Chapter 6 Chapter Four Establishment of Book Collection System in Han Dynasty

In the seventh year of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (200 BC), Weiyang Palace was built under the auspices of Prime Minister Xiao He.At the same time, three library buildings were built in the north of the main hall: Shiqu Pavilion, Tianlu Pavilion and Qilin Pavilion, as dedicated royal library buildings.After the completion of these three library buildings, Xiao He put the books of the Qin Dynasty collected in Xianyang when the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, and put them into the collection as the first batch of royal books in the early Han Dynasty.So later "Shiqu" and "Tianlu" became other names for the royal collection.In order to prevent fire and moisture, stones are used to build a "stone room" in the library, and the bookcases are copper-rimmed cabinets, which are called "golden chambers".

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, due to the extensive collection of books across the country, the number of books increased rapidly. To meet the needs of this development, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty further "established a strategy for collecting books and appointed officials who wrote books (referring to copying books)", except for the stone canal built by Xiao He. The three pavilions are placed outside the Qin Dynasty collection collected from Xianyang. According to Liu Xin's "Qi Lue" quoted in "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi", the collection of books at that time "externally contained the collections of Taichang, Taishi, and Doctors, and inside there were Yange and Guangnei. , House of Secret Chambers".This shows that there are six collections of books in Shiqu, Tianlu, Qilin, Yange, Guangnei, and Secret Room in the palace; there are also collections in institutions outside the palace where Taichang, Taishi, and doctors are in charge of etiquette, history, and teaching.Not only that, the Western Han Dynasty stipulated that Yushi Zhongcheng, the assistant of Yushi doctor (deputy prime minister), was the main official in charge of supervision and management of books.Therefore, Lantai, the seat of the imperial historian's office, has also become another important collection place of the imperial court.

The total number of books collected by the state in the Western Han Dynasty was 13,269 volumes according to the number compiled and cataloged by Liu Xiang and his son, including 3,123 volumes in the Six Arts category, 4,324 pieces in the Zhuzi category, 1,318 in the Poetry and Fu category, 790 in the Art of War category, and mathematics (divination) 2,528 volumes, 868 volumes of alchemy (medicine), and a larger number of 33,090 volumes with the addition of different manuscripts and fragments. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped power, causing political turmoil, and the collection of books suffered a lot.In 25 AD, Liu Xiu took power and established the Eastern Han Dynasty with Luoyang as its capital.Several emperors in the early Eastern Han Dynasty advocated Confucianism and literature, and attached great importance to book collection.According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Scholars", Emperor Guangwu once transported more than 2,000 books from Chang'an. After nearly 30 years of management by Emperors Ming and Zhang, the national book collection has increased greatly, reaching the original book collection. Three times, there are 6,000 carts of books.With so many books, in addition to being collected in Dongguan, Lantai, Shishi, Renshou Pavilion, etc., there are also a large number of silk books in Xuanming Hall and Piyong (Royal Family Reading Office) and other places.Although there were officials in charge of books in the Western Han Dynasty, such as Yushi Zhongcheng, Taichang, and Taishi, they were all engaged in supervisory, protocol and historian work, and only managed books.Liu Zhi, Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty (reigned from 147 to 167 A.D.), set up a secretarial supervisor, which became a specialized institution for the management of maps and books. This institution was established in all subsequent dynasties (except Ming and Qing Dynasties).The officials who managed books in the Eastern Han Dynasty included Lantai Lingshi, Dong Guanlang, Xiaoshulang, and secretary supervisor. Ban Gu, the author of "Han Shu", was the Lantai Lingshi at that time.It is the presence of specialized library management institutions and full-time officials that make library management and book arrangement work to be standardized.

Since there is no Yiwenzhi in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" in the national collection of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is difficult to get accurate statistics.The Qing Dynasty's "Back to the History of Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi" divides the bibliographic records of the Eastern Han Dynasty into inner and outer chapters. ", "Fang Ji Zhi"; the outer chapter is "Tao and Buddha Zhi".Among them, there are 81 chapters, 1790 chapters and 2321 volumes that can be tested, and 208 untestable ones, accounting for the vast majority of the entire collection.Although these are approximate figures, it can also be seen from the scale of the collection of books in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It is worth noting that the state controls the collection of books very strictly. Except for officials such as Taichang, Taishi, and doctors, other personnel are not allowed to borrow or copy privately without the emperor's permission, otherwise they will be severely sanctioned.In the fourth year of Dijie of Emperor Xuandi of the Western Han Dynasty (66 BC), Taichang Suchang lent the national collection to Da Sima Huoshan for copying, for which Suchang was dismissed from office.Emperor Han Cheng's uncle Dongping Wang Liuyu asked for a letter, but was rejected.The reason for the refusal was that the scholars and other books opposed the scriptures and criticized the saints; the strange strategies of the counselors, the astronomical disasters, and the terrain fortresses were not suitable for princes and kings to grasp.It can be seen that the reason why the rulers of the Han Dynasty strictly controlled the circulation of books was to consolidate their supreme imperial power and prevent the princes and kings from rebelling.

As for the private collection of books, it did not become legal until the court officially lifted the ban on carrying books in the fourth year of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty (191 BC).Prior to this, private book collections were kept in hidden form, so there were not many book collectors. In the Han Dynasty, due to the inconvenience of writing and collecting bamboo slips and the high cost of silk books, there were not many private book collectors. The first ones who could collect a large number of books were the powerful and wealthy princes and kings. The more famous collectors were Huainan Wang Liuan and Hejian offer Wang Liude.After King Xian stepped into the court, he solicited books from the people at a high price. People from all over the world contributed books.Most of what Xian Wang got were old books in the pre-Qin period, which made Liu De's collection of books almost the same as that of the royal collection.Some of the private book collectors in the Western Han Dynasty were officials and scholars, such as Liu Xiang and his son, Ban Yi, and Bu Gui, all of whom had a considerable number of books.The most famous bibliophile in the Eastern Han Dynasty was Cai Yong (AD 132-192). According to historical records, he was the first bibliophile in my country with a collection of nearly ten thousand volumes.

At that time, there were mainly three sources of private books: one was books bestowed by the state, such as Ban Yi at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, and Dou Rong in the Eastern Han Dynasty were both given books by the emperor; the other was private granting and receiving, such as Cai Yong personally donating to Wang Can [can Can] "Thousands of volumes of books"; the third is purchased from bookstores.With the development of economy and culture, people's demand for books has increased, and book shops specializing in buying and selling books have appeared.In "Fayan My Son" written by the famous thinker Yang Xiong (53 B.C.-18 A.D.) in the Western Han Dynasty, there is already a record of "good books don't need Zhu Zhongni, Shusi also". "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" also said that Wang Chong, a famous thinker in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "was poor and had no books. He often visited the shops in Luoyang, read the books sold, and could recite them as soon as he saw them, so he learned the words of hundreds of schools."It can be seen that in the Han Dynasty there were both national collections and private collections.There are both collections and circulation of books; the sources of books are both gifts and purchases.At that time, the collection of books reached a very high level.

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