Chinanews client, Beijing, November 19th (Reporter Song Yusheng) The reporter was informed that the 19-meter-long volume "Zhaocheng Jinzang" from a private collection will be unveiled at auction.
At the seminar held a few days ago, some people in the industry believed that its value could be comparable to, or even higher than, the "Yongle Dadian" previously seen in auctions; experts in related fields even called it a "national treasure."
Why can this lot get such a high evaluation?
What kind of story is behind it?
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
Called a national treasure
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" is called "national treasure", which is not an exaggeration at all.
The so-called "Zhaocheng Jinzang" is actually the name people gave to it when it was discovered in the last century.
From this name alone, we can see how precious the cultural relic is.
Among them, "Zhaocheng" is the place of discovery, which is today's Zhaocheng Town, Hongdong County, Shanxi Province; "Jin" refers to the age, that is, the age of the cultural relic is the Jin Dynasty; and "Zang" is the Tripitaka, which is a compilation of Buddhist classics. The general name of the book series.
Cultural relics dating back more than 800 years are also paper classics, which shows their preciousness.
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
But it doesn't stop there.
At the beginning of the discovery of "Zhaocheng Jinzang", Jiang Weixin, who reviewed the scriptures in it, once verified that "Zhaocheng Jinzang" was an overprinted collection of "Kaibaozang" in the Song Dynasty. It was engraved by the folk in the Jin Dynasty, with nearly 7,000 volumes.
The Song Dynasty "Kai Bao Zang" was China's first Buddhist "Tripitaka" carved with woodblocks, which included the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures from previous dynasties.
But as time passed, the content of "Open Treasure" became less and less.
By the 20th century, this large collection had almost disappeared.
The discovery of "Zhaocheng Golden Treasure" gave the world a chance to get a glimpse of "Open Treasure".
Even to this day, "Zhaocheng Jinzang" is still hailed as "one of the treasures of the four major town halls of the national map".
Ren Jiyu, the former director of the National Library of China, once commented, "The Zhaocheng Golden Collection has surpassed the'national treasure' and belongs to the world cultural heritage."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
Ill-fated
Such a cultural relic, which can be called a "national treasure", has experienced more than 800 years of history since it was carved.
However, "Zhaocheng Jinzang" was known to the world in the 1930s.
In 1933, Master Fan Cheng, who visited various places to compile a Buddhist Tripitaka based on the ancient version of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, learned that the ancient Tibetan scriptures in Guangsheng Temple, Shanxi, and saw the "Zhaocheng Jinzang" that has been in dust for hundreds of years. ".
Since then, this news has been reported by major newspapers, "Chinese and foreign people have joined hands to discuss Zhaocheng."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" was also regarded as "the only secret book" handed down to the world.
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
This national treasure immediately attracted a lot of attention.
At that time, the Institute of Oriental Culture of Japan was willing to spend a lot of money to buy it. After being rejected, it sent monks to lobby Guangsheng Temple, but it finally failed.
With the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Japanese invaders began to plot to plunder "Zhaocheng Jinzang".
In the spring of 1942, one of the founders of the Taiyue Base, Shi Jian (formerly known as Li Weiluo), who served as the Secretary of the Second District Committee of Taiyue District and the political commissar of the military division in 1940, received information: Japanese invaders attempted to rob the Guangsheng Temple "Zhaocheng Jinzang".
Shi Jian realized that decisive measures must be taken to haul the Tibetan scriptures back by the first enemy.
After approval by the district party committee, he made careful arrangements.
At that time, except for the mountain road to the northeast of Guangsheng Temple, which led to the base area, the rest were stationed by Japanese troops, trapped in the enemy's siege, and danger may occur at any time. The rush task was scheduled to be carried out at night.
The scriptures were shipped out safely from 8 pm to 12 am.
During the retreat, the troops exchanged fire with the Japanese, and many soldiers died.
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
But who knows, "Zhao Cheng Jin Zang" had not been delivered to the district party committee in the future, and it encountered the Japanese raid.
According to the data, "Before the anti-sweeping start, Shi Jian announced the discipline:'People are in the scriptures, and they must coexist and die with the scriptures.' So these treasures followed the team to deal with the Japanese invaders."
Li Wanli, Shi Jian's son, recalled that these national treasures were kept on the backs of the soldiers.
"At that time, each person was distributed more than 20 volumes, and it took two and a half months to arrive in Qinyuan County, the core of the Taiyue base area, and store them in coal mines. Only then did they escape the disaster."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
Although the "Zhaocheng Golden Collection" was preserved during the war, due to poor conditions, after the peaceful liberation of Beiping in 1949, the Cultural Relics Department of the Cultural Takeover Committee handed over the "Zhaocheng Golden Collection" to the then Peking Library (the predecessor of the National Library of China). , The situation of cultural relics is not optimistic.
According to the data, the scriptures were damaged and rotten at that time, and "nearly one-third of them were bonded into carbon rods."
In May 1949, the Peking Library held an exhibition forum specifically for the restoration of "Zhaocheng Golden Collection".
The meeting adopted the principle of restoring the old and "preserving as it is".
By 1965, the restoration of "Zhaocheng Jinzang" was completed.
Only then has the 4800-volume "Zhaocheng Jinzang" survived today.
Today, these scriptures are stored in the National Library of China.
In addition, other domestic and foreign institutions, private collectors, etc. also have scattered collections of "Zhaocheng Golden Collection".
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
Value geometry
The reappearance of the "Zhaocheng Jinzang" is the eighth volume of the Lotus Sutra, which is 19 meters long.
After studying the scriptures, Li Jining, a research librarian from the National Library of China who has studied "Zhaocheng Golden Collection" for more than 30 years, confirmed that this is the original "Zhaocheng Golden Collection".
He believes that "the writing and engraving of the name and number of the thousand-character text from the paper, the font, and even the layout, are the same as we know."
At the seminar held on November 16, Li Jining also pointed out that "The 37th edition of the Eighth Middle School of the Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra fully embodies the repair of the "Open Treasure" during the engraving process of the "Zhaocheng Golden Treasure", which is recognized as a cultural relic value. It also has extremely high literature value."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
However, why are there still newly discovered scriptures today?
At the seminar that day, this topic aroused discussion and speculation among many experts.
Li Zhizhong, former dean of the National Library Development Research Institute, believes that it was probably lost during the transfer and transportation that year; and Feng Guodong, a professor at the Institute of Ancient Books at Zhejiang University, believes that "Juan Ba" was not in Guangsheng Temple before 1934. Up.
Because it is extremely rare in market circulation, the academic circles are quite concerned about the fate of the volume.
Weng Lianxi, the former curator and research librarian of the Palace Museum Library, believes that “no matter which volume appears, the one that comes out is a national treasure.” He suggested that it is best to return to a national institution. “If it is a private collection, I hope to donate it to the country in the future. Institutions, this is really important for the protection of ancient books and cultural relics."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
On the other hand, it is also due to the scarcity of market circulation. Compared with the high prices of "Yongle Dadian" in the auction market, "Zhaocheng Jinzang" is slightly inferior in public perception.
He Qifeng, the executive deputy general manager of Beijing Rongbao Auctions, said frankly, "The position of "Zhaocheng Golden Collection" in the academic world is very high. This should be the first auction in the domestic market. I hope that market forces can promote the public's understanding of this culture. Historical attention."
"Zhaocheng Jinzang" Miao Dharma Lotus Sutra, Volume Eight.
Photo courtesy of Rong Baozhai
The reporter learned that "The National Treasure "Zhaocheng Jinzang" and the Special Exhibition of Important Buddhist Books of the Tang and Song Dynasties" will be exhibited for the first time in Rongbaozhai from November 27th to 30th, and then touring exhibitions in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Public auction at Beijing Rongbao Auction on the 20th.
(Finish)
Reference materials:
"The Eight Hundred Years of Vicissitudes of "Zhaocheng Jinzang"" "The Discovery of "Zhaocheng Jinzang" and Its Versions", "The Whole Story of "Zhaocheng Jinzang" Restoration", "The Whole Story of Rescue "Zhaocheng Jinzang", ""Zhaocheng Jinzang": Respect for thousands of years "The National Library is the Treasure of the Town Hall (Zhaocheng Gold Collection) "Searching for Roots" "The National Library of China, the "Treasure of the Town Hall", once fleeing in shock"