古今中外都有一些爱书如命的人。我愿意加入这一行列。

　　Since time immemorial, in China and elsewhere, there have always been some people who love their books as if they were their very lives. I would love to join the ranks of these people.

　　书能给人以知识，给人以智慧，给人以快乐，给人以希望。但也能给人带来麻烦，带来灾难。在“大革文化命”的年代里，我就以收藏封资修大洋古书籍的罪名挨过批斗。1976年地震的时候，也有人警告我，我坐拥书城，夜里万一有什么情况，书城将会封锁我的出路。

　　Books give people knowledge, wisdom, joy, and hope; but books can also bring troubles and calamities to people. During the ten years of the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976, I was the target of criticism and struggle because I had a huge collection of books, Chinese and foreign, ancient and modern. In 1976, when earthquakes threatened Beijing, I was warned that the “mountain of books” I owned might prove a liability to me because they were likely to block my escape in the event of an earthquake. 

　　批斗对我已成过眼云烟，那种万一的情况也没有发生，我“死不改悔”，爱书如故，至今藏书已经发展到填满了几间房子。除自己购买以外，赠送的书籍越来越多。我究竟有多少书，自己也说不清楚。比较起来，大概是相当多的。搞抗震加固的一位工人师傅就曾多次对我说：这样多的书，他过去没有见过。学校领导对我额外加以照顾，我如今已经有了几间真正的书窝，那种卧室、书斋、会客室三位一体的情况，那种“初极狭，才通人”的桃花源的情况，已经成为历史陈迹了。

　　The times of criticism and struggle are gone like evaporated clouds and smoke, and the feared earthquake never materialized. I continue to love books like my very life, and my books have increased to fill several rooms. Aside from books I bought myself, I’m having an increasing number of books that were presented to me as gifts. I don’t really know how many books I have. All I can say is that I have many more books than most people. A worker who had been involved in reinforcing buildings for fear of earthquake told me that he had never seen anyone who had as many books as I. Thanks to the extra care of our school leaders, I now boast several rooms for books. Gone are the days when the bedroom, the study and the sitting room were all rolled into one—and when a situation existed as described in “Notes on the Land of Peach Blossoms”: “the initial part of the tunnel was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.” 

　　有的年轻人看到我的书，瞪大了吃惊的眼睛问我：“这些书你都看过吗？”我坦白承认，我只看过极少极少的一点。“那么，你要这么多书干嘛呢？”这确实是难以回答的问题。我没有研究过藏书心理学，三言两语，我说不清楚。我相信，古今中外爱书如命者也不一定都能说清楚。即使说出原因来，恐怕也是五花八门的吧。

　　They eyes of some young people would pop wide-open when they saw my books. “Have you read all those books?” they asked me. I told them frankly that I have only read a very, very small part of them. “Why then do you keep all those books?” they pursued. That was a question difficult to answer. Not having studied the psychology of book collecting, I’m not able to give a concise answer. And I believe that those who cherish books as they do their very lives—whether Chinese or foreign, ancient or modern—won’t be able to do that either. The reasons they offer will vary widely even if they could offer them.

　　真正进行科学研究，我自己的书是远远不够的。也许我搞的这一行有点怪。我还没有发现全国任何图书馆能满足，哪怕是最低限度地满足我的需要。有的题目有时候由于缺书，进行不下去，只好让它搁浅。我抽屉里面就积压着不少这样的搁浅的稿子。我有时候对朋友们开玩笑说：“搞我们这一行，要想有一个满意的图书室简直比搞四化还要难。全国国民收入翻两番的时候，我们也未必真能翻身。”这决非耸人听闻之谈，事实正是这样。同我搞的这一行有类似困难的，全国还有不少。这都怪我们过去底子太薄，解放后虽然做了不少工作，但是一时积重难返。我现在只有寄希望于未来，发呼吁于同行。我们大家共同努力，日积月累，将来总有一天会彻底改变目前情况的。古说：“前人种树，后人乘凉。”让我们大家都来当种树人吧。

　　My own books are far from enough if I am engaged in some authentic scientific research. Probably my profession is somewhat strange. As I have discovered, not a single library in China can satisfy all my needs to the smallest degree. Some of my research projects were suspended because of the lack of books. And in my table drawers there are unfinished papers on that account: they were simply given up half way. That is why I would sometimes say to my friends jokingly, “In my profession, having a satisfying library is more difficult than realizing the ‘four modernizations.’ We might not be able to make a radical turn-round, even when China’s GDP has quadrupled.” That’s by no means an exaggerated statement, made just o create a sensation; it is a fact. There are quite a few other professions which are more or less in the same boat as my profession. All this results from the fact New China doesn’t have a solid economic foundation to start with. A lot has been done to remedy the situation since 1949, the year of liberation, but the age-old situation cannot be turned round overnight.All I can do now is to pin my hope on the future and to appeal to my colleagues. Let’s pool our efforts. As time passes, our accumulated, joint efforts will be rewarded by a thorough transformation of the situation.Our ancients said, “While earlier generations plant trees, posterity will enjoy the cool under the shade.”Let’s all be tree-planters.