恢复历史记忆 找回文化精神——父亲章乃器收藏记忆

文章立凡 ZHANG Lifan

霁红盘（清）Red Plate of JI (Qing Dynasty)

中国国家博物馆举办的“爱国情怀——章乃器捐献文物展”上所展出的文物，有一些是先父早年捐献，大部分则是“文革”结束后捐献的千余件文物中精选出来的。父亲很早就钟情于文物考古，但在动荡的社会环境下，他将主要精力投入民主政治活动和实业救国，1949年以后才开始有系统地收藏文物，逐渐成为一位收藏家。故宫博物院原院长郑欣淼曾说，章先生的收藏门类比较齐全，“几乎涉及到古代生活的各个方面”。

岁月的记忆

1966年以前，我家住在灯草胡同30号的四合院里。这里原来住的是陈叔通，后来搬走了，国务院机关事务管理局就把房子分配给父亲住。

院落是坐南朝北的，不大，朝向也不算好，但处处散发着传统文化韵味，除沙发外，绝大部分都是硬木古典家具，室内陈列着父亲收藏的青铜器、瓷器和字画，收藏最多时约有五六千件。

我幼时最喜欢做的事，是把橱柜逐个打开，轮番捧着锦盒中的古物，问父亲这些东西的朝代和来历，他每次都不厌其烦地耐心讲解，还不时找出一些有代表性的器物展示给我。我渐渐被熏染出一种好古之癖，但出于儿童心理，最感兴趣的是古兵器。有次父亲特地给我看一把做工精细的青铜短剑，此剑一点都没有生锈，闪动着柔和的光泽，通体被一种规整的网格纹所装饰。他指出这把剑的特殊之处，是网格纹饰可能采用了化学工艺。父亲留下的文字中，曾这样描述此剑：“有战国铜剑一柄，锋利如剃刀，剑身满是腐蚀而成的花纹。其炼铜技术和花纹制法都是很值得研究的，是极难得的研究参考品。”而在另一处，他还谈到收藏的另一柄铜剑：“铁线篆铭文四字，当为‘吴王自用’四字。”

父亲收藏过一件在文字考古上有重大意义的著名青铜器“二祀邲其卣”（现藏故宫博物院），这是大家都知道的。就我所见，其他各种商鼎周彝，大大小小有几十口，还有七八面铜鼓，也是不可多得的重器。

瓷器是父亲收藏中的大项，玉器收藏也很丰富。我曾经问父亲：你收藏了那么多文物，为什么字画不多？他说字画作假太多，收藏字画的眼力，不是一般人所能有的，我没有张伯驹、张傚彬那种眼力，因此才以搜集青铜、瓷、玉和杂项为主。我又问道：您上过当吗？父亲说上过不止一次，如果不上当，怎么学得会鉴别真伪？当收藏家是要交学费的。赝品中若有很美的东西，尽管年份不够，我也是要作为艺术品来收藏的。

机遇与人缘

在老一辈的知名人士中，父亲以爱好文物考古著称。但1949年之前，在动荡的社会环境下，父亲将主要精力投入民主政治活动和实业救国，并没有进行系统地收藏。他开始系统地收藏文物并形成系列，是1949年初到达解放区后开始的。

历史上文物的聚散与毁灭，多与社会动乱有关。当时剧烈的社会变革和民众高涨的革命热情，使大多数人并未意识到文物的价值。当时市面上文物价格之低，达到了现今无法想象的程度。这对于希望系统地搜集文物的藏家来说，不能不说是一种机遇。

父亲在东北时就开始搜集流散在社会上的文物，1949年定居北京之后，公余之暇开始光顾文物市场，主要是隆福寺和琉璃厂的店铺，还有东大地（今红桥附近）的地摊。用他的话来说，当时北京的文物“泛滥街头”，其中真伪混杂，良莠不齐。他并非科班出身的文物鉴赏家，既搜集到很多好东西，也上过不少当，等于是交了学费。

瓦纹青铜盨（西周）Tile-pattern Bronze Vessel for Food (Western Zhou Dynasty)

有了收藏的机遇，还要有收藏的缘分，父亲的优势是与不少鉴定专家和收藏家结下“良缘”，丰富了自己的收藏。在这些朋友中，古玩行前辈孙瀛洲老先生曾帮他“掌眼”，收藏家叶恭绰、张伯驹、赵振经等，也与父亲时有切磋。

对于搜集来的文物，父亲通常会请一些朋友共同鉴赏；但在整理分类时，他都是亲自动手，从不假手于人。他曾定制大批锦盒，将那些来时无包装的文物妥善保护。文物入藏时，他经常会在锦盒上写一些文字或心得，记述藏品来源、品类、特点，有时还会记下孙老（瀛洲）或他本人对这些器物的评语，我曾看到过很多。

由于经常打交道，一些古玩商也跟他交了朋友，淘到了好物件自然想着他，会直接联系送上门。

父亲收藏文物的资金来源，一是手头的薪水，二是从上川公司抽回的资金。抗战期间他在重庆创立了上川公司，成长比较迅速。光复后他到台湾，买下了台湾糖业公司。后来内战局势急转直下，蒋介石准备将台湾作为最后的基地，父亲就把公司转让了，在香港创办了港九地产公司，经营得比较成功。

父亲公私分得很清楚，1949年回内地出任政府公职以后，他认为自己不宜再经营企业，便向董事会提出辞职，该公司因无人主持，随即歇业。他将自己在公司的投资逐步抽回，用以收集文物，准备将来捐给国家。

变身为奉献

父亲是一位政治活动家和经济学家，出于文化上的旨趣，收藏成为业余爱好。定居北京之初，他有比较充裕的收藏时间和空间，后来中国人民政治协商会议第一届全体会议召开、新中国成立后，他担任了政务院政务委员兼编制委员会主任；1952年出任粮食部部长后，他就越来越忙碌了。到1954年向国家捐献文物前，他已积存了三个房间的文物，收藏门类比较齐全，其中不乏相当数量的精品。

手头有一通父亲1953年12月致郑振铎的信函底稿，全文如下：

送 社会文化事业管理局 郑振铎局长

西谛我兄：

我四十天以后就要搬家。为图省事，我希望您局能在搬家前或搬家后不久将我的一批文物接收过去。否则，一起搬过去将来又搬到您们那里去，十分费力；放在原处过久又不放心，占了别人房子问题也多。

如何先请考虑，不久将面谒作决。

章乃器

1953.12.9

从信的内容看，此前他已表达过捐献的意愿，这时因要从大羊宜宾胡同搬家到灯草胡同，促请郑振铎尽快安排接收这批文物。八天后，他又致函上川企业公司董事长李桐村说：“我所支用之款，全数购买古物；年来工资收入，用过有余，亦均投入古物。现拟定全数赠送中央文化部。”

夔龙纹青铜匜（春秋）Kui-dragon-pattern Bronze Holder for Ritual (Spring and Autumn Period)

1954年初春，郑先生从故宫派来了六位专家接收文物，父亲敞开所有的橱柜任其挑选，大概筛选了一个月，有千余件藏品入选。像商代毓祖丁卣、亚父乙簋、西周夺卣、春秋越王剑、清代竹雕饕餮纹鼎、邢窑白釉瓶、龙泉窑青釉五孔盖瓶等精品，都在这次进入了故宫的珍藏。文物部门曾提出为父亲开一个捐献文物展览会，但他没有同意。翌年他还捐给中国人民保卫世界和平委员会一批文物，捐献时连数目都未清点。

父亲一直将文物视为全民族的文化财富。他曾对粮食部的同事说：“我在工作上是百分之百属于公的。我在欣赏古董上，现在只能做到以公为主以私为辅，还有点个人的考虑。我已经向社会文化事业管理局和保卫世界和平大会捐献了千件以上的古董，但我总得留一部分，去见马克思时再全部捐献给国家。我把这些古董看做是中国的文化艺术来欣赏研究，它是我精神生活不可缺少的一部分，它是我学习提高文化艺术科学知识的好老师。”

只是暂时拥有

李清照在《金石录后序》中说：“然有有必有无，有聚必有散，乃理之常。人亡弓，人得之，又胡足道！所以区区记其终始者，亦欲为后世好古博雅者之戒云。”

“涓滴之水，汇成大海”，将私人收藏捐给公共博物馆，变为社会文化财富，这在文明社会是一件很平常的事。我国近代实业巨子张謇，就曾以个人财力和收藏创立南通博物苑；在故宫博物院的“景仁榜”上，也镌刻了六百多位捐赠人士的姓名。

前辈的收藏家是一些具有人文情怀和爱国精神的人，他们默默地搜集，却没有把收藏当成私产，慷慨地捐赠，但不是为了表现自己，他们将文物视为中华民族的文化财富，托付给博物馆，是希望这些文物得到妥善的保护。这样一种文化精神，在那一代人中是相通的，从博物馆方面也是如此：抗战爆发前启动的故宫古物大南迁，其间辗转流离历尽艰辛，专家员工都能恪尽职守，文物没有蒙受损失。

1976年“文革”结束后，迎来了改革开放，民间收藏随着经济发展而复苏，但收藏家的价值观发生了变化，既不同于古代，也不同于近代，甚至不同于上世纪50年代的观念，目的性日趋功利，公益心日渐淡漠，出于公心的文物捐赠也变得罕见了。这种社会收藏观念的变化，也反映出我国公民教育的长期缺位。

从父亲1949年开始系统收藏文物迄今，已经过去60余年。回顾父亲作为收藏家的传奇经历，我获得不少人生感悟。如今，已过耳顺之年的我，会以愉悦的心情去参观文物或艺术展览，也不时应朋友之邀鉴赏他们的新旧藏珍。收藏无非是一个曾经拥有的过程，而不可能永远拥有。若古物曾与你有缘，把玩之间获得了愉悦，这就足够了。在每一件古物上，都驻留了无数人物及家族的信息，隐藏其间的盛衰荣辱、悲欢离合的故事，或许我们永远无法得知。像父亲这样将文物捐给博物馆，是对人生一种有预见的安排，他追求社会文化上的奉献，使文物的价值得以体现，同时也延续了自己的文化精神，可谓求仁得仁。

恢复历史记忆，找回文化精神，是一个民族复兴的前提。

Sentiment of Patriotism---Exhibition of Cultural Relics Donated by ZHANG Naiqi has been held at National Museum of China. With some donated by my father in early years, most of the exhibits are selected from over a thousand pieces of cultural relics donated after the Cultural Revolution. My father had long devoted himself to cultural relics and archeology. However, under the turbulent social environment, he devoted his energies mainly to democratization and industrialists to save the country. After 1949, he then began to systematically collect cultural relics and gradually became a collector. ZHENG Xinmiao, former President of the National Palace Museum, once said that the collection of Mr. Zhang was relatively complete, "covering almost all aspects of ancient life".

Years of Memory

Before 1966, my family lived in a courtyard at No.30, Dengcao Alley. The original residence here was CHEN Shutong, who later moved away and the Office Administration of State Council assigned the house to my father.

Sitting to the south and facing the north, the courtyard is not large and the orientation is not so good, but every corner exudes the traditional culture and charm.In addition to the sofa, the majority are hardwood classical furniture, displaying the bronze,porcelain and calligraphy and painting collected by my father.And the collection reaches about five to six thousand pieces at its most.

My favorite thing to do when I was young was to open the cabinets one by one and hold the antiquities from the jewelry boxes and asked the dynasties and origins of these things from my father. And every time, he explained patiently, and found some representative artifacts to show me from time to time.I was gradually infected by the habit of favoring old stuff. But out of psychology of a child, what interested me the most was the ancient weapons. There was a time when my father showed me a bronze dagger that was finely crafted. The sword was not rusty at all, and shone with a soft luster. The whole body was decorated with a regular grid pattern. He pointed out that the special feature of this sword was that the grid decoration might be as a result of some chemical process. The written materials left by his father once described the sword as follows: "The bronze sword of the Warring States Period is as sharp as a razor,and the sword body is full of corroded patterns, and the copper smelting technique and the pattern method are all worthy of study. This is a very rare reference for research. "He also talked about the collection of another bronze sword in other places:The inscription of the wire seals are four Chinese characters as"Exclusive for Emperor Wu".

My father once had a collection of famous bronzes of great significance in writing archeology, called "Er Si Bi Qi You" (Now in the possession of the National Palace Museum), which is known to all. As far as I can see, there were also dozens of other large and small objects and 7-8 bronze drums of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which featured extremely high value.

Porcelain is a big item in my father's collection and his jade collection is also very rich. I once asked my father: You have collected so many artifacts, why not calligraphy? He said that there were too many fake paintings and calligraphy, and the eyesight of collecting paintings and calligraphy is not what ordinary people could have. I do not have the eyesight of ZHANG Boju and ZHANG Xiaobin, that’s why he mainly collected bronze,porcelain, jade and miscellaneous items. I asked again: Have you been fooled? My father said there was more than once, if not fooled, how could he learn to identify the authenticity? You have to pay tuition fees if you want to be a collector. If there is a beautiful thing in the counterfeit, though the year is not long enough, I also want to collect as a work of art.

Opportunity and Popularity

Among the well-established figures of the older generation,my father is known for his passion for cultural relics and archeology. However, prior to 1949, under the turbulent social environment, he devoted his energies mainly to democratization and industrialists to save the country and did not collect in a systematical manner. He began collecting artifacts and forming series systematically at the start of the year 1949 after he arrived in the liberated areas.

The historical relics were scattered and destroyed mostly related to social unrest. At that time, violent social changes and the revolutionary enthusiasm of the general public did not make the majority of people aware of the value of cultural relics. At that time, the market price of cultural relics was so low that it reached an unimaginable level compared with that of today. This is an opportunity for collectors who wish to systematically collect cultural relics.

My father began to collect cultural relics scattered in the community when he was in the northeastern part of the country.After settling in Beijing in 1949, his spare time was mostly devoted to patronizing the cultural relics market, mainly the shops of Longfu Temple and Glass Street, as well as stalls at East Dadi (Bridge of Hongqiao at present).

With the historical opportunities of collection, people also need the fate in this regard. The advantage of my father was that my father has forged a harmonious relationship with a number of experts and collectors, which has enriched his collection in return. Among these friends, Mr. SUN Yingzhou, a veteran of the antiquarian line, has helped him "Identify" and famous collectors Mr. YE Gongchuo, Mr. ZHANG Boju and Mr. ZHAO Zhenjing and others also once discussed with my father concerning the cultural relics.

For collected cultural relics, my father would often ask some friends to appreciate together. However, he is a hands-on and self-employed person in sorting the categories. He has custom-made a large number of brocade boxes to protect those unpacked artifacts. When a cultural relic is about to be put into the box, he often writes some words or thoughts on the box, describing the source, category and characteristics of the collection, and sometimes noting the comments of Mr. SUN Yingzhou or his own on these artifacts, which I have seen a lot.

Due to regular contacts, some antiquarians have become his friends and naturally contacted him directly when finding great artifacts.

The fund sources of my father's collection of cultural relics,on one hand, is his salary and on the other hand the capital he withdrawn from Shangchnan Enterprice co., which he established in Chongqing during the Anti-Japanese War with a fast growth. He came to Taiwan after that and purchased the Taiwan Sugar Company. The situation of the civil war turned down sharply. As Chiang Kai-shek was ready to use Taiwan as the last base, my father had transferred the company and founded a Hong Kong-Kowloon real estate company in Hong Kong. The operation was most successful.

My father has a clear mind regarding the public and the private.After returning to serve as a government official in the mainland in 1949, he thought he was no longer suitable to run a business and submitted his resignation to the board of directors. As the company was unsuccessfully chaired, the company ceased business. And he gradually withdrew his own investment in the company for collecting cultural relics, ready to be donated to the country in future.

Change for Dedication

My father is a political activist and economist. Due to his interest in culture, collection has become his hobby. At the beginning after settling in Beijing, he had plenty of time and space for collection. Later, he served as the councilor of the Administrative Council and chief of the compilation committee and later the minister of the Food Ministry since the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the founding of new China, he became very busy. Before donating the cultural relics to the state in 1954, he had accumulated threeroom relics with rather complete categories, many of which were of most high quality.

There is a letter from my father to Mr. ZHENG Zhenduo in December, 1953, the full text is as follows：

To ZHENG Zhenduo, Director of Bureau of Social and Cultural Affairs

Dear Xidi:

I will move out in forty days. To save troubles, I hope your bureau can receive some of my cultural relics before or soon after my moving. Otherwise, it would be very laborious if I move them to my new place and your bureau after that. On the other hand, it is too unreliable if I leave them here for a long time, taking up other people's houses are very troublesome.Please think about it, we shall make the decision face-to-face .

ZHANG Naiqi

December 9, 1953

From the content of the letter, he had already expressed his willingness of donation. He urged Mr. ZHENG Zhenduo to receive the relics as soon as possible as he was required to move from the Dayang Yibin alley to the Dengcao alley. Eight days later,he also sent a letter to LI Tongcun, Chairman of Shangchnan Enterprice co., saying: "All the money I use was spent on the purchase of antiquities and my salary has also been paid in this regard. And I plan to donate all the relics I collected to the Ministry of Culture of Central Government.

In the early spring of 1954, Mr. ZHENG has sent six experts from the Forbidden City to receive artifacts. My father opened all the cabinets for their selection, which has lasted for a month or so,and over a thousand items were selected. Like theYu Zu Ding Youof Shang Dynasty,Ya Fu Yi Gui, Duo Youof Western Zhou Dynasty, the sword of the Spring and Autumn King, Bamboo Tripod with Taotie Pattern of Qing Dynasty, White-glazed Jar of Xing Kiln, Green-glazed Five-hole-covered Bottle of Longquan Kiln and other fine relics were all chosen as the collection of the Forbidden City. The department of cultural relics had proposed opening a donation exhibition for my father, but it was not agreed by him. He also donated a batch of cultural relics, which he hasn’t even counted, to the Chinese People's Committee for the Defense of World Peace the following year.

My father has always regarded cultural relics as the cultural wealth of the entire nation. He once told the colleagues of the Ministry of Food: "I am totally belonging to the public in work.But regarding the relics appreciation, now I can only do that with main focus on the public and the private as a supplement, and I do have some personal considerations. I have already donated more than a thousand antiques to the Social and Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Chinese People's Committee for the Defense of World Peace. However, I have to leave some for myself, which will be donated to the country when I pass away. I regard these antiques as the Chinese culture and art in appreciation, which is an indispensable part of my spiritual life. It is also a good teacher for me to study and enhance the scientific knowledge of culture and arts.

Owning Temporarily

LI Qingzhao mentioned inOrder of Jinshilu: However, there will always be a loss of possession, and there will be a convergence after departure, this is the common ground in the world.Someone lost a bow, someone got a bow, why bothering? Hence my purpose of writing down the whole story is hoping to leave a bit of caution for the future generations who love the elegant antiquities.

"Trickle of water merging into the sea", the private collection donated to the public museum and turned into a social and cultural wealth is a very common phenomenon in a civilized society. ZHANG Jian, a giant in the modern industry of China, once founded Nantong Museum with personal financial resources and collections.In addition, the names of more than 600 donors are also engraved in the "Jingren Ranking" of the National Palace Museum.

玉环（新石器时代）Jade Ring (Neolithic Age)

The former collectors are some people with humanistic sentiment and patriotism who collect in a silent manner, never considering them as personal belongings and donating generously. It is not for showing themselves, but regarding the cultural relic as the cultural wealth of the Chinese nation and entrusting them with museums with the hope that these artifacts are properly protected. Such a spirit of culture is thoroughly connected in that generation, as is the case in museums: the great southbound movement of antiques of the Forbidden City launched prior to the outbreak of Anti-Japanese War left many hardships in the process of separation and disappearance. Experts and staff were able to fulfill their duties and did not suffer any loss of the cultural relics.

After the "Cultural Revolution" in 1976, it embraced the reform and opening-up. Civil collection revived with economic development, but the values of collectors have changed not only from ancient times,but also different from the modern times, and even from that of the 1950s, showing the increasingly purpose-oriented utilitarian feature, caring for public welfare is growing indifferent and donations for the good of the public have become most rare. This change of social concept of collection also reflects the long absence of civic education in our country.

It has been over 60 years up to now since my father began to collect cultural relics in a systematical manner. I have acquired much life insight through reviewing my father's legendary experience as a collector. Nowadays, in my 60s, I will be in a pleasant mood to admire cultural relics or visit art exhibitions, and also be invited to appreciate friends’ new and old collections from time to time.Collection, nothing more than a once-owned process, cannot be kept forever. It is enough if the antiquities have been associated with you and bring you plentiful pleasure. There is countless information of people and family residing in each piece of antiquities, hiding stories of prosperity and decline, joy and sorrow, which we might never know. The donation of cultural relics to the museum like my father is a predictable arrangement for life. His pursuit of social and cultural dedication enables the value of cultural relics to be reflected and his own cultural spirit can be renewed without any regrets.

Restoring historical memory and retrieving cultural spirit are the prerequisite for the rejuvenation of a nation.