嘉业堂主人刘承干，湖州南浔人。清末民初南浔有“四象、八牛、七十二金黄狗”之说，象指家产1000万两银子以上，刘承干便是“四象”之一刘家的继承人。其祖父刘镛挣下偌大家业，却始终希望子孙能够读书做官，光耀门庭。刘承干继承产业后，大量收书藏书，在南浔修建了嘉业堂藏书楼。有雄厚资本支持，他很快就成为私人藏书第一人。

据有关资料记载，在藏书楼全盛时期，即1925年至1932年之间，藏书计30余万卷，其中，有世人都艳称的珍本善本宋元刊本200种，清刻本5000种，地方志1200余种，丛书220余种，抄本2000种，其他1200余种，大量的是清人文集和史书。此外还有碑帖数千种。

短短二十余年，刘承干为何能从身无数卷而一跃成为近代藏书量最丰富的私人藏书家？南浔嘉业堂又是怎样成为当时极富盛名的藏书之地？此后，盛极一时的嘉业堂藏书又是如何散失殆尽？

刘氏藏书建楼

刘承干的藏书事业发轫于1910年参观南洋劝业会之时。据刘承干后来回忆说：“宣统庚戌，南洋开劝业会于金陵，货骈集，人争趋之。余独徒步状元境各书肆，遍览群书，兼两载归。越日书贾携书来售者踵之，自是即有志藏书。”

由于刘承干购书出手大方，因此其藏书多为书商主动送上门的，也有相识的藏书家介绍转卖的。常上门的书商有博古斋主人、绰号“柳树精”的苏州人柳蓉春，“翰怡夜示续传灯录二册，博古斋送阅”。有“书林怪杰”江宁人钱长美;有杭州人陈立言、李紫东;有上海、杭州等地的其他书商，他们为刘承干送来了几十家藏书家所散之书。

1920年，刘承干经过十年的购书、抄书、刊书，所收藏书的数量已相当可观，其上海寓所的储书场所——求恕斋已是书满为患、聚集如山。为使苦心搜集而来的古籍善本得到妥善保管，刘承干在南浔刘氏家庙旁，“购地二十亩、斥金十二万，建设斯楼为藏书之所”。

嘉业堂藏书楼的兴建，是刘承干藏书史上的一个重要转折点，也标志着他的藏书事业已臻于全盛，这种繁荣的局面一直延续到1934年、1935年。在这一时期中，刘承干的藏书量达到了空前的水平，藏书楼建立了较为完整的工作制度并对所藏图书进行了整理编目，对外业务往来也达到了最高峰。

嘉业楼由园林和藏书楼两部分组成。园林内莲池、假山、亭台、奇石错落有致，形胜神似，为典型的江南园林代表。书楼是一座砖术结构的中西合璧两层楼房，东西阔十丈六尺，南北深十五丈九尺，分前后两进，每进面宽七间，左右厢房各六间，共五十二间。设有“宋史四斋”“嘉业厅”“诗萃室”“希古楼”“求恕斋”“黎光阁”等厅室。大门楣上“嘉业藏书楼”五个大字出自刘廷琛之笔。以“嘉业”命名，是因清末刘承干曾捐巨资助修光绪陵墓，宣统曾赐以“钦若嘉业”的匾额，他以此为荣。

“宋四史斋”主要珍藏的是“前汉、后汉、三国志、史记”这四本史书的刻本。这些刻本都是用红梨木雕刻，因此保存时间较长，这里刻印的《宋四史》书大字大，为国内罕见。

“诗萃室”放着一本刘承干与父亲刘安澜合写的《国朝诗萃》。楼上正厅称“希古楼”，匾额系郑孝胥题写。

藏书楼的园林在江南园林之中颇有特色，楼南为小花园，花草遍地，藤萝漫布，花园正中有约3-4亩大的莲池，周环假山，内蕴十二生肖，中垒石岛，岛上有亭翼然，名“明瑟”。亭背坚立一石，高约二米，形似虎踞，中一孔，吹之声如虎啸。石上有清代著名学者阮元題“啸石”隶书二字，其下复存张廷济（叔未）题句，故也称“啸石”，是南浔镇三大奇石之一。岛两端各有石桥通池岸，岸边亦各有亭，曰：“晚碧”“障红”，遥与“明瑟”互成犄角。

书楼与花园有外围河道环绕，以一衣带水替代围墙，使书楼建筑、花园景色与四周旷野村景浑成一体。东侧有桥临水，桥内拱形大铁门，以通出入。刘承干在《嘉业藏书楼记》文中这样描述书楼的环境：“园之四周，环以溪水，平临泱莽，直视无碍。”

嘉业堂刻书

刘承干不仅以收藏古籍而闻名全国，还以雕版印书蜚声海内。嘉业堂刻书始于1913年，至1937年抗战爆发，历时24年，其间刊刻书籍184种。刘氏刊书的地点，据其自己介绍：“上海与京师外，若南京、扬州、武昌，皆设置工厂。”由此可见，刘氏刻书的规模是比较大的。

从1913年起，刘承干共投入近二十万元，计共刻书177种3015卷，“所刻诸经单疏本为阮校所未见，子史百家亦多当代罕见之籍，而于元明遗老所著及其谱状，搜罗尤伙”，这也可以说是嘉业堂刻书的特点。

嘉业堂刻版的版式，大致可分为两种。一种是仿照仁和朱氏结一庐书版的版式。结一庐书版的样式，均为黑口，单鱼尾，左右双栏，每页11行，行21字，字体为仿宋体，刊刻精美。结一庐的版式一直为刘承干所沿用。现存《嘉业堂丛书》各种版片，其规格版式均与结一庐刻版相仿。刘氏所刻《求恕斋丛书》《留余草堂丛书》等，行数为10行或11行，每行20字或21字，仍与结一庐版式相近。

嘉业堂刻版的第二种版式，是影刻宋本。其特点主要体现在所刻《史记》《汉书》《后汉书》《三国志》4种史书中。以《史记》为例，刘氏所藏《史记》，经缪荃孙、叶昌炽等鉴定为宋蜀刻大字本。宋刻本中的蜀刻本，又以墨优纸佳、书写方正雍容、版式疏朗雅洁而驰名，所以历代被视作绝妙艺术瑰宝、罕有的文物精品，价值不菲。

为了能保持宋蜀刻本的原貌，影宋刻本的版式、字体等均严格按照原本。现存嘉业藏书楼的《史记》版片，书版规格为37.5cm×22.5cm，版式为黑口，双鱼尾，左右双栏，每页9行，行16个字，每字大小约1.5cm×1.5cm。书中原有的宋代避讳字，也照样刊刻。嘉业堂刊刻的《影宋四史》，在当时社会上很受欢迎，全国各大图书馆都来函或来人索书。

嘉业堂所藏版片后经浙江图书馆缮治与整理，同时也一直被良好利用，出版利用的主要成果有：1964年6月，浙江图书馆与杭州市古旧书店、江苏广陵古籍刻印社合作，利用浙江图书馆馆藏雕版印书版片，印刷出版了《续资治通鉴长编拾遗》《适园丛书》《四明丛书》等书共计11种。1980年8月，浙江图书馆与北京文物出版社合作，印刷出版了《嘉业堂丛书》《吴兴丛书》等书共计207种，共使用馆藏版片5.6万余张。1980年10月，浙江图书馆又与江苏广陵古籍刻印社、杭州古旧书店合作，印刷出版了《武林掌故丛编》《金华丛书》等书共计20种，共使用馆藏版片3.7万余张。2000年10月，浙江图书馆与浙江华宝斋富翰文化有限公司合作，印刷出版了嘉业藏书楼著名的“宋四史”中的两种——《史记》《三国志》，共使用版片2000多张。

藏书楼聚散

数尽则穷，盛满则衰。至1934年、1935年间，藏书楼逐渐走向了衰落，尤其是日本的侵华更是加快了嘉业堂的中衰。

1937年杭嘉湖地区沦陷后，藏书楼工作全面停顿，仅留下一二人留守。在拒绝日本人所谓“驻兵保护”的要求后，刘承干于一日夜间秘密用船将三万余册珍本运往上海寓所，其中大多为明刊本，其余也有清乾隆以前的版本。对无法运走的书籍均抽去第一册，并将它们藏入刘氏家宅的天花板之上。

抗战期间，南浔镇的房屋有三分之二被焚毁，嘉业堂却因某些原因并未遭受多大的损毁。这一时期，嘉业堂藏书业的衰落主要表现在刘承干的几次大规模散书上。

第一次规模较大的散书是在抗战时期卖给中央图书馆的明刊本1200种，稿本30余种。这批书价值很高，其中不乏善本，成交后书被运到香港，但不巧为日军发现并掠到日本。抗战胜利后方重归内地，1949年移往台湾岛。

第二批大规模卖出的是400余種明刊本，它们都是经买主张叔平精心挑选的，内中同样有不少善本，但其价值则稍逊于中央图书馆所购的那批书，现收藏于浙江大学图书馆善本库。

抗战时期刘氏大规模的卖书仅此两次，但零星卖书还有一些，如牧次郎到南浔向刘氏“要当地志书，因送湖州府乌程、归安二县及南浔镇志，购买《永乐大典》四十三册，计四万三千元”。这部《永乐大典》残本不久送到了满铁图书馆。

由于抗战时期藏书楼元气大伤，之后便一蹶不振，庋藏混乱，图籍破损。1949年渡江南下的中国人民解放军遵照周总理妥善保护天一阁和嘉业堂的指示，留下一排战士专门保护藏书楼，陈毅在攻打上海前还专程视察了藏书楼。

解放后，人民政府接管了嘉业堂，派了大批工作人员来整理混乱不堪、尘封蠹蚀的藏书，经四个月的时间方才整理就绪。“造具清册时，共有书籍十一万余册，杂志三千余册，自刻书二万余册，木版三万多片，这就是解放时嘉业藏书楼的主要家底”。此后，嘉业堂一直是浙江图书馆的分馆。2001年7月，嘉业藏书楼被列入我国第五批全国重点文物保护单位。

如前所述，南京沦陷后，刘承干曾将三万余册古籍运到上海寓所，那么，这批书（除卖给中央图书馆和张叔平的外）在新中国成立后的命运如何呢？据说，一部分书由刘承干或赠或卖与他的亲朋好友，如复旦大学中文系的王欣夫教授就得了45种;大部分则分别归属于复旦大学图书馆、北京中国书店、天津中华书店等处。

据说，解放后刘承干收入减少，于是委托王欣夫找买主，因此，复旦大学图书馆向刘承干购买了一部分古籍。又据当时去刘家购书的复旦大学图书馆潘继安先生说，复旦图书馆曾先后三次购买了刘氏藏书。北京中国书店、天津中华书店也分别于1958年从刘承干处购买了一些书。至此，盛极一时的嘉业堂藏书至此大概已经散失殆尽了。

兴衰五十年

芳林新叶催陈叶，流水前波让后波。综观嘉业堂藏书史，自兴起至衰落前后不过半个世纪，呈现出兴起得快衰落也快的特点，这种“自我得之，自我失之”的流星般的藏书过程是由许多原因造成的。

首先，虽然辛亥以来还存在私家藏书赖以存在的基础，但要求废除旧式藏书机构，建立新式的公共图书馆已形成一种社会的趋势，如嘉业堂般的藏书楼已日益暴露出不适应时代发展的弱点。二十世纪三十年代，蔡元培参观嘉业堂后感慨道，“可惜太旧了”，就是对此的最好注脚。

其次，刘承干本人主要从事的是工商业，藏书不过是兴之所至以及为父亲编书而为，就总的情况来看，刘氏于二十世纪三十年代停止购书后，已将主要的精力重新投入到商业活动中去，而对藏书则过问较少，热情大减。

再次，藏书楼制度不严密，除了1925年至1935年全盛阶段人员配备较齐、分工较明确外，其余时候人手奇缺，几乎无人管理，正因如此，造成藏书的庋藏混乱。

虽然嘉业堂藏书历史不长，藏书楼本身也存在许多不足之处，但是刘承干在中国近代藏书史上还是应该占有一席之地的。他是中国近代史上私家藏书最多，花费精力、金钱最多的一个——远远超过清代以来的其他私人藏书家。他不守历代藏书家只重宋元本的陋习，而是广收博取，对于保留古代典籍起了巨大作用。他收藏的明清诗文集，虽在当时不被重视，但在今天来看其中有不少已成为海内孤本。

刘承干本人还是一个比较开明的藏书家，他得书后从不自珍，不但将孤本、善本任人借抄，而且还大量刊印古籍，使不少濒亡的古籍因此得以流传，对传播古籍作出了贡献。尤其是刘承干还刊刻了相当数量的清朝禁书，早在1916年他就刊印了《安龙逸史》，此后又刻了《翁山文外》《闲鱼闲闲录》《三垣笔记》等禁书。对于这一点鲁迅先生是颇为欣赏的，他在《病后杂谈》中说，“对于这种刻书家，我是很感激的，因为他传授给我许多知识”;在致杨霁云的信中又一次提到，“但有些书，则非傻公子如此公者是不会刻的，所以他还不是毫无益处的人物”。

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.