Page 7 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

006 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol. 7, 2015

“History of the Chinese library”. It is a joint project which specifically carried forward by experts
and scholars from Peking University, Wuhan University and Sun Yat-sen University. In 2014, this
project had received the financial support from National Social Science Foundation of China to
further explore more important research issues such as the time span of Chinese library history, the
relationships between the history of ancient book collection and the history of the Chinese library,
and the periodization of Chinese library history. These issues have been included in the theoretical
research and academic discussion in this project.

1 The History of the Chinese library, a book that runs through ancient and
modern China

As a general history, the History of the Chinese library (refers to the current edition),
ambitiously records the three-thousand-year history of Chinese book collection and management
(specifically, from pre-Qin to 2009 A.D.). It is a well-known fact that China is a country with
time-honored tradition of compiling general history. Thus, when compared with dynastic history
of a certain time, general history is capable of recording historical events incessantly in all ages.
In this sense, general history is granted with the advantages of holistic perspective of time and
history.
Based on the systematic study of history of the Chinese library, the existing research studies
have covered wide ranges of fruitful outcomes and diverse resources. Until now, a large amount
of research papers have been published contributing to a number of relevant research areas, such
as ancient book collection, ancient library, modern library, library development within the period
of the Republic of China, and library development in the period after the founding of the People’s
Republic of China (1949). Moreover, a large number of research monographs has been published
primarily focusing on three main issues. Firstly, studies focus on the ancient bibliotheca with
representatives including Chinese bibliotheca by Ren Jiyu, and Library Science in ancient China by
Lai Xinxia, etc. Secondly, studies focus on modern and contemporary library with representatives
like Modern history of librarianship by Lai Xinxia, History of the development of Library Science
of China: From the late period of Qing Dynasty to the victory of Anti-Japanese War by Yan
Wenyu, and Modern and contemporary librarianship in China by the Department of Information
Management in Peking University. Thirdly, studies focus on the general history of the Chinese
library with representatives like History of development of Chinese library by Wang Youmei,
History of Chinese books and librarianship by Xie Zhuohua, and History of the Chinese library
by Li Zhaoxian and Duan Keqiang. Based on the review of the existing studies, one problem has
evidently emerged, that is, the lack of studies on Chinese library development after the foundation
of the People’s Republic of China since 1949. It is undeniable that more attentions and studies
have been allocated on the ancient bibliotheca, and thus comparably less on the development of
Chinese libraries after 1949. It is important to mention that there is a severe shortage of academic