Page 11 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 43

FAN Bingsi / A review of the theory of Library Science in China: 1956-2016 011

and foresight” (Z.Z. Wang, 2003, p.48). His studies on MARC made a breakthrough and narrowed
greatly the gap between Chinese Library Science and that of the international community. Studies
on subjects in this phase were also associated with the application of computers. In 1974 Chinese
Information Processing Project (748 Project) was launched. As part of the 748 Project, the Chinese
Subject Headings began to be compiled. Some library scientists participating in the compilation
commenced new theoretical work. In 1976 Qiu Feng published Subjects and Classification which
discussed the technical issues of subjects and classification and surpassed all the past studies in
classification.
In 1976 the Cultural Revolution ended, but the Library Science did not get on the right track.
Nonacademic factors still existed in part of journals and papers. However, there were indeed
some brilliant papers such as Liu Guojun’s Comment on Major Modern Library Classification
in the West and Several Questions on Cataloging by Means of Computers, Liu Xiangsheng’s On
Thesaurus and so on.

3 1979-1990: Rebuilding phase

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee attentions were shifted from
class struggle to economic development. Until now did Library Science get rid of nonacademic
disturbance and enter into a brand-new age. The older generation of scientists (before the Cultural
Revolution) had the courage to overthrow the past theoretical works and the new generation had a
great impact on empirical Library Science. After more than 10 years of hard work, Chinese Library
Science was equipped with characteristics of modern social science and qualified to opening
a dialogue with the international Library Science. The Bulletin of the China Society of Library
Science resumed publication in 1979 and became the most important witness and participant of
rebuilding of Library Science. The journal not only published some papers criticizing empirical
Library Science, but also participated in disputes of rebuilding Library Science by organizing
seminars in some academic conferences after 1986.
The rebuilding of Library Science lasted over the 1980s. It could be divided into three periods as
recovery of empirical Library Science,criticisms on empirical Library Science,and formation of
new-type Library Science. Although there were twists and turns in the rebuilding, the trend never
changed.

3.1 Recovery of empirical Library Science

Since the ideological emancipation movement in the late 1978, library scientists were freed from
nonacademic disturbance and began to rebuild Library Science. In the very beginning the number
of remarkable papers was few, but with enlightening ideas. In the aspect of theoretic foundation of
Library Science, Zhou Wenjun’s (1979) The Transmitting Function, System and Development of