Shen Houduo*

"Mr. Shen Jiyan's Suicide Note", "Pin Bilou Collection", "Wuxing Changqiao Shen Family Collection" are personally supervised by Mr. Shen Jiaben, so they can be described as the heirloom treasures of the Shen family.

(Photography, Wang Min)

The woodcut version of the Three Books was originally hidden in the Zhen Bi Building of the old house. The old house was purchased by the great ancestor Shen Jiaben at the beginning of this century. It is said to be the Wuxing Guild Hall, which was in disrepair. The great ancestors bought them, one was a place to settle, and then they also raised some funds for the renovation of the new hall of the guild hall. After buying the house, his great-grandfather started to build the "Zhen Bi Building", which became his main bookstore and library in his later years. At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, the traitor Ding Clan fell in this courtyard and threatened to purchase it for a worthless amount. In desperation, his grandfather Shen Chenghuang moved to Zongmao Hutong. So Sanshuban moved to Zongmao Hutong. This is where I was born. The North China government was established. As my father devoted himself to resisting Japan, he was repeatedly harassed by the Japanese and the puppets. The grandfather passed away due to illness and unable to withstand the fright. In order to avoid more misfortunes, the family moved south and prepared to go back to Huzhou. Although the house in Zongmao Hutong was sold, some of the houses still kept things that could not be taken away, so the book edition also existed here. On the eve of liberation, my father moved his family north to welcome the liberation. In 1949, he returned to Peiping. So Shuban moved from Zongmao Hutong to his residence in Damopanyuan at that time. Later, due to the ever-increasing family circumstances, the house became smaller and smaller, and the book block became a burden. Even the bed where I slept was made of a wooden box containing the book block. At the beginning of 1952, my father passed away. There was no source of income in the family. The house could not be rented. There was no way to save the book board. Fortunately, Uncle Liu who came to smoke the pavilion from the Liuli Factory (I can’t remember his name) generously helped, and the book board was saved. Arrived at Laixun Pavilion. In 1955, in a public-private partnership, Lai Xun Ge was incorporated into the China Bookstore, and the book pages were kept by the China Bookstore. During the Cultural Revolution, Chinese bookstores lost the copyright to print ancient books, and all the wood panels belonged to the second Xinhua Printing Factory at that time. After the Cultural Revolution, China's bookstores resumed their functions, and through the efforts of the bookstore leaders, many book boards were recovered. Fortunately, the three books of the Shen family were among them. It is a pity that more than fifty pieces have been lost. Mr. Zheng Baorui, the former general manager of China Bookstore, urged to make up for the engraving, so the book page contains part of the type core (core) planks that are in the current woodcut boards. It was also due to the great assistance of Mr. Zheng Baorui that we confirmed the ownership of these three sets of book editions by the descendants of the Shen family.

(Photography, Wang Min)

Now I donate these three sets of woodblocks to China University of Political Science and Law, which can be regarded as a contribution to the country and the school where I work.

*Shen Houduo, great-grandson of Shen Jiaben, professor of China University of Political Science and Law.