Shanghai citizens "share" their deep affection for ancient Chinese books, and the tradition of "sharing books" reappears in Shanghai
"Sun drying books" is a traditional custom in ancient China, with a long history dating back to the "Sun drying Scriptures" recorded in the "Four People's Monthly Regulations" of the Eastern Han Dynasty on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. By the Ming Dynasty, the custom of "Sun drying books" had changed from the seventh day of the seventh lunar month to the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, and Chinese people expressed their appreciation for book collections in various forms.
On July 23, the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the 2023 Shanghai Citizen Book drying Festival - "Diancui Bay Area" Bookish and Elegant Collection made its debut at the Jinshan District Library. This is a reading gathering organized by the Jinshan District Library, under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Library, following the Shanghai Citizens' "Book drying Festival" initiative on April 23 this year.
The ancient people's act of "drying books" to protect books demonstrated the Chinese people's beautiful wish of cherishing calligraphy, advocating knowledge, and inheriting Chinese culture. The traditional custom of "drying books" with rich cultural connotations, while promoting the excellent traditional Chinese culture and strengthening the protection of ancient books, highlights new cultural values and customs significance.
The theme of this book sharing event is "My Favorite 'Shanghai Edition' Ancient Books". Participants will share a new edition of ancient books officially published and distributed by various publishing houses in Shanghai over the years, along with a text explaining their reasons and stories for liking this book, as well as its impact on personal growth. The "Sun Book" activity is jointly organized by two libraries, Jinshan District and Baoshan District, with a north-south linkage to showcase their treasures. After screening, 60 stories were shortlisted and 30 were awarded by experts.
At the Yaji site, the award-winning example of "My Favorite 'Shanghai Edition' Ancient Books" attracted readers' interest with the relevant books and their stories behind them, and many citizens stopped to scan the code to learn more. For example, Gao Wenbin, who works at the Jinshan Museum, "shared" the "Shanghai Prefectural Chronicles Series - Jinshan County Volume." Growing up in a rural area, he was quite interested in objects with a sense of time in the surrounding area. Later, he learned online that Jinshan compiled the "Jinshan County Chronicles" during the Qing Dynasty, but unfortunately only knew some fragmented information at that time. "Later, when I saw the news of the publication of the" Shanghai Prefectural Chronicles Series - Jinshan County Volume "through the media, I took the opportunity to go to a bookstore on Fuzhou Road to buy this set of books while working in the city. I held this book in my hand and slowly flipped through it, feeling the touch and travel to the local past, exploring the origin of place names, ancient customs, and the experiences of local elites in ancient and modern times. I felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, refreshing my understanding of the profound heritage and splendid culture of the land under my feet, and even changing my life trajectory."
The books released on site include photocopies, whole books, selected editions, and bilingual versions of various new versions of ancient books such as classical literature, history, philosophy, language, military, science and technology, and medicine. The "sun readers" are members of multiple cultural and historical research associations, ancient book enthusiasts, librarians, editors, financial white-collar workers, and graduate students in the city.
During the three-month "Book drying Festival", the organizer, Jinshan District Cultural and Tourism Bureau, carried out a series of reading promotion activities at the Jinshan District Library. The book drying activities also received support and assistance from some publishing houses in Shanghai. "The Citizen Book Festival, jointly designed by us and the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, is a specific measure to implement the spirit of ancient book protection and Chinese cultural inheritance instructions, and to carry out more extensive ancient book protection work in the Shanghai area. Through the use and transformation of ancient books, we hope to attract more readers to pay attention to ancient books and read them," said Chen Chao, the director of the Shanghai Library.
