Pleasant music and beautiful things, or
owning dogs and horses(聲色狗馬)
Li Qingzhao is the most famous female poet
in China's long history.
The Northern Song Dynasty of China lasted
from 960 AD to 1127 AD, followed by the Southern Song Dynasty from 1127 AD to
1279 AD. Li Qingzhao was born in 1084 and died in 1155, living through a
turbulent era.
She was married twice. Her first husband,
Zhao Mingcheng, was three years her senior. They were close in age, both loved
literature and art, and had a very good relationship.
Zhao Mingcheng had a particular interest in
studying inscriptions on ancient Chinese bronzes and stone carvings. He also
loved Chinese calligraphy. He wrote a series of books to record his research
findings, with the help of Li Qingzhao, and the 30-volume set was finally
completed.
In 1132 AD, the books were finally
published, and Li Qingzhao wrote a preface for them.
The following is a summary of a passage
from this preface:
'In 1107 AD, my husband was forced into a
political struggle and dismissed from his position in the central government.
We left the capital and returned to his hometown.
During that time, we devoted a great deal
of time to organising these precious rubbings and ancient books. We repaired
any damaged texts and carefully examined and read the inscriptions. We also
took great care of our ancient paintings and antiques. Thanks to our
dedication, our collection has remained in excellent condition.
We named our house Gui Lai Tang.
Once we had organised our books and
rubbings, we considered how to store and manage this vast collection.
We built a huge library and commissioned
large, custom-made bookcases. We then catalogued, categorised and numbered the
books using our own unique library management system.
To maintain the integrity of our
collection, we developed a thorough reading process. As our collection was
quite extensive, some local intellectuals would borrow books from us.
We kept a record of loans. When someone
wanted to borrow a book, we would register it in the book and then use the key
to retrieve it from the bookcase.
We would also ask them to be careful while
reading it. If they damaged a book, they were responsible for repairing it.
In order to enforce this management
strategy, my husband and I also had to adhere to this rule whenever we wanted
to read.
From that time on, we felt much more
restricted in our reading. We could no longer browse any book we wanted, as we
had done before the books were organised.
I remember thinking it was absurd at the
time. A book's value lies in the many people who read it and the inspiration it
provides, but our measures to protect the books actually reduced the
opportunities for people to read them.
As a free spirit, I drastically reduced my
spending on food and clothing to save money for buying books.
I tried my best to save money, which I then
used to buy books.
The most numerous books in our collection
were the I Ching and a historical book from the Spring and Autumn period called
Zuo Zhuan. We had many different editions of these two books.
During that period, if we came across a
book with beautiful printing and elegant handwriting, we would buy it and add
it to our collection.
Books were everywhere in my house during
that time — on my table, by my bed, and in every corner. I read whenever I had
free time. While reading, I felt a spiritual connection with the authors. These
books broadened my horizons and expanded my perspective.
I believe the pleasure I derived from
reading surpassed that experienced by most people when enjoying beautiful music
and pretty objects, or owning dogs and horses.
What a wonderful time that was! Although we
were poor, we lived with remarkable optimism and positivity.
We thought that we might continue living
like this, peacefully together forever.
This idiom literally translates as
'Beautiful music and pretty objects, or owning dogs and horses'.
It is used to describe someone who indulges
in a superficial and ostentatious lifestyle focused on sensory stimulation.
Dear friend, what did you find interesting
or inspiring after hearing this story?
What things in your life bring you the most
enjoyment? How long has it been since you last borrowed a book from the
library?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
聲色狗馬(Pleasant music and beautiful things,
or owning dogs and horses)
中國漫長的歷史上最著名的女詞人的名字是李清照
西元960年到西元1127年的這段期間是中國的北宋王朝，西元1127年到西元1279年是中國的南宋王朝，李清照出生於西元1084年死於西元1155年，她生活在一個非常動亂的時代。
李清照結過兩次婚，她第一任丈夫的名字叫做(趙明誠)，趙明誠比李清照大3歲，他們兩個人年齡相近而且都很喜歡文學與藝術，他們兩個人的感情很好。
(趙明誠)有一個很特殊的愛好，他喜歡研究中國古代的青銅器與石刻上面的文字，他也很喜歡中國的書法，他曾經寫過一套書籍來記錄他的研究心得，李清照協助趙明誠一起完成了這部多達30本的套書。
西元1132年，這本書終於有機會出版，李清照為這本書寫了一篇序文。
這篇序文中間有一段的大概意思如下。
西元1107年，我的丈夫因為被迫捲入一場政治上的鬥爭，所以他被解除他在中央政府的職位。我們兩個人離開了首都後就一起回到他的故鄉居住。
我們在那一段時間中，花費了大量的時間來整理這些珍貴的文字拓印和珍貴的古代書籍，這些文本資料若有破損的我們就想辦法修復，我們也會針對裡面的文字進行仔細的考證與閱讀，我們也會很細心的照顧我們那些古代的字畫與古董，也因為我們的用心，所以我們的蒐藏品都能夠保持著非常好的狀態。
我們為我的住的房子取的一個名字，這個名字是(歸來堂)。
我們整理好我們的藏書和拓印文本之後，我們便接著思考如何存放與管理這批量龐大的蒐藏品。
我們蓋了一間巨大的書庫，我們在書庫中訂製了特製的大書櫥，接著我們把書籍登記造冊後進行分類與編號，我們自創的一套獨有的圖書管理系統。
我們為了保持我們的蒐藏品的正確性，我們還設計了一套完整的閱讀的流程，因為我們的藏書相當豐富，所以有些住在我們故鄉附近的一些知識分子會來跟我們借書。
我們設置了一本借閱本，當有人要借書時，我們要登記在借閱本上，然後才拿著放置該書的書櫥的鑰匙去拿這些人要看的書。
這些人在借書之前，我們還會要求他們在看書時要小心謹慎，如果把這些書弄髒了，他們就要負擔修復的責任。
為了落實管理，我跟我的丈夫想看書的時候，也要遵守這個規矩。
從那個時候開始，我們夫妻兩人看書就受到了許多拘束，我們再也無法像書籍尚未整理之前那樣可以隨意地翻閱任何一本我們想要看的書。
我還記得我那個時候覺得很荒謬，一本書的價值在於很多人翻閱與給了很多人啟發，但我們所設計的這些保護書本的措施，反而讓這本書減少了被人們翻閱的機會。
我的個性本來就比較自由，因為蒐集這些書花了我們很多錢，我那個時候便大量的降低我在飲食和服裝上的享受與追求。
我會儘量節省自已的開支，然後把省下來的錢用來買書。
我們所蒐藏的書籍中、易經與春秋時代的一本名字叫做(左傳)的歷史書的數量最多。這兩本書我們有著許多各種不同的印刷版本，
那段時間內，我們只要看到一本書的印刷精美且字跡漂亮，我們都會買下來蒐藏。
那一段時間內，我家中的桌上或者我的床邊或是我家中的任何一個角落幾乎都放著書。我每天只要一有空就看書，我在看書的過程中，我看這些書時我感覺跟這些書的作者有著精神上的交流，這些書開拓的我的視野與我的格局，
看書帶給我的樂趣，我認為大於那些大部分人都喜歡的好聽的音樂與漂亮的物品或是養狗與養馬。
那是一段多麼美好的時光啊，那個時候的我們雖然經濟條件很貧困，但是我們
生活得相當的樂觀與積極。
我們當時認為，我們可能就要這樣持續的生活下去，我們將會一起平靜的過完一生。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是好聽的音樂與漂亮的物品或是養狗與養馬。
這句成語被用來形容一個人沉溺於一種追求感官刺激的膚淺且浮誇的生活方式。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發
你的生活中，那些事情讓你覺得最有樂趣呢?你有多久沒有去圖書館借書了呢?
我期待這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為李清照-金石錄後序