There is a Chinese saying, "Up above there is heaven; down below there are Suzhou and Hangzhou," refering to two beautiful cities to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The region where Suzhou and Hangzhou are situated not only boasts gorgeous sceneries but also has been home to a large number of scholars since ancient times. 

Inside Niujia Lane on Pingjiang Road, Gusu District, Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, there's a small yet century-old bookstore with the "Wenxueshanfang Old-Book Store" sign in yellow characters on the red board. The owner is Jiang Chengbo who loves to compare the bookstore to the eyebrows of the city. "Eyebrows are important for an individual, and without them, Suzhou would seem dull," the 98-year-old man explained.

A Song-Dynasty (960–1279) block-printed edition of Rongzhai Suibi, collected in the Suzhou Library.

History of some 100 years

During Qing Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1850–1861), Jiang Chengbo's great-grandfather had to seek refuge from the war. He came to Changmen in Suzhou from his hometown of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, worked as a clerk in the locally famous bookstore "Saoyeshanfang," and eventually became proficient in ancient books' editions. In 1899, Jiang's grandfather opened an old-book store at the Jiayu Lane on Hulong Street (now Renmin Road) and named it "Wenxueshanfang," or "House of the Mountain of Literature." With the painstaking efforts of Jiang's grandfather and father, Wenxueshanfang grew by reputation and moved to the northern side of Dajing Lane in 1931 during the Republic of China (1911–1949); the bookstore then occupied three well-lit rooms with ancient books for people to read. In its heyday, the bookstore even extended its business to Beijing and Tianjin. A good reputation earned the attention of book collectors. The bookstore was often filled with ancient books and famous figures.