Ancient poetry priced at 28m yuan in Japan  

東京展銷中國國寶《唐人絕句》 標價近3000萬(圖)

據日本共同社報道，日本東京神保町的舊書店“一誠堂書店”，定于11日起舉辦為期兩天的展銷會，將出售堪稱“中國國寶”級文物的南宋版《唐人絕句》，標價4.6億日元(約合2875萬元人民幣)。[查看全文]

(ECNS)-- An anthology of poetry published during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) will be sold for 460 million Japanese yen (28 million yuan, or $4.5 million) at a book fair held by used book store Isseido Booksellers in Tokyo, Japan.

The poetry anthology, "A collection of quatrains from the Tang Dynasty (618-907)," contains 22 volumes, 21 of which have been kept at Isseido Booksellers for four decades, according to an official from the bookstore.

The anthology was edited by Hong Mai (1123–1202), a scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, said the official.

A seven-character quatrain written by prominent Chinese poet Du Fu to his friend Li Bai, who has been called a "poetic genius" in Chinese history, is also included in the collection, the official added.

An expert from Japan's Keio University concluded that the set of books might have been brought to Japan by a Japanese monk who once studied in China during the Muromachi period (1337 to 1573) in Japan's history.

The collection has been priced high as ancient books from China's Song Dynasty are rare.

The two-day book fair opened on Friday. It is being held to observe the 110th anniversary of the store's opening.