Multimedia artist Tan Swie Hian recently donated more than 6,000 of his collection of books, manuscripts, artworks and artifacts to the new National Library. When the new National Library is completed, a section will house “The Tan Swie Hian Collection”。 This is the speech Mr Tan gave at the donation ceremony.
Giving is a way of sharing. The fragrance wafts far and wide when the flowers are passed round. And certainly, as Hada Bejar said, “The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” I have decided to donate my whole collection of books, manuscripts, artworks, and artifacts to the new National Library.
This is in line with the objective of the My Library Movement launched today： to do my humble part to help bring knowledge to life, making it real and inspiring for all Singaporeans. Knowledge is a living thing to be shared among people, as it does not belong to a dusty shelf. And shared joy is double joy.
I have 6000 books. Many a volume has a story behind it. The thin copy of the thesis on Baudelaire's Cat , jointly written in French by Roman Jakobson and Claude Levi-Strauss, which I had been searching for years, was found in a small bookshop in Paris. The now defunct Methodist Bookstore in Singapore helped me get most of the English translations of Kierkegaard's works. By the Side of Mr. Gandhi , a biographical account by Gandhi's only Chinese disciple, Shanti Zeng, who was a first-generation Singaporean journalist, was eventually autographed by the author during my first and last meeting with him. A friend flew in from Indonesia bringing to me the poetry of Chairil Anwar. I bought the autobiography of Ravi Shankar in India. My many trips to China enabled me to collect such extremely rare and ancient publication as the Yuan/Ming edition of Commentaries on the Four Books by Zhu Xi. And anthologies of poet friends Henri Michaux, Eugene Guillevic, Marin Sorescu, and Ya Xuan.
Among the donated items, there are also artworks of artist friends such as Arnaud d'Hauterives, Wu Guan Zhong, and Pratuang Emjaroen； calligraphy by Fan Zeng Xiang, Qi Bai Shi, and Li Ke Ran； a photo by Chin-San Long； three seals by Master Hong Yi； a Song Yue-Ware celadon Avalokitesvara figurine； a Tang ink-slab and an extra large ink-stick made by the greatest ink maker of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Jun Fang.
When the truck carrying my whole collection was pulling out of the carpark of my studio, Ms Jennifer Yin of the NLB urged me to quickly take a last look at it. Suddenly I felt somewhat sad to part with the collection I have put together following forty years of efforts, love, and passion. But it was like marrying off my beautiful daughter. Knowing that she was off to a great family, I felt relieved.
When Somerset Maugham decided to quit writing, he thought to himself,“Thank God, I can watch a sunset without having to think how to describe it. I meant never to write another book.” It is not yet my case. “The Tan Swie Hian Collection” in the new National Library will be a space where I'll meet young Singaporean artists, writers and public members, discussing with them how not to fall asleep when the sun rises.
多元藝術(shù)家 陳瑞獻(xiàn) 把6000冊(cè)藏書，數(shù)十本創(chuàng)作手稿和數(shù)十件藝術(shù)珍藏品捐獻(xiàn)給新建的國(guó)家圖書館；新館落成后將特設(shè)“陳瑞獻(xiàn)藏室”展示。這是他在珍藏捐贈(zèng)儀式上的講詞。
給予是分享的一種方式?；ǘ渥屓藗魉?，花香擴(kuò)散愈遠(yuǎn)。誠(chéng)如貝嘉所說：“花香常留在送出玫瑰的人手中?！蔽覜Q定把我收藏的全部書籍、手稿、藝術(shù)品以及工藝品都捐贈(zèng)給新建的國(guó)家圖書館。
這符合今天發(fā)布推行的“我的圖書館計(jì)劃”的宗旨：盡我的一點(diǎn)綿力，參與把知識(shí)帶入生活，使之成為所有新加坡人都可得到啟發(fā)的現(xiàn)實(shí)。知識(shí)是可供分享的活體，它不屬于塵封的書架。分享的歡喜是加倍的歡喜。
我有6000本藏書。許多書的背后都有一段故事。雅各生和利維斯·史特勞斯以法文合著的有關(guān)波特萊爾的詩(shī)《貓》的薄薄一本評(píng)論，我尋搜多年，最后才在巴黎的一家小書店找到。已經(jīng)停業(yè)的新加坡一間衛(wèi)理書店，幫我買到大部分齊克果著作的英譯本。
《在甘地先生左右》是甘地的華人弟子曾圣提撰寫的傳記，作者是新加坡第一代新聞?dòng)浾?，我在與他第一次也是最后一次的會(huì)面時(shí)請(qǐng)他在書上簽了名。我的一位友人特從印尼給我?guī)韯P里爾·安華的詩(shī)集。我在印度購(gòu)得拉維·?？ǖ淖詡?。多次造訪中國(guó)，我得以收藏至為稀罕的古籍，如元明間刻本 ，朱熹撰寫的《四書集注》。還有我的詩(shī)友亨利·米梭，紀(jì)亦維，馬林·索列斯庫(kù)以及痖弦的詩(shī)集。
在捐贈(zèng)的藏品中，也有藝術(shù)家朋友如奧得里夫、吳冠中和柏拉衷的畫作。有樊增祥、齊白石和李可染的書法；一張朗靜山的攝影；三方弘一大師的印章；一尊宋越窯青瓷觀音像；一方唐硯以及一方由明代最偉大的制墨家程君房特制的御墨。
當(dāng)裝載著我所有的收藏的大卡車，正開出我畫室的停車場(chǎng)時(shí)，國(guó)家圖書館管理局的殷玲催我再看一眼。我猛省我用40年的心血和熱愛征集的藏品將離我而去，一時(shí)我有點(diǎn)感傷。然而，這就像把漂亮的女兒嫁出去一樣。一想到她嫁了一戶好人家，我也就感到釋然。
當(dāng)毛姆決定封筆，他對(duì)自己說：“老天，這下我可以欣賞日落，而不必去想該怎樣來描寫了。我的意思是說，不再寫書了。”這還不是我的情況。設(shè)在新國(guó)家圖書館的“陳瑞獻(xiàn)藏室”，將是我會(huì)見新加坡年輕藝術(shù)家、作家和公眾的一個(gè)空間，用來跟他們討論當(dāng)太陽升起時(shí)，該怎樣才不會(huì)睡著。
Giving is a way of sharing. The fragrance wafts far and wide when the flowers are passed round. And certainly, as Hada Bejar said, “The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” I have decided to donate my whole collection of books, manuscripts, artworks, and artifacts to the new National Library.
This is in line with the objective of the My Library Movement launched today： to do my humble part to help bring knowledge to life, making it real and inspiring for all Singaporeans. Knowledge is a living thing to be shared among people, as it does not belong to a dusty shelf. And shared joy is double joy.
I have 6000 books. Many a volume has a story behind it. The thin copy of the thesis on Baudelaire's Cat , jointly written in French by Roman Jakobson and Claude Levi-Strauss, which I had been searching for years, was found in a small bookshop in Paris. The now defunct Methodist Bookstore in Singapore helped me get most of the English translations of Kierkegaard's works. By the Side of Mr. Gandhi , a biographical account by Gandhi's only Chinese disciple, Shanti Zeng, who was a first-generation Singaporean journalist, was eventually autographed by the author during my first and last meeting with him. A friend flew in from Indonesia bringing to me the poetry of Chairil Anwar. I bought the autobiography of Ravi Shankar in India. My many trips to China enabled me to collect such extremely rare and ancient publication as the Yuan/Ming edition of Commentaries on the Four Books by Zhu Xi. And anthologies of poet friends Henri Michaux, Eugene Guillevic, Marin Sorescu, and Ya Xuan.
Among the donated items, there are also artworks of artist friends such as Arnaud d'Hauterives, Wu Guan Zhong, and Pratuang Emjaroen； calligraphy by Fan Zeng Xiang, Qi Bai Shi, and Li Ke Ran； a photo by Chin-San Long； three seals by Master Hong Yi； a Song Yue-Ware celadon Avalokitesvara figurine； a Tang ink-slab and an extra large ink-stick made by the greatest ink maker of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Jun Fang.
When the truck carrying my whole collection was pulling out of the carpark of my studio, Ms Jennifer Yin of the NLB urged me to quickly take a last look at it. Suddenly I felt somewhat sad to part with the collection I have put together following forty years of efforts, love, and passion. But it was like marrying off my beautiful daughter. Knowing that she was off to a great family, I felt relieved.
When Somerset Maugham decided to quit writing, he thought to himself,“Thank God, I can watch a sunset without having to think how to describe it. I meant never to write another book.” It is not yet my case. “The Tan Swie Hian Collection” in the new National Library will be a space where I'll meet young Singaporean artists, writers and public members, discussing with them how not to fall asleep when the sun rises.
多元藝術(shù)家 陳瑞獻(xiàn) 把6000冊(cè)藏書，數(shù)十本創(chuàng)作手稿和數(shù)十件藝術(shù)珍藏品捐獻(xiàn)給新建的國(guó)家圖書館；新館落成后將特設(shè)“陳瑞獻(xiàn)藏室”展示。這是他在珍藏捐贈(zèng)儀式上的講詞。
給予是分享的一種方式?；ǘ渥屓藗魉?，花香擴(kuò)散愈遠(yuǎn)。誠(chéng)如貝嘉所說：“花香常留在送出玫瑰的人手中?！蔽覜Q定把我收藏的全部書籍、手稿、藝術(shù)品以及工藝品都捐贈(zèng)給新建的國(guó)家圖書館。
這符合今天發(fā)布推行的“我的圖書館計(jì)劃”的宗旨：盡我的一點(diǎn)綿力，參與把知識(shí)帶入生活，使之成為所有新加坡人都可得到啟發(fā)的現(xiàn)實(shí)。知識(shí)是可供分享的活體，它不屬于塵封的書架。分享的歡喜是加倍的歡喜。
我有6000本藏書。許多書的背后都有一段故事。雅各生和利維斯·史特勞斯以法文合著的有關(guān)波特萊爾的詩(shī)《貓》的薄薄一本評(píng)論，我尋搜多年，最后才在巴黎的一家小書店找到。已經(jīng)停業(yè)的新加坡一間衛(wèi)理書店，幫我買到大部分齊克果著作的英譯本。
《在甘地先生左右》是甘地的華人弟子曾圣提撰寫的傳記，作者是新加坡第一代新聞?dòng)浾?，我在與他第一次也是最后一次的會(huì)面時(shí)請(qǐng)他在書上簽了名。我的一位友人特從印尼給我?guī)韯P里爾·安華的詩(shī)集。我在印度購(gòu)得拉維·?？ǖ淖詡?。多次造訪中國(guó)，我得以收藏至為稀罕的古籍，如元明間刻本 ，朱熹撰寫的《四書集注》。還有我的詩(shī)友亨利·米梭，紀(jì)亦維，馬林·索列斯庫(kù)以及痖弦的詩(shī)集。
在捐贈(zèng)的藏品中，也有藝術(shù)家朋友如奧得里夫、吳冠中和柏拉衷的畫作。有樊增祥、齊白石和李可染的書法；一張朗靜山的攝影；三方弘一大師的印章；一尊宋越窯青瓷觀音像；一方唐硯以及一方由明代最偉大的制墨家程君房特制的御墨。
當(dāng)裝載著我所有的收藏的大卡車，正開出我畫室的停車場(chǎng)時(shí)，國(guó)家圖書館管理局的殷玲催我再看一眼。我猛省我用40年的心血和熱愛征集的藏品將離我而去，一時(shí)我有點(diǎn)感傷。然而，這就像把漂亮的女兒嫁出去一樣。一想到她嫁了一戶好人家，我也就感到釋然。
當(dāng)毛姆決定封筆，他對(duì)自己說：“老天，這下我可以欣賞日落，而不必去想該怎樣來描寫了。我的意思是說，不再寫書了。”這還不是我的情況。設(shè)在新國(guó)家圖書館的“陳瑞獻(xiàn)藏室”，將是我會(huì)見新加坡年輕藝術(shù)家、作家和公眾的一個(gè)空間，用來跟他們討論當(dāng)太陽升起時(shí)，該怎樣才不會(huì)睡著。