父親心儀的詩人，遇此良機豈可錯失？于是他便去書店探個究竟。經(jīng)詢問簽名售書時間是當日下午2時。好在父親一如閑云野鶴，行止無人管束，于是他就去火車站預(yù)購了翌日去吉林的臥鋪票。下午父親早早地等候在書店一樓大廳，懷里抱著七卷余光中的書。兩點正，衣著樸素、滿頭華發(fā)的余光中先生微笑著坐在案前為購書者一一簽名、鈐章。當余光中先生為父親簽名時，父親由衷地向這位蜚聲文壇的詩人行了個鞠躬禮，說了聲：“謝謝您，余先生?！必M知余先生也謙虛地站了起來，向父親回贈了一鞠躬，并與父親握手。

走出書店，父親端著余光中的書又來到中山廣場附近的舊貨古玩市場。在一個雜陳廢舊期刊的地攤上，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一部洪武年間（1368—1398）刻印的《書經(jīng)》，上?。骸捌殃栢嵤峡瘫?，金陵奎壁齋梓”。這部書品相極佳，朱紅色封頁，烏絲欄鮮明清晰，雙魚尾上下勻稱。沒想到這套已有600年書齡的明版古籍，那位攤主只開出200元的價。出于良知，父親說當時真想再付給他1000元，然而終于又世故地“掐死”了這個剛剛萌生的善念。因為買方主動提價，尤其是成倍提價，為淘書者一大忌諱，由此釀成的后果往往是：攤主漫天要價，居為奇貨，不再出賣。于是，父親二話沒說，付款后故意從從容容負著書囊，緩緩踱出廣場。隨即七拐八彎，不走大街卻踅入小胡同疾步返回旅館。父親說當時心里真有點擔心，唯恐那攤主后悔，尋蹤而來。

為古代“伉儷”破鏡重圓

瀏覽父親的書櫥，會發(fā)現(xiàn)一個很溫馨的細節(jié)，那就是有些書都是以一對對“伉儷”排列的。例如柳如是的《戊寅草》《湖上草》旁，緊挨的是錢謙益的《初學集》《有學集》；許仲萱的《亭秋館詩詞集》邊，靠的是陳筱石的《鳴原集》等等。這些“夫婦”別看如今都安居在父親的書房中，想當年他們都是“鸞漂鳳泊”天各一方的坎坷夫妻，是父親經(jīng)過多年的尋找，才使他們得以“破鏡重圓”。其中找得最苦的，是陳之遴的《浮云集》及其夫人徐燦的《拙政園詩余》《拙政園詩集》。

陳之遴（1605—約1667），字彥升，號素庵，浙江海寧人，明代崇禎十年（1637）丁丑科進士第二名（榜眼），受職翰林院編修，清代仕至吏部尚書、弘文院大學士。因卷入宦海漩渦，被撤職抄家，流放關(guān)東，客死他鄉(xiāng)。陳之遴夫人徐燦，字湘，號明霞，蘇州人，為明末光祿寺丞徐之懋的次女，被譽為“南宋后閨秀第一”，其詩詞造詣堪與李清照相比。

出于對這對夫妻不幸遭遇的同情，更基于對徐燦的尊敬，1987年父親首先在安徽潛山縣淘得了陳之遴的《浮云集》（線裝十二卷上下兩冊），這個集子在清代被列為禁書，直到1933年陳之遴后裔按照世代珍藏的《浮云集》殘存底稿重新刻印，父親得到的就是這種印數(shù)甚少的篆刻本。1999年秋天，父親經(jīng)天南地北地尋覓，終于在天津市和平區(qū)，替“陳之遴”找到了“徐燦”：這天傍晚父親從賓館出來，抬頭看見對面的胡同口有個書攤，便走了過去。經(jīng)問得知原來是胡同內(nèi)一位愛書的老爺子過世了，他的兒子、媳婦就把老人遺留下來的書籍用黃魚車拉出來賣。黃魚車上，有上海古籍出版社的《劍南詩稿》（八冊）、《吳梅村集》（三集）；江蘇古籍出版社的《隨園全集》（八冊）、中華書局版的《二十五史》等等。父親隨手翻檢，就知道書的主人品位不俗，于是問：“府上可有線裝書？”那男子說：“有，但價錢很貴?！?/p>

男子帶領(lǐng)父親進了胡同。在老人家生前臥室兼書房，見桌上擺放著老人的遺像。父親頓時感到歉疚，他恭敬地向老先生行了三個鞠躬禮，然后目光就在書櫥中搜索。忽然他看到了夢寐以求的那部書：《拜經(jīng)樓叢書》，全書48冊，其中就有徐燦的詩詞（三冊、兩種）。《拜經(jīng)樓叢書》系國家級善本古籍，要得到談何容易？但注定有緣，只是書價不菲。幸虧那次有同鄉(xiāng)一起出差，當夜父親便回旅館敲開同鄉(xiāng)的房門，借了數(shù)千款項，終了宿愿。

星移斗轉(zhuǎn)，日積月累，如今家里又擁有了上萬冊書籍（線裝書7800卷），先后獲得了市、區(qū)“十佳藏書人家”的譽稱。

與隔岸《秋水》的佳話

父親不僅僅看書藏書，也寫詩。他曾說：看了這么多書，總不能白看人家的，自己也該留下一些吧。他一直喜歡寫詩，即使在詩歌如此冷落的年代，他也自娛自樂地寫著。近些年，他的詩作不斷被收錄在一些著名的詩集中，如北京文史出版社出版的《中國詩歌十年》、香港出版的《中國精美新詩三百首》、臺灣出版的《泱泱秋火》等等。臺灣最有影響的詩刊《秋水》《葡萄園》，幾乎每期都刊登父親的詩作，刊上大名包芝江?！肚锼愤€聘他為編委，詩社設(shè)立專柜，收藏他的著作。

《秋水》主編涂靜怡與父親書信、電話交往密切，并認我父親為弟弟，留下了兩岸文化交流的不少佳話。涂靜怡是蜚聲臺灣文壇的才女，浙江教育出版社的義務(wù)教育初中課本選有她的散文《蜘蛛》，早在1978年她就以長詩《從苦難中成長》獲臺灣文藝金像獎，兩年后又以一冊力斥臺獨的新詩集《歷史的傷痕》獲臺灣文藝最高獎——第十五屆中山文藝創(chuàng)作獎。她主編的《秋水》，自創(chuàng)刊之日起就堅持橫排，當時遭到非議，而現(xiàn)在隨著兩岸交流密切，連臺灣也明令所有公文書變?yōu)闄M排?！肚锼愤€是最早與大陸進行交流的詩刊，當她知道北京大學學生為爭看《秋水》，竟采用輪流限時閱讀，這使她大為感動，于是《秋水》每期向大陸各地寄贈300本。

讀書，藏書，寫詩，從少年到白頭，那是浸透父親生命的一種愛。

My Father and His Books

By Bao Danhong

My father is a man of bibliomania. He once contributed his life story about books to the Ningbo Evening， a newspaper in the port city of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province and won a first prize in the competition and later won a first award in the whole city’s media for the year.

His story about books is not just about books. It is about his life and the times that shaped his life and passion for books.

My father loved books since his childhood years. My grandfather passed away early. So my father dropped out of school and began to work at the fishing team. Knowing her son’s passion for reading， my grandmother allowed him to keep 3 yuan out of the monthly wage to buy books. This way， my father gradually built up his private library.

The first batch of precious books he collected came in 1960 when he was a 19-years-old accountant of a fishing production team. One evening， he learned from a fisherman that a Buddhist temple near a fishing ground housed many books. The next morning my father visited the place. It turned out that the temple had been converted into a paper making plant and the books there were to be shattered into paper pulp as raw material. Some books in heaps were quite rare. He found the complete 160 books in 17 series of The Literature Series， edited by Ba Jin and published by Cultural Life Press and 156 foreign literary masterpieces translated by Lin Shu (1852-1924)， a great scholar regarded as a pioneer of introducing foreign literature into China in the early 20th century. My father’s ecstasy knew no bounds. Then， he frequented the plant to read books there and brought fresh fish to its workers. After a few reading trips， he was told that he could take these books home. All he needed to do was to bring in newspapers in the same weight. My father was overjoyed. He picked about 30 books published in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 50 books published in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The most precious books were the 12-volume complete collection of Liu Suizhou published in 1498， which can be worth more than a million yuan today.

But my father failed to keep these books for long. When the Cultural Revolution started in 1966， his private library became a target for cultural crackdown. All his books were confiscated. They were thrown into salt fish baskets and carried away on a four-wheel cart.

My father began to build up his private library again in 1980. Though knowing nothing about business， my father started his own business when the policy of reform and opening up was implemented. After hitting his first buckle of gold， he began to buy more books. Jokingly， he said he was doing business in order to keep his book hobby. The Xinhua Bookstore in Zhenhai has treated him as a VIP， sending him all kinds of lists of new books on a regular basis. Nowadays， my father just scans the lists and place orders. The bookstore’s service people will deliver the books.

Many books in my father’s collection were acquired on his business trips. One morning in Dalian， a port city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province， my father was on a taxi ride to the railway station. When the taxi ran into a traffic jam in downtown， my father decided to walk to the nearby railway station. On his way， he passed a Xinhua Bookstore and saw a banner hanging there with a message that the Taiwan poet Yu Guangzhong was to autograph books for readers that afternoon. My father went to the railway station and changed his train ticket for the next day and then came back to the bookstore. He bought seven books by Yu and waited for the poet. When the books were signed， my father bowed his thanks to the poet. To my father’s surprise， the poet stood up， bowed back and then shook hands with him.

With the seven books in a satchel， my father wandered to a nearby antique market. While examining antique books and back issues of some magazines at a stall， he found an ancient edition of The Book of History， one of the most ancient books in China’s history. The edition was published in the Hongwu Years (1368-1398) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The book， priced at 200 yuan， was in fine condition. Out of his conscience， my father wanted to offer 1，000 for such a precious 600-year-old book and but he paid 200， knowing that he was in no position to excite anyone’s greed and that he was abiding by a market bargain rule. Without knowing that he was giving away a treasure for a song， the vendor sold the book and pocketed the cash. My father fought down his excitement and deliberately spent some time packing his satchel and then slowly walked away. Then he took rapid turns and walked into small lanes in a rush back to the hotel， dreading that the bookseller might become aware of having made a mistake and come chasing him.

In the autumn of 1999， my father was in Tianjin on a business trip. One evening， he wandered out of the hotel and spotted a bookstall at the entrance to a small lane from across the hotel. It turned out that an old man had passed away and his son and daughter-in-law decided to sell the books on a tricycle. My father took a look at the books and realized that the old man had been a serious reader of ancient literary books. So my father asked if the couple had books in the traditional thread binding at home. The answer was affirmative. Then my father was led into a house deep in the lane. He bowed three times to a portrait of the deceased first before browsing through the bookshelves. He found the complete 48-volume 拜經(jīng)樓叢書 or Books from the House of Classics， a state-grade rare edition. For a moment， my father felt it was his destiny to come face to face with the precious tomes. The books were expensive. Fortunately he was able to borrow cash from his colleagues back at the hotel and bought the books.

Nowadays， my father’s library boasts 10，000 books， including 7，800 in the traditional thread binding. His has been honored as one of the top ten private libraries in Ningbo City and Zhenhai District.

My father is not just a man of bibliomania. He reads the books he has acquired and writes poems. Some of his poems have been published and some even anthologized. He knows writing poems is no longer the fashion at all， but it is his way to return favors he has received to society.

(Translated by David)