Podcast | The Collecting Story of Pan Zuyin, a Member of the Wu Family of Guan Clan

From the Qing Dynasty to modern times, the Pan family of Suzhou was hailed as the "Distinguished Family of Wu," becoming a renowned and influential clan. Their collections encompassed ancient books, epigraphy, calligraphy, and paintings, boasting a vast scale and far-reaching influence. This year's major exhibition at the Shanghai Library (East Branch), "Inheriting the Past and Continuing the Beauty: An Exhibition of Classical Documents from the Pan Family of Suzhou in the Collection of the Shanghai Library," focuses on the Pan family's precious collection of classical texts.

Among them, the Pangxizhai collection of Pan Zuyin (1830-1890), a scholar and collector of epigraphy during the Qing Dynasty, is the highlight of this exhibition. The exhibition displays rare books from Pan Zuyin's collection together with related documents, vividly revealing Pan Zuyin's collecting activities and his collecting philosophy.

ArtPulse recently interviewed Liang Ying, the curator of this exhibition and associate research librarian at the Shanghai Library, inviting him to share interesting anecdotes about Pan Zuyin's collection and the stories behind his collection.

[Summary]

00:00:38 The Pan family's six-generation book collection emphasizes the tradition of book collecting.

00:01:33 What makes this year's annual exhibition different from previous years

00:03:20 The Meaning and Story Behind the Ten-Volume Song Dynasty Printed Unique Edition of "Jinshi Lu"

00:06:30 The Influence of Epigraphers of the Qianlong and Jiaqing Eras on Pan Zuyin's Collecting Views

00:07:30 The rare Song Dynasty rubbing of "Xu Zhenren's Well Inscription" and the story behind it

00:09:00 Why didn't Pan Zuyin write any inscriptions on the Song Dynasty rubbings in his collection?

00:10:50 The story of the Song Dynasty edition of "The Collected Works of Mr. Liangxi" entering the collection of Pangxi Studio

00:14:36 The documents of the Yu Ding reflect the experience of the Da Yu Ding entering the collection of Pangxi Zhai.