This article is taken “IAS Four Seasons (outside one of: an observer)” (authorized by the Guangxi Normal University Press), author: Liang Zhiping ( Contemporary well-known jurists. The main research fields are legal history, legal culture, law and society), the title picture comes from: Visual China
I returned to China in April, and in July, the books shipped back by sea arrived.
Welcome the book back. The bed was piled up all over the floor, and I sat in the pile of books, looking through it at will. It was like a reunion of old friends.
These books are all obtained in New York and Cambridge. During the seven-month study tour, I bought more than 200 books. On average, I got at least one book a day. The close relationship between the book and me can be imagined. In fact, I know the stories of all these books because I am the character in these stories. It is true that with my limited knowledge, it is impossible to tell the stories about these books, but if it is just a self-report of a character, you might as well give it a try. The joys and sorrows of requesting a book do not know any boundaries, and all readers can appreciate it.
As the largest city in the world, New York is a place full of opportunities. It goes without saying that there are many bookstores and their types, and it is characterized by a wide variety of business styles.
During my stay in New York, I lived in the Columbia University dormitory. Although it is not a busy city, there are more than ten bookstores and permanent book stalls. Bookstores are divided into ordinary bookstores and second-hand bookstores. Book stalls are also different from “table stalls” and “ground stalls”. There are more professional and amateur book sellers. As for book prices, they are naturally different and cannot be generalized. Generally speaking, second-hand books are cheaper than new books, and book stalls are lower than bookstore book prices. Among the book stalls, the “ground stall” is the cheapest. This is because the operators of the street stalls are mostly unemployed poor men. Although they are selling books, they neither know nor love books. I just want to exchange some pocket money with a few books I got from unknown sources. You can bargain with this kind of person. It’s just that there are always a few good books in these shabby stalls. They fall into the hands of these people who have no heart for books, and they are always mixed in popular readings and low-quality printed materials, and they are generally easily defaced. Therefore, if you ask for a book at the stall, you can only do it occasionally.
There are about seven new and used bookstores in Columbia. They are worthy of being run by professionals. The books are neatly arranged and the categories are relatively complete. Some bookstores also sell old rare and rare books. Among these bookstores, the one that has benefited me the most is the oneBetween One Hundred 21st Street and One Hundred 22nd Street, a small shop specializing in used books. The quality of the books there is not bad, but the prices are not high.
The “Essays of Emerson” and “Walden Lake” (Thoreau, Random House Modern Collection, 1937) which are now on my desk /span>, “French Revolutionary Caprice” (Burke, Penguin, 1973) wait for no less than 20 books, they are all there Purchased. The owner and clerk of this store, a middle-aged man, is gentle, courteous, and familiar with the book market. Although there is little room for bargaining when buying his books, it is always full of joy.
There is another second-hand bookstore near Columbia. This store is a little bigger and has more business tactics, and it is quite the creativity of the boss. There are four obvious tactics. One is to expand its business in the “door eaves” (the “door eaves” extend several meters to the street) Next; second is to set up “touring” book stalls in the neighboring street; third is to frequently change the order of the books in front of the door; finally, throw a pile of books under the signboard of “free books” in front of the door every once in a while, not too soon, not too late. Used books whose content is difficult to categorize. This boss is obviously an expert, and the “free books” processed by him are always returned respectfully after reading them. When I first arrived in New York, I bought a few albums here, but I felt a little regretful afterwards.
The time is a little longer, and I see through the boss’s ostentation, even more disapproving in my heart. In the future, even if I pick out one or two books in the cheap book pile in front of it, I don’t mean to appreciate it.
Some people compare a scholar’s visit to a bookstore to a girl’s visit to a shopping mall. This analogy is very apt. Girls go shopping first for hobbies, but shopping second. The same is true for scholars’ access to bookstores. If you pretend to be in the forest of books, picking up the books on the shelves and looking through them at will, and read them, this kind of fun is by no means inferior to the joy of a girl visiting a clothing supermarket. I believe that when scholars often stay in the forest of books, it must be beneficial to their body and mind. Not to mention, this kind of beneficial “exercise” can also be eye-opening.
The largest bookstore in New York City is located in Lower City, named “Barnes & Noble”. It was built at the end of the 19th century and is a well-established bookstore. OneA avenue runs from north to south, dividing this bookstore into two, and half of the bookstore on the west specializes in reduced-price books. Not far from here and a little south, there is New York’s largest used bookstore named “Strand”. It is said to be a used bookstore, which also operates new books with reduced prices. I bought two commemorative books there, a volume of Martin Buber’s autobiography “Encounter” (1973), and a volume of “Life in Ancient Greece”< span class="text-remarks" label="Remarks"> (Italy, 1986), all new books are beautifully bound.
Walk into this kind of giant bookstore, and often feel small. Since there are so many books in the world, why bother to add a book like dripping water to this sea of books? Every time we think of this, we feel the futility of our work. However, if I change my mind and think again, if writing is only the need of life, and if this kind of effort can resonate in the hearts of others, why not do it? Take a step back, let alone the gains and losses of writing, the value of reading is indelible after all. . Thinking of this, I feel calm again, let my feet go, and appreciate it slowly.
This “look” method is not so much “walking” in a bookstore as it is “bubbling” in a bookstore. “Soaking” is not mainly for buying books, or buying books more economically (the place is priceless), but for expo and viewing, although In the end, I couldn’t help but buy a few good books for myself under the name of “memorial”. I once found a collection of Plato, Aurelius, and Epictetus in “Barnes & Noble” (Harvard Classics Series, 1980 edition) (Harvard Classics Series, 1980 edition) span>, imitation leather hardcover hardcover, gilded on three sides, writing on the back of the book is outlined with gold thread, so elegant, it can be used as a work of art to appreciate. Naturally, buying books like this, buying such books, I only have a handful of times, but the enjoyment is endless.
There seems to be no exception for scholars to like to collect books, although not necessarily to be a bibliophile. I remember someone said that if they think that existing libraries can be used, private collections are unnecessary. Such people are either non-students or fake scholars. This is the opposite. There is really an inexplicable relationship between books and scholars. Originally, my enthusiasm for seeking books in the past few years is no longer more than justThe enthusiasm when I first walked out of the book famine (the kind of desire can only be truly understood by those who have experienced that era), but when I came to New York, As far as I have seen and heard, it seems to be out of the book famine again. Furthermore, most of my reading is out of my own interest, not limited to what kind of “professional”. Therefore, the enthusiasm for seeking books after going to the United States has not diminished a little, but has increased.
When buying books in China, apart from often lamenting book inferiority and lack of books, in recent years, I have also added helplessness to soaring prices. In the United States, I dare not let go of my hand to buy books, but at least I am not worried about the shortage of books. You can’t afford new books, so you can search for old books. As long as it is a caring person, there is no need to worry about getting a good book. In New York, besides bookstores and book stalls, another important source of books is the book market.
The low sale of churches, and the disposal of old objects for private relocation or house cleaning, may include book sales, which I collectively call the book market. The method is to advertise to the public and sell them at a designated date and place. The used books sold in this place are really the cheapest type on the New York used book market.
I remember one time when I was selling books in the library of a nearby church. I spent a lot of time in it with another friend who was addicted to books. Most of the old books here are donated by people. They are called old books, and they are not necessarily shabby. Many books have no traces of being read, but they have been put on the shelf for enough years, and the new look has changed. I once bought a 30-volume Encyclopedia of Great America for 1953 for US$15. On it, there is nothing left except the traces left by the passage of time. I don’t doubt that the owner of that set of books is a scholar, but even when I bought the books for reading, for various reasons, the books were placed on the shelves as a kind of decoration. It’s not impossible, besides, this is just a big book to be used as data.
The five-month trip to New York runs through a series of book-related stories. I have to tell these stories one by one, for fear that readers will think I am too trivial.
At this moment, everything in the past has become distant, like a dream. Those are beautiful and warm dreams. Every time I relive an old dream, it will be moving. I can’t forget those many nights. Under the lamp on the table, I went through the newly acquired books, flipping through the preface, epilogue, and summary while smoothing the corners and dusting them. When you buy an exquisite new book, you must play and appreciate it. At that moment, it’s always the most peaceful and rich time of the day, and I’m contented and have nothing to ask for. Undeniable,The happiness at that moment often includes the trivial complacency of getting a masterpiece because the savings may be only a few tens of cents.
Think about it now, the pride at the time was a bit ridiculous. Transporting these many books across the sea and sending them to the other side of the earth is not only time-consuming, but also a waste of money. Only the freight is one item, and I don’t know how many books I can buy. Why did you “forget” these things at that time? People say that scholars are “idiot”, believe it.
Book Title: The Four Seasons of Advanced Research Institute
Subtitle: Other: Observer
Author: Liang Zhiping
Publishing time: January 2021
Price: 56.00 yuan
This article is taken “IAS Four Seasons (outside one of: an observer)” (authorized by the Guangxi Normal University Press), author: Liang Zhiping (contemporary famous jurist. The main research fields are legal history, legal culture, law and society)