明史·張溥傳

張溥抄書

溥幼嗜學(xué)。所讀書必手鈔，抄已朗誦一過(guò)，即焚之，又抄，如是者六七始已。右手握管處，指掌成繭。冬日手皸，日沃湯數(shù)次，后名讀書之齋曰“七錄”，以此也。……溥詩(shī)文敏捷。四方征索者，不起草，對(duì)客揮毫，俄頃立就，以故名高一時(shí)。

Since childhood, Zhang Pu had been fond of learning. He always copied with his own hand every book he perused, read it aloud once, and then burned the copy that he had made.What was more, he didn’t stop at making only one copy of a book but made six or seven copies. As a result, thick calluses appeared on his right hand from holding the writing brush.

In winter his hands became chapped and cracked and he soaked them in hot water several times every day. Then he named his study ‘Seven Copies’ meaning just that.

Zhang Pu had a very nimble train of thought when writing, and people came from near and far asking for his poems and prose. Without making a rough sketch he moved his writing brush and finished his works in the visitors’ presence in only a little while. Because of this he enjoyed tremendous popularity for a time.