父亲喜欢藏书，写过一篇关于藏书的散文《舱前明月枕边书》，最早刊登在宁波晚报的副刊上，获了藏书征文一等奖，后又被评为该年度宁波市副刊作品一等奖。
　　
　　普济庵觅宝
　　
　　在父亲藏书的故事里，每一部珍籍的得失，都潜藏着人生的玄机，见证着时代的风云。
　　好几次听父亲说起过“普济庵觅宝”的故事。那是1960年，父亲19岁，在渔业队当会计。一天傍晚，队里的一位渔民告诉父亲说，在他捕鱼的王家洋有座普济庵，那里书很多。父亲听罢，第二天一早就跟随这个渔民去普济庵，进去一看原来是家造纸厂。那里堆着小山似的书，是准备捣成纸浆用来造草纸的。父亲翻动书堆，发现了不少闪光的宝贝，其中有文化生活出版社出版的巴金主编的《文学丛刊》17辑160本，一本不缺，如此完整拥有这套民国版的书，这在全国一些著名的大学图书馆中也属凤毛麟角；商务版林琴南翻译的《茶花女遗事》等156种，以古文的笔法翻译，也别有情趣。面对这些书，父亲爱不释手，他抽空就去看。去了几次父亲觉得不好意思，就顺便带上些鱼送给造纸厂的工人。那里的工人平常吃的都是咸菜，一见有透骨新鲜的鱼吃，自然满心喜欢。
　　他们对父亲说：这些书你爱看就拿回去吧，你称一下斤两，找一些废旧报纸来抵足分量就是了。父亲喜出望外。那一次父亲淘得明版书30部左右，清版书四五十部。明版书中以弘治十一年（1498）版的十二卷《刘随州文集》最为珍贵，此书为刘集存世最早的完本——祖本。如果论价，这些书现在早就数以百万元计了。
　　父亲从小爱书却无钱买书，他的藏书是靠自己一本一本淘宝似的淘来的。由于祖父早逝，为生计所迫，父亲早年没读多少书就进入渔业队挣工分了。不过祖母知道儿子好书，每当渔业队发工资，祖母便准许他留下3元钱买书，他就凭着祖母给予的3元和从口中节省下来的钱，先后购买了清版王维、孟浩然、林和靖等诸家诗集，冰心的北新原版《春水》《繁星》，以及钱钟书的开明原版《写在人生边上》等等珍贵书籍，如今他从王家洋造纸厂废纸堆里一下子淘得这么多的书，顿时“大富大贵”，自然喜出望外！
　　然而谁能想到藏书也是祸。刚刚记事的我就经历了暴风般的一幕：父亲的藏书统统被人扔进鲞篓，用四轮手拉车拖走了！
　　
　　余光中回赠一鞠躬
　　
　　父亲迎来人生第二次藏书的春天，是在1980年以后。柳暗花明，历尽坎坷的父亲，得改革开放先机，毫无经商意识的父亲下海扑腾，竟也淘得了一大把金。父亲乐了，因为有了钱就有了买书藏书的经济后盾，他戏称要“以商养文”。镇海新华书店对父亲也另眼相看，把全国各种各样的书讯报刊都寄给父亲，看到喜欢的新书目只需打上钩，到时自会送书上门。
　　有一次父亲到大连后打的去火车站，想乘中午12时开往吉林的火车。没想到出租车经过繁华的天津街路段时，车堵得厉害父亲就下车步行，因为那里距火车站已经很近。就在这一刻，他无意中发现，大连市新华书店的门楣上悬挂着一条红底白字的横幅：热烈欢迎余光中先生莅临我店签名售书。
　　
　　余光中先生是父亲心仪的诗人，遇此良机岂可错失？于是他便去书店探个究竟。经询问签名售书时间是当日下午2时。好在父亲一如闲云野鹤，行止无人管束，于是他就去火车站预购了翌日去吉林的卧铺票。下午父亲早早地等候在书店一楼大厅，怀里抱着七卷余光中的书。两点正，衣着朴素、满头华发的余光中先生微笑着坐在案前为购书者一一签名、钤章。当余光中先生为父亲签名时，父亲由衷地向这位蜚声文坛的诗人行了个鞠躬礼，说了声：“谢谢您，余先生。”岂知余先生也谦虚地站了起来，向父亲回赠了一鞠躬，并与父亲握手。
　　走出书店，父亲端着余光中的书又来到中山广场附近的旧货古玩市场。在一个杂陈废旧期刊的地摊上，发现了一部洪武年间（1368—1398）刻印的《书经》，上印：“蒲阳郑氏刻本，金陵奎壁斋梓”。这部书品相极佳，朱红色封页，乌丝栏鲜明清晰，双鱼尾上下匀称。没想到这套已有600年书龄的明版古籍，那位摊主只开出200元的价。出于良知，父亲说当时真想再付给他1000元，然而终于又世故地“掐死”了这个刚刚萌生的善念。因为买方主动提价，尤其是成倍提价，为淘书者一大忌讳，由此酿成的后果往往是：摊主漫天要价，居为奇货，不再出卖。于是，父亲二话没说，付款后故意从从容容负着书囊，缓缓踱出广场。随即七拐八弯，不走大街却踅入小胡同疾步返回旅馆。父亲说当时心里真有点担心，唯恐那摊主后悔，寻踪而来。
　　
　　为古代“伉俪”破镜重圆
　　
　　浏览父亲的书橱，会发现一个很温馨的细节，那就是有些书都是以一对对“伉俪”排列的。例如柳如是的《戊寅草》《湖上草》旁，紧挨的是钱谦益的《初学集》《有学集》；许仲萱的《亭秋馆诗词集》边，靠的是陈筱石的《鸣原集》等等。这些“夫妇”别看如今都安居在父亲的书房中，想当年他们都是“鸾漂凤泊”天各一方的坎坷夫妻，是父亲经过多年的寻找，才使他们得以“破镜重圆”。其中找得最苦的，是陈之遴的《浮云集》及其夫人徐灿的《拙政园诗余》《拙政园诗集》。
　　陈之遴（1605—约1667），字彦升，号素庵，浙江海宁人，明代崇祯十年（1637）丁丑科进士第二名（榜眼），受职翰林院编修，清代仕至吏部尚书、弘文院大学士。因卷入宦海漩涡，被撤职抄家，流放关东，客死他乡。陈之遴夫人徐灿，字湘，号明霞，苏州人，为明末光禄寺丞徐之懋的次女，被誉为“南宋后闺秀第一”，其诗词造诣堪与李清照相比。
　　
　　出于对这对夫妻不幸遭遇的同情，更基于对徐灿的尊敬，1987年父亲首先在安徽潜山县淘得了陈之遴的《浮云集》（线装十二卷上下两册），这个集子在清代被列为禁书，直到1933年陈之遴后裔按照世代珍藏的《浮云集》残存底稿重新刻印，父亲得到的就是这种印数甚少的篆刻本。1999年秋天，父亲经天南地北地寻觅，终于在天津市和平区，替“陈之遴”找到了“徐灿”：这天傍晚父亲从宾馆出来，抬头看见对面的胡同口有个书摊，便走了过去。经问得知原来是胡同内一位爱书的老爷子过世了，他的儿子、媳妇就把老人遗留下来的书籍用黄鱼车拉出来卖。黄鱼车上，有上海古籍出版社的《剑南诗稿》（八册）、《吴梅村集》（三集）；江苏古籍出版社的《随园全集》（八册）、中华书局版的《二十五史》等等。父亲随手翻检，就知道书的主人品位不俗，于是问：“府上可有线装书？”那男子说：“有，但价钱很贵。”
　　男子带领父亲进了胡同。在老人家生前卧室兼书房，见桌上摆放着老人的遗像。父亲顿时感到歉疚，他恭敬地向老先生行了三个鞠躬礼，然后目光就在书橱中搜索。忽然他看到了梦寐以求的那部书：《拜经楼丛书》，全书48册，其中就有徐灿的诗词（三册、两种）。《拜经楼丛书》系国家级善本古籍，要得到谈何容易？但注定有缘，只是书价不菲。幸亏那次有同乡一起出差，当夜父亲便回旅馆敲开同乡的房门，借了数千款项，终了宿愿。
　　星移斗转，日积月累，如今家里又拥有了上万册书籍（线装书7800卷），先后获得了市、区“十佳藏书人家”的誉称。
　　
　　与隔岸《秋水》的佳话
　　
　　父亲不仅仅看书藏书，也写诗。他曾说：看了这么多书，总不能白看人家的，自己也该留下一些吧。他一直喜欢写诗，即使在诗歌如此冷落的年代，他也自娱自乐地写着。近些年，他的诗作不断被收录在一些著名的诗集中，如北京文史出版社出版的《中国诗歌十年》、香港出版的《中国精美新诗三百首》、台湾出版的《泱泱秋火》等等。台湾最有影响的诗刊《秋水》《葡萄园》，几乎每期都刊登父亲的诗作，刊上大名包芝江。《秋水》还聘他为编委，诗社设立专柜，收藏他的著作。
　　
　　《秋水》主编涂静怡与父亲书信、电话交往密切，并认我父亲为弟弟，留下了两岸文化交流的不少佳话。涂静怡是蜚声台湾文坛的才女，浙江教育出版社的义务教育初中课本选有她的散文《蜘蛛》，早在1978年她就以长诗《从苦难中成长》获台湾文艺金像奖，两年后又以一册力斥台独的新诗集《历史的伤痕》获台湾文艺最高奖——第十五届中山文艺创作奖。她主编的《秋水》，自创刊之日起就坚持横排，当时遭到非议，而现在随着两岸交流密切，连台湾也明令所有公文书变为横排。《秋水》还是最早与大陆进行交流的诗刊，当她知道北京大学学生为争看《秋水》，竟采用轮流限时阅读，这使她大为感动，于是《秋水》每期向大陆各地寄赠300本。
　　读书，藏书，写诗，从少年到白头，那是浸透父亲生命的一种爱。
　　
　　My Father and His Books
　　By Bao Danhong
　　
　　My father is a man of bibliomania. He once contributed his life story about books to the Ningbo Evening, a newspaper in the port city of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province and won a first prize in the competition and later won a first award in the whole city’s media for the year.
　　His story about books is not just about books. It is about his life and the times that shaped his life and passion for books.
　　My father loved books since his childhood years. My grandfather passed away early. So my father dropped out of school and began to work at the fishing team. Knowing her son’s passion for reading, my grandmother allowed him to keep 3 yuan out of the monthly wage to buy books. This way, my father gradually built up his private library.
　　The first batch of precious books he collected came in 1960 when he was a 19-years-old accountant of a fishing production team. One evening, he learned from a fisherman that a Buddhist temple near a fishing ground housed many books. The next morning my father visited the place. It turned out that the temple had been converted into a paper making plant and the books there were to be shattered into paper pulp as raw material. Some books in heaps were quite rare. He found the complete 160 books in 17 series of The Literature Series, edited by Ba Jin and published by Cultural Life Press and 156 foreign literary masterpieces translated by Lin Shu (1852-1924), a great scholar regarded as a pioneer of introducing foreign literature into China in the early 20th century. My father’s ecstasy knew no bounds. Then, he frequented the plant to read books there and brought fresh fish to its workers. After a few reading trips, he was told that he could take these books home. All he needed to do was to bring in newspapers in the same weight. My father was overjoyed. He picked about 30 books published in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 50 books published in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The most precious books were the 12-volume complete collection of Liu Suizhou published in 1498, which can be worth more than a million yuan today.
　　But my father failed to keep these books for long. When the Cultural Revolution started in 1966, his private library became a target for cultural crackdown. All his books were confiscated. They were thrown into salt fish baskets and carried away on a four-wheel cart.
　　My father began to build up his private library again in 1980. Though knowing nothing about business, my father started his own business when the policy of reform and opening up was implemented. After hitting his first buckle of gold, he began to buy more books. Jokingly, he said he was doing business in order to keep his book hobby. The Xinhua Bookstore in Zhenhai has treated him as a VIP, sending him all kinds of lists of new books on a regular basis. Nowadays, my father just scans the lists and place orders. The bookstore’s service people will deliver the books.
　　
　　Many books in my father’s collection were acquired on his business trips. One morning in Dalian, a port city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, my father was on a taxi ride to the railway station. When the taxi ran into a traffic jam in downtown, my father decided to walk to the nearby railway station. On his way, he passed a Xinhua Bookstore and saw a banner hanging there with a message that the Taiwan poet Yu Guangzhong was to autograph books for readers that afternoon. My father went to the railway station and changed his train ticket for the next day and then came back to the bookstore. He bought seven books by Yu and waited for the poet. When the books were signed, my father bowed his thanks to the poet. To my father’s surprise, the poet stood up, bowed back and then shook hands with him.
　　With the seven books in a satchel, my father wandered to a nearby antique market. While examining antique books and back issues of some magazines at a stall, he found an ancient edition of The Book of History, one of the most ancient books in China’s history. The edition was published in the Hongwu Years (1368-1398) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The book, priced at 200 yuan, was in fine condition. Out of his conscience, my father wanted to offer 1,000 for such a precious 600-year-old book and but he paid 200, knowing that he was in no position to excite anyone’s greed and that he was abiding by a market bargain rule. Without knowing that he was giving away a treasure for a song, the vendor sold the book and pocketed the cash. My father fought down his excitement and deliberately spent some time packing his satchel and then slowly walked away. Then he took rapid turns and walked into small lanes in a rush back to the hotel, dreading that the bookseller might become aware of having made a mistake and come chasing him.
　　In the autumn of 1999, my father was in Tianjin on a business trip. One evening, he wandered out of the hotel and spotted a bookstall at the entrance to a small lane from across the hotel. It turned out that an old man had passed away and his son and daughter-in-law decided to sell the books on a tricycle. My father took a look at the books and realized that the old man had been a serious reader of ancient literary books. So my father asked if the couple had books in the traditional thread binding at home. The answer was affirmative. Then my father was led into a house deep in the lane. He bowed three times to a portrait of the deceased first before browsing through the bookshelves. He found the complete 48-volume 拜经楼丛书 or Books from the House of Classics, a state-grade rare edition. For a moment, my father felt it was his destiny to come face to face with the precious tomes. The books were expensive. Fortunately he was able to borrow cash from his colleagues back at the hotel and bought the books.
　　Nowadays, my father’s library boasts 10,000 books, including 7,800 in the traditional thread binding. His has been honored as one of the top ten private libraries in Ningbo City and Zhenhai District.
　　My father is not just a man of bibliomania. He reads the books he has acquired and writes poems. Some of his poems have been published and some even anthologized. He knows writing poems is no longer the fashion at all, but it is his way to return favors he has received to society.
　　(Translated by David)