Page 173 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.45, 2019

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172 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.11, 2019

materials of reading history in China, the book puts forward the core view that reading is a
universal social and cultural phenomenon. It holds that reading is not only an individual behavior,
but also an important part of human civilized life. Therefore, the reader’s reading behavior
is inevitably affected by both internal and external factors, and the study of reading history
should be placed in the overall environment of social history. According to this idea, the book
decomposes the internal and external factors affecting reading behavior one by one, establishes a
research system of Chinese reading history from the perspective of social culture, and summarizes
the research contents of Chinese reading history into three aspects and eight main topics: 1)
Discipline foundation and theoretical research, aiming at the construction of theoretical system
and basic information; 2) External factors affecting reading, including the relationship between
reading activities and text changes, social environment and education, social consciousness and
religion, academic and knowledge system, publishing and dissemination of environmental factors;
3) Internal factors affecting reading. It includes reader’s reading behavior, reading environment,
reading content, reading concept, reading thought and theory, and social reading tradition, etc.,
which shape and influence the reading behavior. The writing of each sub-volume revolves around
the above mentioned framework, focusing on reflecting the characteristics of the times, regions
and nationalities in each stage of the history of reading. On this basis, the tradition and spirit of
ancient Chinese reading are condensed into five aspects. Finally, combined with the compiling
experience of The Reading History of China, some topics are put forward for further study, such as
the collection and publication of reading historical materials, the methodology of reading history,
the contemporary value of research on reading history and reading culture, the reading history of a
region or ethnic group, the study of reading population and the case study of representative readers.

No.5

Nourishing national spirits, cultivating cultural confidence: Reflections on
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s reply to retired NLC experts

RAO Quan, LI Zhizhong, CHEN Chao, CHEN Jianlong, ZHANG Xiaolin & CHEN Chuanfu

On the 110th anniversary of the National Library of China (NLC), Xi Jinping, General Secretary
of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC), Chairman of the Communist Party of China Central Military Commission, and Chairman
of the PRC Central Military Commission, replied to eight retired NLC experts who wrote to him
earlier. In his reply, he extended cordial greetings to NLC staff and hoped that the NLC could make
new contributions to building up the strength of the nation through cultural development.
In his reply, he praised that the retired experts were still concerned with the development of the