Living and Reading

Name: Living and Reading
ISBN: 9787559815941

艾俊川Guangxi Normal University Press · ChinaOct 2021

4.1

Word count: 115K words
Chapters: 58
ISBN: 9787559815941

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Summary

This book is a collection of essays by Ai Junchuan on ancient Chinese culture, including textual and historical research notes, reflections on research, and discussions of book-collecting experiences. It covers textual bibliography, collation of book collections, exegesis, and textual authentication, making it both an entertaining reader on literary and historical knowledge and a practical manual for learning to appraise rare editions. How do you identify the edition of an ancient book? Why are copies of the Chengjia edition of Dream of the Red Chamber all different? How do you “shop overseas” for rare books?

Starting from real experiences of reading life, And Living, And Reading tries to solve problems encountered in casual reading; at the same time, it introduces readers to a distinctive method of textual research and shares research experience gained from practice, opening an accessible and feasible research path for lovers of literature and history—a true primer on textual and historical research.

Editor's review

And Living, And Reading is a distinctive collection of essays by the ancient-book scholar Ai Junchuan, and it stirred considerable interest among lovers of literature and history and in bibliophile circles soon after publication. It is not a formal academic treatise but the fruit of years spent among old papers, tracing sources—vivid research fragments, reading reflections, and edition lore set down as they came. The essays are short but everywhere flash with the edge of textual research and the joy of discovery, from an interpretation of a Ming-dynasty invoice to tracing the paper of a Lu Xun manuscript to clarifying modern printing terminology—all embodying the author's scholarly path of “finding truth in the smallest details.” Ai Junchuan is both scholar and media professional; his writing is academically rigorous yet free of pedantry, clear and approachable, like following a learned guide exploring the dense forest of ancient texts. For readers, the book's value lies not only in conveying specific literary and historical knowledge but in demonstrating a method of conversing with historical texts and entering the spiritual world through material carriers. In an age of fragmented information, this slow, savoring mode of reading is itself a valuable cultural commitment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of literature and history with a strong interest in Chinese ancient books, textual bibliography, and printing history
Readers who enjoy scholarly essays with solid research and clear prose
Professionals in publishing, libraries, or textual organization
Readers seeking deep, systematic reading experiences in a fragmented age

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for complete novel plots or strong storytelling
Readers unfamiliar with specialized ancient-book and edition terminology who don't want to dig deeper

Reading tips

Don't feel bound to read in order; pick chapters by interest from the contents to savor the author's research pleasure.
Keep pen and paper handy; many obscure facts and research approaches in the book are worth noting.
Some chapters involve specialized edition knowledge; if you get stuck, skip them—it won't hurt overall enjoyment.

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
古籍版本鉴定的“两条路线”
一张纸片的版本鉴定
中国出版史上的铜版传说和真实含义
一、现存“铜版”举业书均非铜质书版所印
二、古代难以制成印书用铜版
三、明清语言中“铜版”有“不可更改”和“定本”之义
四、明清书中“铜版”与“监本”可同义互换
五、“天福铜版”即五代监本
六、馀论
鉴定金属活字印本的几个方法
程甲本《红楼梦》为何各不相同
张冠李戴的“东观阁原本”
世间本无“刘锡敕”
明高氏藏书之家与《百川书志》
房山十字寺元碑上的锦衣卫题名
剽窃者“李时珍”，老成人“汤显祖”
傅山致魏一鳌手札编年
庞虚斋藏札的写作年代
朱四案件发生的时间
傅山赠魏一鳌十二条屏的创作年代
《丹崖墨翰》的写作年代及与庞虚斋藏札的关系
吴芝瑛书法的真笔和代笔
对小莽苍苍斋藏札的几则E考证
被埋没的白曾烜
谁是金德舆的老师？
雾里看花的曹雪芹“朋友圈”
浅谈E考据
古代算书中的“投”和数学解题时的“设”
三希堂未能认出的两个字——《故宫法书新编》宋人墨迹集册释文商补
释“饺子”
戏说“中发白”
“商学”一词并非郑观应首创
一、《盛世危言》与“商学”
二、“商学”一词的早期用例
吴敬梓集外诗一首
钱大昕的四首集外诗——兼谈《嘉定钱大昕全集》的整理与完善
不至异国，当得异书
从欧洲回流的插增本《水浒传》残叶
一、插增本与插增甲本
二、插增甲本在欧洲
三、来自英国的23张残叶
四、新得残叶的价值
五、甲、乙本的定名与其他
弥俄礼收藏的太平天国路凭
北大五四“三人组”
油墨馀香犹在身——我收集的几种油印本书
“誊写版”与“钢笔版”
孤吟十卷赖君传
宜入书林清话的戴果园
三种女词人集
曹操能不能被称作“魏武王”？
一、历史上能否称曹操为“魏武王”
二、魏人能否称曹操为“魏武王”
三、魏国之外能否称曹操为“魏武王”
四、曹操在墓中能否称“魏武王”
疑惑难消的“三场葬礼”
后记

FAQ

Is the content too specialized and hard to understand?

The author writes accessibly. Though the theme is textual research on ancient books, the focus is on the process of discovery and thinking rather than listing abstruse conclusions, so ordinary lovers of literature and history can also find pleasure and new knowledge.

Are the essays academic papers?

They are not formal academic papers but scholarly essays. They stem from the author's research but are presented in a freer, more personal essay form, combining knowledge, interest, and thought.

How is this book different from common “reading essays”?

Its greatest feature is a solid foundation in textual research. The author often starts from a concrete object—a piece of paper, a seal, a book—and traces hidden connections to reveal the history, technology, and humanistic context behind it: a fine demonstration of combining the “material” with the “text.”

Comments

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About the author

艾俊川 Author

Ai Junchuan is an author in the Chinese reading world who focuses on literary and historical textual research and reading essays. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life are largely undisclosed. Two of his works are currently included in the library: Reading While Dwelling and A Collection of E-Textual Research Stories: From the Early Qing to the Republic of China. Judging from its title, the former belongs to the genre of reading essays, centered on reading and everyday dwelling and carrying a scholar's leisurely tone; the latter explicitly takes "textual research" as its core, using electronic documents and digital search methods to examine literary and historical questions from the early Qing to the Republic of China, combining traditional textual scholarship with new search techniques. Although one is a collection of essays and the other textual research, both fall under cultural and historical reading, showing that his writing balances readability with historical evidence and suits readers interested in literary and historical anecdotes and research methods.