恢復歷史記憶 找回文化精神
——父親章乃器收藏記憶

文章立凡 ZHANG Lifan

霽紅盤（清）Red Plate of JI (Qing Dynasty)

中國國家博物館舉辦的“愛國情懷——章乃器捐獻文物展”上所展出的文物，有一些是先父早年捐獻，大部分則是“文革”結束后捐獻的千余件文物中精選出來的。父親很早就鐘情于文物考古，但在動蕩的社會環境下，他將主要精力投入民主政治活動和實業救國，1949年以后才開始有系統地收藏文物，逐漸成為一位收藏家。故宮博物院原院長鄭欣淼曾說，章先生的收藏門類比較齊全，“幾乎涉及到古代生活的各個方面”。

歲月的記憶

1966年以前，我家住在燈草胡同30號的四合院里。這里原來住的是陳叔通，后來搬走了，國務院機關事務管理局就把房子分配給父親住。

院落是坐南朝北的，不大，朝向也不算好，但處處散發著傳統文化韻味，除沙發外，絕大部分都是硬木古典家具，室內陳列著父親收藏的青銅器、瓷器和字畫，收藏最多時約有五六千件。

我幼時最喜歡做的事，是把櫥柜逐個打開，輪番捧著錦盒中的古物，問父親這些東西的朝代和來歷，他每次都不厭其煩地耐心講解，還不時找出一些有代表性的器物展示給我。我漸漸被熏染出一種好古之癖，但出于兒童心理，最感興趣的是古兵器。有次父親特地給我看一把做工精細的青銅短劍，此劍一點都沒有生銹，閃動著柔和的光澤，通體被一種規整的網格紋所裝飾。他指出這把劍的特殊之處，是網格紋飾可能采用了化學工藝。父親留下的文字中，曾這樣描述此劍：“有戰國銅劍一柄，鋒利如剃刀，劍身滿是腐蝕而成的花紋。其煉銅技術和花紋制法都是很值得研究的，是極難得的研究參考品?！倍诹硪惶?，他還談到收藏的另一柄銅劍：“鐵線篆銘文四字，當為‘吳王自用’四字?！?/p>

父親收藏過一件在文字考古上有重大意義的著名青銅器“二祀邲其卣”（現藏故宮博物院），這是大家都知道的。就我所見，其他各種商鼎周彝，大大小小有幾十口，還有七八面銅鼓，也是不可多得的重器。

瓷器是父親收藏中的大項，玉器收藏也很豐富。我曾經問父親：你收藏了那么多文物，為什么字畫不多？他說字畫作假太多，收藏字畫的眼力，不是一般人所能有的，我沒有張伯駒、張傚彬那種眼力，因此才以搜集青銅、瓷、玉和雜項為主。我又問道：您上過當嗎？父親說上過不止一次，如果不上當，怎么學得會鑒別真偽？當收藏家是要交學費的。贗品中若有很美的東西，盡管年份不夠，我也是要作為藝術品來收藏的。

機遇與人緣

在老一輩的知名人士中，父親以愛好文物考古著稱。但1949年之前，在動蕩的社會環境下，父親將主要精力投入民主政治活動和實業救國，并沒有進行系統地收藏。他開始系統地收藏文物并形成系列，是1949年初到達解放區后開始的。

歷史上文物的聚散與毀滅，多與社會動亂有關。當時劇烈的社會變革和民眾高漲的革命熱情，使大多數人并未意識到文物的價值。當時市面上文物價格之低，達到了現今無法想象的程度。這對于希望系統地搜集文物的藏家來說，不能不說是一種機遇。

父親在東北時就開始搜集流散在社會上的文物，1949年定居北京之后，公余之暇開始光顧文物市場，主要是隆福寺和琉璃廠的店鋪，還有東大地（今紅橋附近）的地攤。用他的話來說，當時北京的文物“泛濫街頭”，其中真偽混雜，良莠不齊。他并非科班出身的文物鑒賞家，既搜集到很多好東西，也上過不少當，等于是交了學費。

瓦紋青銅盨（西周）Tile-pattern Bronze Vessel for Food (Western Zhou Dynasty)

有了收藏的機遇，還要有收藏的緣分，父親的優勢是與不少鑒定專家和收藏家結下“良緣”，豐富了自己的收藏。在這些朋友中，古玩行前輩孫瀛洲老先生曾幫他“掌眼”，收藏家葉恭綽、張伯駒、趙振經等，也與父親時有切磋。

對于搜集來的文物，父親通常會請一些朋友共同鑒賞；但在整理分類時，他都是親自動手，從不假手于人。他曾定制大批錦盒，將那些來時無包裝的文物妥善保護。文物入藏時，他經常會在錦盒上寫一些文字或心得，記述藏品來源、品類、特點，有時還會記下孫老（瀛洲）或他本人對這些器物的評語，我曾看到過很多。

由于經常打交道，一些古玩商也跟他交了朋友，淘到了好物件自然想著他，會直接聯系送上門。

父親收藏文物的資金來源，一是手頭的薪水，二是從上川公司抽回的資金?？箲鹌陂g他在重慶創立了上川公司，成長比較迅速。光復后他到臺灣，買下了臺灣糖業公司。后來內戰局勢急轉直下，蔣介石準備將臺灣作為最后的基地，父親就把公司轉讓了，在香港創辦了港九地產公司，經營得比較成功。

父親公私分得很清楚，1949年回內地出任政府公職以后，他認為自己不宜再經營企業，便向董事會提出辭職，該公司因無人主持，隨即歇業。他將自己在公司的投資逐步抽回，用以收集文物，準備將來捐給國家。

變身為奉獻

父親是一位政治活動家和經濟學家，出于文化上的旨趣，收藏成為業余愛好。定居北京之初，他有比較充裕的收藏時間和空間，后來中國人民政治協商會議第一屆全體會議召開、新中國成立后，他擔任了政務院政務委員兼編制委員會主任；1952年出任糧食部部長后，他就越來越忙碌了。到1954年向國家捐獻文物前，他已積存了三個房間的文物，收藏門類比較齊全，其中不乏相當數量的精品。

手頭有一通父親1953年12月致鄭振鐸的信函底稿，全文如下：

送 社會文化事業管理局 鄭振鐸局長

西諦我兄：

我四十天以后就要搬家。為圖省事，我希望您局能在搬家前或搬家后不久將我的一批文物接收過去。否則，一起搬過去將來又搬到您們那里去，十分費力；放在原處過久又不放心，占了別人房子問題也多。

如何先請考慮，不久將面謁作決。

章乃器

1953.12.9

從信的內容看，此前他已表達過捐獻的意愿，這時因要從大羊宜賓胡同搬家到燈草胡同，促請鄭振鐸盡快安排接收這批文物。八天后，他又致函上川企業公司董事長李桐村說：“我所支用之款，全數購買古物；年來工資收入，用過有余，亦均投入古物?，F擬定全數贈送中央文化部?！?/p>

夔龍紋青銅匜（春秋）Kui-dragon-pattern Bronze Holder for Ritual (Spring and Autumn Period)

1954年初春，鄭先生從故宮派來了六位專家接收文物，父親敞開所有的櫥柜任其挑選，大概篩選了一個月，有千余件藏品入選。像商代毓祖丁卣、亞父乙簋、西周奪卣、春秋越王劍、清代竹雕饕餮紋鼎、邢窯白釉瓶、龍泉窯青釉五孔蓋瓶等精品，都在這次進入了故宮的珍藏。文物部門曾提出為父親開一個捐獻文物展覽會，但他沒有同意。翌年他還捐給中國人民保衛世界和平委員會一批文物，捐獻時連數目都未清點。

父親一直將文物視為全民族的文化財富。他曾對糧食部的同事說：“我在工作上是百分之百屬于公的。我在欣賞古董上，現在只能做到以公為主以私為輔，還有點個人的考慮。我已經向社會文化事業管理局和保衛世界和平大會捐獻了千件以上的古董，但我總得留一部分，去見馬克思時再全部捐獻給國家。我把這些古董看做是中國的文化藝術來欣賞研究，它是我精神生活不可缺少的一部分，它是我學習提高文化藝術科學知識的好老師?！?/p>

只是暫時擁有

李清照在《金石錄后序》中說：“然有有必有無，有聚必有散，乃理之常。人亡弓，人得之，又胡足道！所以區區記其終始者，亦欲為后世好古博雅者之戒云?！?/p>

“涓滴之水，匯成大?！?，將私人收藏捐給公共博物館，變為社會文化財富，這在文明社會是一件很平常的事。我國近代實業巨子張謇，就曾以個人財力和收藏創立南通博物苑；在故宮博物院的“景仁榜”上，也鐫刻了六百多位捐贈人士的姓名。

前輩的收藏家是一些具有人文情懷和愛國精神的人，他們默默地搜集，卻沒有把收藏當成私產，慷慨地捐贈，但不是為了表現自己，他們將文物視為中華民族的文化財富，托付給博物館，是希望這些文物得到妥善的保護。這樣一種文化精神，在那一代人中是相通的，從博物館方面也是如此：抗戰爆發前啟動的故宮古物大南遷，其間輾轉流離歷盡艱辛，專家員工都能恪盡職守，文物沒有蒙受損失。

1976年“文革”結束后，迎來了改革開放，民間收藏隨著經濟發展而復蘇，但收藏家的價值觀發生了變化，既不同于古代，也不同于近代，甚至不同于上世紀50年代的觀念，目的性日趨功利，公益心日漸淡漠，出于公心的文物捐贈也變得罕見了。這種社會收藏觀念的變化，也反映出我國公民教育的長期缺位。

從父親1949年開始系統收藏文物迄今，已經過去60余年?；仡櫢赣H作為收藏家的傳奇經歷，我獲得不少人生感悟。如今，已過耳順之年的我，會以愉悅的心情去參觀文物或藝術展覽，也不時應朋友之邀鑒賞他們的新舊藏珍。收藏無非是一個曾經擁有的過程，而不可能永遠擁有。若古物曾與你有緣，把玩之間獲得了愉悅，這就足夠了。在每一件古物上，都駐留了無數人物及家族的信息，隱藏其間的盛衰榮辱、悲歡離合的故事，或許我們永遠無法得知。像父親這樣將文物捐給博物館，是對人生一種有預見的安排，他追求社會文化上的奉獻，使文物的價值得以體現，同時也延續了自己的文化精神，可謂求仁得仁。

恢復歷史記憶，找回文化精神，是一個民族復興的前提。

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.

玉環（新石器時代）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.