Book lovers flock to 117-year-old store run by elderly man

Jiang Chengbo is 90. He is running a 117-year-old antique bookstore inherited from his grandfather, and that has made him an internet celebrity.

Jiang, the third-generation owner of the store, said that after visitors began talking about it on the internet, book lovers from across the country have come to look for books and take photos with him.

Located in the Gusu district of Suzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province, the store covers about 20 square meters and is filled with shelves on three sides with books categorized as literature, history and philosophy.

Known as Wenxueshanfang, or "house of mountain of literature", the store was founded with a loan in 1899. After more than two decades of diligent management by Jiang's grandfather and father, the store paid back the debt and bought a large number of antique books, some of which were rare books, becoming one of the most famous antique bookstores in eastern China.

In 1931, when the store was relocated, Xu Shichang (1855-1939), president of the Republic of China between 1918 and 1922 and a patron, honored the store by inscribing the plaque for it.

Many renowned literary figures of the time were the store's frequent visitors.

"At the age of 16, I helped at the bookstore and saw Zhang Yuanji (president of the Commercial Press), (historian) Gu Jiegang and (writer and translator) Zheng Zhenduo visit it," Jiang recalled.

"My hospitable grandfather liked to invite them to a little restaurant. They, all learned scholars, exchanged ideas at the dinner table."

In 1956, the store was merged with State-owned Suzhou antique bookstore and its name was not used anymore. Jiang also became an employee of the bookstore where he was responsible for collecting antique books.

Decades of working with books have made him a famous scholar of antique editions.

In 2001, financial problems forced Jiang to return from his retirement and reopen the bookstore, but with a new name. The new store took years to become a flagship among antique bookstores in Suzhou. In 2012, following suggestions from customers, Jiang changed the store's name back to Wenxueshanfang.

Jiang spent all his life exploring, rescuing, repairing and preserving antique books.

The national library and provincial libraries, who Jiang called his "big clients", collect books from his store to fill their shelves, with a few becoming the "treasure of the museum". Many university professors, scholars and book collectors are also his regular customers.

Thanks to the internet, Jiang's store is attracting a lot of new book fans. They come from all over China including Beijing, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Northeast China's Liaoning province and Southwest China's Sichuan province, turning him into an internet celebrity.

In addition to providing books to customers from his stock, Jiang also helps readers find books they are looking for. Some readers even come all the way to ask him to evaluate antique books they have collected.

As Jiang gets older, his children try to persuade him to give up the bookstore, because family finances have improved now and the store's profits have declined as rent climbs.

But Jiang has no plans to quit. He said, "This is my life. As long as I can walk, I will never give up." Obeying his will, Jiang's three children help him to run the store every day, taking turns.

"There is a high professional threshold to enter the antique book industry. Nurturing a qualified inheritor also needs time and energy and resists loneliness and temptation, especially at a time when antique books are seldom to see," Jiang said.

"Only by seeing many antique books one's evaluation ability improves," he said, adding that when he encounters a book, he will buy it and let his children see it.

Last year, the store was named the Excellent Featured Bookstore of Suzhou, an award that carried a prize money of 30,000 yuan ($4,500). Jiang used the money to replace the shelves, bringing a new look to the revered old bookstore.

Contact the writers at wuyan@chinadaily.com.cn

Jiang Chengbo at his bookstore in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Xu Lijuan / For China Daily