Ancient poetry priced at 28m yuan in Japan  

东京展销中国国宝《唐人绝句》 标价近3000万(图)

据日本共同社报道，日本东京神保町的旧书店“一诚堂书店”，定于11日起举办为期两天的展销会，将出售堪称“中国国宝”级文物的南宋版《唐人绝句》，标价4.6亿日元(约合2875万元人民币)。[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.