嘉業(yè)堂主人劉承干，湖州南潯人。清末民初南潯有“四象、八牛、七十二金黃狗”之說，象指家產(chǎn)1000萬兩銀子以上，劉承干便是“四象”之一劉家的繼承人。其祖父劉鏞掙下偌大家業(yè)，卻始終希望子孫能夠讀書做官，光耀門庭。劉承干繼承產(chǎn)業(yè)后，大量收書藏書，在南潯修建了嘉業(yè)堂藏書樓。有雄厚資本支持，他很快就成為私人藏書第一人。

據(jù)有關(guān)資料記載，在藏書樓全盛時期，即1925年至1932年之間，藏書計30余萬卷，其中，有世人都艷稱的珍本善本宋元刊本200種，清刻本5000種，地方志1200余種，叢書220余種，抄本2000種，其他1200余種，大量的是清人文集和史書。此外還有碑帖數(shù)千種。

短短二十余年，劉承干為何能從身無數(shù)卷而一躍成為近代藏書量最豐富的私人藏書家？南潯嘉業(yè)堂又是怎樣成為當(dāng)時極富盛名的藏書之地？此后，盛極一時的嘉業(yè)堂藏書又是如何散失殆盡？

劉氏藏書建樓

劉承干的藏書事業(yè)發(fā)軔于1910年參觀南洋勸業(yè)會之時。據(jù)劉承干后來回憶說：“宣統(tǒng)庚戌，南洋開勸業(yè)會于金陵，貨駢集，人爭趨之。余獨徒步狀元境各書肆，遍覽群書，兼兩載歸。越日書賈攜書來售者踵之，自是即有志藏書?！?/p>

由于劉承干購書出手大方，因此其藏書多為書商主動送上門的，也有相識的藏書家介紹轉(zhuǎn)賣的。常上門的書商有博古齋主人、綽號“柳樹精”的蘇州人柳蓉春，“翰怡夜示續(xù)傳燈錄二冊，博古齋送閱”。有“書林怪杰”江寧人錢長美;有杭州人陳立言、李紫東;有上海、杭州等地的其他書商，他們?yōu)閯⒊懈伤蛠砹藥资也貢宜⒅畷?/p>

1920年，劉承干經(jīng)過十年的購書、抄書、刊書，所收藏書的數(shù)量已相當(dāng)可觀，其上海寓所的儲書場所——求恕齋已是書滿為患、聚集如山。為使苦心搜集而來的古籍善本得到妥善保管，劉承干在南潯劉氏家廟旁，“購地二十畝、斥金十二萬，建設(shè)斯樓為藏書之所”。

嘉業(yè)堂藏書樓的興建，是劉承干藏書史上的一個重要轉(zhuǎn)折點，也標(biāo)志著他的藏書事業(yè)已臻于全盛，這種繁榮的局面一直延續(xù)到1934年、1935年。在這一時期中，劉承干的藏書量達到了空前的水平，藏書樓建立了較為完整的工作制度并對所藏圖書進行了整理編目，對外業(yè)務(wù)往來也達到了最高峰。

嘉業(yè)樓由園林和藏書樓兩部分組成。園林內(nèi)蓮池、假山、亭臺、奇石錯落有致，形勝神似，為典型的江南園林代表。書樓是一座磚術(shù)結(jié)構(gòu)的中西合璧兩層樓房，東西闊十丈六尺，南北深十五丈九尺，分前后兩進，每進面寬七間，左右?guī)扛髁g，共五十二間。設(shè)有“宋史四齋”“嘉業(yè)廳”“詩萃室”“希古樓”“求恕齋”“黎光閣”等廳室。大門楣上“嘉業(yè)藏書樓”五個大字出自劉廷琛之筆。以“嘉業(yè)”命名，是因清末劉承干曾捐巨資助修光緒陵墓，宣統(tǒng)曾賜以“欽若嘉業(yè)”的匾額，他以此為榮。

“宋四史齋”主要珍藏的是“前漢、后漢、三國志、史記”這四本史書的刻本。這些刻本都是用紅梨木雕刻，因此保存時間較長，這里刻印的《宋四史》書大字大，為國內(nèi)罕見。

“詩萃室”放著一本劉承干與父親劉安瀾合寫的《國朝詩萃》。樓上正廳稱“希古樓”，匾額系鄭孝胥題寫。

藏書樓的園林在江南園林之中頗有特色，樓南為小花園，花草遍地，藤蘿漫布，花園正中有約3-4畝大的蓮池，周環(huán)假山，內(nèi)蘊十二生肖，中壘石島，島上有亭翼然，名“明瑟”。亭背堅立一石，高約二米，形似虎踞，中一孔，吹之聲如虎嘯。石上有清代著名學(xué)者阮元題“嘯石”隸書二字，其下復(fù)存張廷濟（叔未）題句，故也稱“嘯石”，是南潯鎮(zhèn)三大奇石之一。島兩端各有石橋通池岸，岸邊亦各有亭，曰：“晚碧”“障紅”，遙與“明瑟”互成犄角。

書樓與花園有外圍河道環(huán)繞，以一衣帶水替代圍墻，使書樓建筑、花園景色與四周曠野村景渾成一體。東側(cè)有橋臨水，橋內(nèi)拱形大鐵門，以通出入。劉承干在《嘉業(yè)藏書樓記》文中這樣描述書樓的環(huán)境：“園之四周，環(huán)以溪水，平臨泱莽，直視無礙?！?/p>

嘉業(yè)堂刻書

劉承干不僅以收藏古籍而聞名全國，還以雕版印書蜚聲海內(nèi)。嘉業(yè)堂刻書始于1913年，至1937年抗戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)，歷時24年，其間刊刻書籍184種。劉氏刊書的地點，據(jù)其自己介紹：“上海與京師外，若南京、揚州、武昌，皆設(shè)置工廠?！庇纱丝梢姡瑒⑹峡虝囊?guī)模是比較大的。

從1913年起，劉承干共投入近二十萬元，計共刻書177種3015卷，“所刻諸經(jīng)單疏本為阮校所未見，子史百家亦多當(dāng)代罕見之籍，而于元明遺老所著及其譜狀，搜羅尤伙”，這也可以說是嘉業(yè)堂刻書的特點。

嘉業(yè)堂刻版的版式，大致可分為兩種。一種是仿照仁和朱氏結(jié)一廬書版的版式。結(jié)一廬書版的樣式，均為黑口，單魚尾，左右雙欄，每頁11行，行21字，字體為仿宋體，刊刻精美。結(jié)一廬的版式一直為劉承干所沿用?，F(xiàn)存《嘉業(yè)堂叢書》各種版片，其規(guī)格版式均與結(jié)一廬刻版相仿。劉氏所刻《求恕齋叢書》《留余草堂叢書》等，行數(shù)為10行或11行，每行20字或21字，仍與結(jié)一廬版式相近。

嘉業(yè)堂刻版的第二種版式，是影刻宋本。其特點主要體現(xiàn)在所刻《史記》《漢書》《后漢書》《三國志》4種史書中。以《史記》為例，劉氏所藏《史記》，經(jīng)繆荃孫、葉昌熾等鑒定為宋蜀刻大字本。宋刻本中的蜀刻本，又以墨優(yōu)紙佳、書寫方正雍容、版式疏朗雅潔而馳名，所以歷代被視作絕妙藝術(shù)瑰寶、罕有的文物精品，價值不菲。

為了能保持宋蜀刻本的原貌，影宋刻本的版式、字體等均嚴(yán)格按照原本。現(xiàn)存嘉業(yè)藏書樓的《史記》版片，書版規(guī)格為37.5cm×22.5cm，版式為黑口，雙魚尾，左右雙欄，每頁9行，行16個字，每字大小約1.5cm×1.5cm。書中原有的宋代避諱字，也照樣刊刻。嘉業(yè)堂刊刻的《影宋四史》，在當(dāng)時社會上很受歡迎，全國各大圖書館都來函或來人索書。

嘉業(yè)堂所藏版片后經(jīng)浙江圖書館繕治與整理，同時也一直被良好利用，出版利用的主要成果有：1964年6月，浙江圖書館與杭州市古舊書店、江蘇廣陵古籍刻印社合作，利用浙江圖書館館藏雕版印書版片，印刷出版了《續(xù)資治通鑒長編拾遺》《適園叢書》《四明叢書》等書共計11種。1980年8月，浙江圖書館與北京文物出版社合作，印刷出版了《嘉業(yè)堂叢書》《吳興叢書》等書共計207種，共使用館藏版片5.6萬余張。1980年10月，浙江圖書館又與江蘇廣陵古籍刻印社、杭州古舊書店合作，印刷出版了《武林掌故叢編》《金華叢書》等書共計20種，共使用館藏版片3.7萬余張。2000年10月，浙江圖書館與浙江華寶齋富翰文化有限公司合作，印刷出版了嘉業(yè)藏書樓著名的“宋四史”中的兩種——《史記》《三國志》，共使用版片2000多張。

藏書樓聚散

數(shù)盡則窮，盛滿則衰。至1934年、1935年間，藏書樓逐漸走向了衰落，尤其是日本的侵華更是加快了嘉業(yè)堂的中衰。

1937年杭嘉湖地區(qū)淪陷后，藏書樓工作全面停頓，僅留下一二人留守。在拒絕日本人所謂“駐兵保護”的要求后，劉承干于一日夜間秘密用船將三萬余冊珍本運往上海寓所，其中大多為明刊本，其余也有清乾隆以前的版本。對無法運走的書籍均抽去第一冊，并將它們藏入劉氏家宅的天花板之上。

抗戰(zhàn)期間，南潯鎮(zhèn)的房屋有三分之二被焚毀，嘉業(yè)堂卻因某些原因并未遭受多大的損毀。這一時期，嘉業(yè)堂藏書業(yè)的衰落主要表現(xiàn)在劉承干的幾次大規(guī)模散書上。

第一次規(guī)模較大的散書是在抗戰(zhàn)時期賣給中央圖書館的明刊本1200種，稿本30余種。這批書價值很高，其中不乏善本，成交后書被運到香港，但不巧為日軍發(fā)現(xiàn)并掠到日本?？箲?zhàn)勝利后方重歸內(nèi)地，1949年移往臺灣島。

第二批大規(guī)模賣出的是400余種明刊本，它們都是經(jīng)買主張叔平精心挑選的，內(nèi)中同樣有不少善本，但其價值則稍遜于中央圖書館所購的那批書，現(xiàn)收藏于浙江大學(xué)圖書館善本庫。

抗戰(zhàn)時期劉氏大規(guī)模的賣書僅此兩次，但零星賣書還有一些，如牧次郎到南潯向劉氏“要當(dāng)?shù)刂緯蛩秃莞疄醭?、歸安二縣及南潯鎮(zhèn)志，購買《永樂大典》四十三冊，計四萬三千元”。這部《永樂大典》殘本不久送到了滿鐵圖書館。

由于抗戰(zhàn)時期藏書樓元氣大傷，之后便一蹶不振，庋藏混亂，圖籍破損。1949年渡江南下的中國人民解放軍遵照周總理妥善保護天一閣和嘉業(yè)堂的指示，留下一排戰(zhàn)士專門保護藏書樓，陳毅在攻打上海前還專程視察了藏書樓。

解放后，人民政府接管了嘉業(yè)堂，派了大批工作人員來整理混亂不堪、塵封蠹蝕的藏書，經(jīng)四個月的時間方才整理就緒?！霸炀咔鍍詴r，共有書籍十一萬余冊，雜志三千余冊，自刻書二萬余冊，木版三萬多片，這就是解放時嘉業(yè)藏書樓的主要家底”。此后，嘉業(yè)堂一直是浙江圖書館的分館。2001年7月，嘉業(yè)藏書樓被列入我國第五批全國重點文物保護單位。

如前所述，南京淪陷后，劉承干曾將三萬余冊古籍運到上海寓所，那么，這批書（除賣給中央圖書館和張叔平的外）在新中國成立后的命運如何呢？據(jù)說，一部分書由劉承干或贈或賣與他的親朋好友，如復(fù)旦大學(xué)中文系的王欣夫教授就得了45種;大部分則分別歸屬于復(fù)旦大學(xué)圖書館、北京中國書店、天津中華書店等處。

據(jù)說，解放后劉承干收入減少，于是委托王欣夫找買主，因此，復(fù)旦大學(xué)圖書館向劉承干購買了一部分古籍。又據(jù)當(dāng)時去劉家購書的復(fù)旦大學(xué)圖書館潘繼安先生說，復(fù)旦圖書館曾先后三次購買了劉氏藏書。北京中國書店、天津中華書店也分別于1958年從劉承干處購買了一些書。至此，盛極一時的嘉業(yè)堂藏書至此大概已經(jīng)散失殆盡了。

興衰五十年

芳林新葉催陳葉，流水前波讓后波。綜觀嘉業(yè)堂藏書史，自興起至衰落前后不過半個世紀(jì)，呈現(xiàn)出興起得快衰落也快的特點，這種“自我得之，自我失之”的流星般的藏書過程是由許多原因造成的。

首先，雖然辛亥以來還存在私家藏書賴以存在的基礎(chǔ)，但要求廢除舊式藏書機構(gòu)，建立新式的公共圖書館已形成一種社會的趨勢，如嘉業(yè)堂般的藏書樓已日益暴露出不適應(yīng)時代發(fā)展的弱點。二十世紀(jì)三十年代，蔡元培參觀嘉業(yè)堂后感慨道，“可惜太舊了”，就是對此的最好注腳。

其次，劉承干本人主要從事的是工商業(yè)，藏書不過是興之所至以及為父親編書而為，就總的情況來看，劉氏于二十世紀(jì)三十年代停止購書后，已將主要的精力重新投入到商業(yè)活動中去，而對藏書則過問較少，熱情大減。

再次，藏書樓制度不嚴(yán)密，除了1925年至1935年全盛階段人員配備較齊、分工較明確外，其余時候人手奇缺，幾乎無人管理，正因如此，造成藏書的庋藏混亂。

雖然嘉業(yè)堂藏書歷史不長，藏書樓本身也存在許多不足之處，但是劉承干在中國近代藏書史上還是應(yīng)該占有一席之地的。他是中國近代史上私家藏書最多，花費精力、金錢最多的一個——遠遠超過清代以來的其他私人藏書家。他不守歷代藏書家只重宋元本的陋習(xí)，而是廣收博取，對于保留古代典籍起了巨大作用。他收藏的明清詩文集，雖在當(dāng)時不被重視，但在今天來看其中有不少已成為海內(nèi)孤本。

劉承干本人還是一個比較開明的藏書家，他得書后從不自珍，不但將孤本、善本任人借抄，而且還大量刊印古籍，使不少瀕亡的古籍因此得以流傳，對傳播古籍作出了貢獻。尤其是劉承干還刊刻了相當(dāng)數(shù)量的清朝禁書，早在1916年他就刊印了《安龍逸史》，此后又刻了《翁山文外》《閑魚閑閑錄》《三垣筆記》等禁書。對于這一點魯迅先生是頗為欣賞的，他在《病后雜談》中說，“對于這種刻書家，我是很感激的，因為他傳授給我許多知識”;在致楊霽云的信中又一次提到，“但有些書，則非傻公子如此公者是不會刻的，所以他還不是毫無益處的人物”。

Jiayetang in Nanxun： Rise and Fall in Fifty Years

Jiayetang Library was set up in Nanxun by Liu Chenggan. His grandfather Liu Yong was one of the richest men in the canal town in northern Zhejiang with assets worth more than 10 million silver dollars. After he became the family head， Liu Chenggan began to buy books and build up a collection of books. With his deep pockets， Jiayetang became number one private library in Zhejiang. In its prime time from 1925 to 1932， the library boasted a collection of 300，000 books.

He started building up a book collection after he visited a world expo in Nanjing， capital of Jiangsu Province in June 1910. The world event attracted more than 300，000 domestic and international visitors and lasted for six months. He bought a great number of books at the expo and shipped them back home in Shanghai. After hearing of the generous and enthusiastic book buyer， book sellers and collectors flooded to Shanghai and tried to sell books to the grandson of a multimillionaire. He not only bought books from publishers but also from book collectors. A great number of ancient books from dozens of private collections came into Lius possession. He amassed a huge collection in ten years. In order to preserve the rare and fine editions of ancient titles and house his huge collection， he bought a 1.3-hectare property by the family temple in Nanxun and had Jiayetang Library built.

What made Liu Chenggan and Jiayetang Library stand out is that Liu published books using the ancient technology known as block printing. In the 24 years of the printing project， Jiayetang published 184 titles. The books were made and produced in Shanghai， Beijing， Nanjing， Yangzhou and Wuchang. One of the most outstanding characteristics of the books published by Jiayetang is the large-size font. The best known books published by Jiayetang are four history books whose blocks were made on the basis of original editions published in the Song Dynasty （960-1279）.

The legacy of this ambitious project is 150，000 carved blocks now well preserved at Jiayetang in the custody of Zhejiang Library. The blocks have been well utilized. In June 1946， 11 titles of ancient books were reprinted by Zhejiang Library in partnership with Hangzhou Ancient Bookstore and Jiangsu Guangling Ancient Book Publishing House. In August 1980， 207 titles were reprinted based on 56，000 blocks of Jiayetang by Zhejiang Library in conjunction with Beijing Cultural Relics Press. In October 1980， 20 titles were reprinted using 37，000 blocks of Jiayetang. In October 2000， Zhejiang Library and Zhejiang Baohuazhai Press jointly reprinted using over 2，000 blocks.

Jiayetang began to disintegrate in 1934. After the all-out invasion of Japan， the fall accelerated. In 1937， northern Zhejiang was occupied by Japanese invaders. Jiayetang shut itself down and only a few people were left to look after the library. After turning down the request of military protection on the part of Japanese invaders， Liu Chenggan secretly shipped about 30，000 volumes of fine-edition ancient books to his house in Shanghai. These books were valuable because a majority of them were printed in the Ming Dynasty and the rest were printed in the early Qing Dynasty. For those that couldnt be conveniently relocated， first volumes were removed and hidden.

During World War Two， about 65 percent of the buildings in Nanxun were destroyed， but Jiayetang somehow remained miraculously intact. Liu Chenggan had to sell some books. During the war， he sold 1，200 books printed in the Ming Dynasty and 30-plus manuscripts to the Central Library. Unfortunately the books were seized by Japanese Occupation Army in Hong Kong when the books were on their way to Chongqing. The books were shipped to Japan. After the war， the books were sent back to China. In 1949， they were transferred to Taiwan.

During the war period， Liu Chenggan also sold about 400 titles printed in the Ming Dynasty to a private collector. This batch is now in the ancient book collection of Zhejiang University. All the books are fine editions.

The war cast the private library into a sharply downward trajectory. In 1949， the Peoples Library Army crossed the Yangtze River and battled its way to Shanghai. In light with the instruction of Zhou Enlai that PLA should protect Jiayetang in Jiaxing and Tianyige in Ningbo， a platoon of PLA soldiers were stationed at Jiayetang. Chen Yi， the commander of the PLA army besieging Shanghai， visited the library on his way to the frontline.

After the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949， Liu Chenggans business was not as profitable as before. He needed cash and therefore sold more books. The library of Fudan University in Shanghai purchased three batches of books from Jiayetang. In 1958， a bookstore in Beijing and a bookstore in Tianjin bought some ancient books from Jiayetang.

The fall of Jiayetang within a period of 50 years is understandable. First of all， time changed so much that private libraries like Jiayetang became outmoded and therefore were replaced by modern public libraries. Then， Liu Chenggan was largely engaged in business. He stopped buying books in the 1930s， not being as enthusiastic as before. The library wasnt operated well. From 1925 to 1935， the library was well managed by a full range of employees. Then the library was left as it was and there was nearly no management.

Jiayetang saw a boom decade from 1925 to 1935. The rise and fall of the private library within 50 years is regrettably short. Scholars say the private library had some imperfections， but it is a key chapter in the history of private libraries in China in modern times. Jiayetang was the biggest private library in China in the 20th century， much bigger than its predecessors in the Qing Dynasty and bigger than its contemporary counterparts. Liu Chenggan stood out from other private book collectors essentially because he built up a collection of books from a wide range of sources whereas most of his contemporary private bibliophiles collected books printed only in the Song and the Yuan dynasties. The Jiayetang collection preserved a great number of books. Take the poetry and essay anthologies in his private collection for instance. Though these books were not particularly valued in his time， some of them are now notably the only existing copies in the world.

Liu was an open-minded publisher. He never shut his library to anyone. He not only let scholars copy books at his library but also published a great number of books.

In particular， he published some books banned by the Qing government. Lu Xun， presumably the most important and influential writer of the 20th-century China， once commented that he was thankful to publishers like Liu Chenggan for the knowledge he acquired from the books Liu published. On another occasion he said only publishers like Liu Chenggan would publish such books and therefore he was by no means a useless person.