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In the history of the Chinese people, paper and printing arts have always held a high level of importance, and books themselves have long been respected as the physical manifestations of culture and history. Because of this cultural respect, book collectors are also held in esteem as erudite scholars with the ¡°pedigree of a bookish scent.¡± Although we are well into the age of digital reproduction, a love for printed books is still ingrained in the minds of many people, and the thirst for these materials has certainly not died in the collecting circuit.
China Guardian's Fall 1994 Auction of Rare Books and Manuscripts was the first such auction on the mainland, and from that point to today numerous world records have been set by China Guardian rare books auctions. Collectors revel in the opportunity to travel back over a thousand years with the touch of a Tang classic, or to lose themselves in the rare Song and Yuan texts, or to marvel at the beauty of Ming and Qing printing, or the private letters of history's famous names. These texts present a unique type of beauty. In 2003, the China Guardian sale of treasures such as ¡°Tangxian Xiejing Yimo¡±, the national treasure and only extant copy of the thirteen volume ¡°Wu Bendian Jiaochong Yanchong Yihu Zhushang Shu¡±, and the ¡°Tongjian Zonglei¡±, originally a part of the imperial collection, attracted world media attention. And in 2005, the old family collection of the Guoyunlou, which had been secret for a hundred years, was sold to a single buyer for 23.1 million RMB.
These past ten years, China Guardian has also worked in concert with governmental bureaus to place major works in national library collections, including Weng's Collection of Rare Books, a copy of Zhu Xi's ¡°Spring Rain¡±, the ¡°Chu Shi Song¡±, Qian Jingtian's Collection of Letters and Correspondences Among Ming Celebrities, and the Collection of Chen Chengzhong, earning China Guardian praises and appreciation from national leaders. |
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Department Contacts:
Tuo Xiao-Tang,Li Dong-Ming,
Peng Xiangyang |
| Email:gj@cguardian.com |
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| Notable Department Achievements |
| 1995 |
The last remaining copy of the Song dynasty ¡°WenyuanYinghua¡± sells for 1.43 million RMB. |
| 1999 |
The imperial Song printing of the four volume ¡°Annals of the Spring and Autumn Period¡±, sells for 1.76 million RMB. |
| 2002 |
Qian Jingtian's Collection of Letters and Correspondences Among Ming Celebrities sells for 9.9 million RMB. |
| 2003 |
¡°Tangxian Xiejing Guimo¡± sells for 3.52 million RMB. |
| 2003 |
The thirteen volume ¡°Wu Bendian Jiaochong Yanchong Yihu Zhushang Shu¡± sells at 1.87 million RMB. |
| 2003 |
¡°Tongjian Zonglei¡± sells at 1.70 million RMB. |
| 2004 |
¡°Dafo Ding Shou Leng Yan Jing Shu Jie Meng Chao¡±, sells at 2.69 million RMB. |
| 2005 |
The Guoyunlou collection, including texts from the Southern Song dynasty ¡°Jinxiu Wanhuagu¡±, sells at 23.1 million RMB. |
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