Page 34 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.47, 2021

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KE Ping / Ideological system of library science in China: abstraction, core and value 033

contribution made by China to the world library science.
The influence of Chinese libraries and librarianship on the ideological system has been
elaborated above. Likewise, the influence of the ideological system on libraries and librarianship
is inevitable as theories always act on practice. Since the library and the librarianship are closely
related to society, especially culture, education and science, the following part mainly discusses the
value of the ideological system in these three aspects.
(1) Cultural value
The ideological system of Chinese library science is rooted in the time-honored Chinese culture
and civilization, absorbs advanced cultural nutrition in the world, and acts on culture, which is
demonstrated in the following four aspects.
Firstly, the ideological system is book-centered and based on book culture, which meets
the public needs for books and plays a significant guiding role for the development of cultural
undertakings, especially the construction of modern public cultural service system.
Secondly, book collection was for the purpose of state governance in ancient Chinese library
science, which considered book collection as the basis of governance and self-improvement. In
his Tu Ji Zhi Chu (Book Collecting), QIU Jun, Director of the Board of Rites and also Grand
Secretary of Wen Yuan Ge of the Ming Dynasty, put it that “books accumulate spirits and thinking
of wise emperors, and are the reliance of the world, the past and the present, people, things, reason
and politics. Through books we know the past and the future generations get to know us.” He
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regarded the building of libraries as significant for running of the country and world peace . The
ideological system of Chinese library science attaches great importance to the inheritance and
development of Chinese traditional culture. Libraries made contribution to the preservation of
human excellent culture in the past, and bear more important missions under the new situation of
inheriting and carrying forward traditional culture at present.
Thirdly, the ideological system of Chinese library science is the cultural wealth created by
Chinese librarians, which is conducive to strengthening cultural confidence and realizing the
strategic goal of building China into a country with a strong socialist culture. LI Xiaoyuan said,
“A library is a symbol of a civilized country, and the growth or decline of a country’s culture can
be observed from its libraries” [39]2 . It suggests that a country with a strong culture must develop
libraries, which is also enlightening to contemporary cultural development.
Fourthly, books are the carriers and tools of dissemination. In Chinese library science, books
can be used to disseminate information and morals, whose effect was extensive in scope and long
in time. By collecting books from all over the world, the library enables cultural exchange and
dissemination among countries. “The spread of Chinese classics to the West made an impact not
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only on European philosophy but also on European politics” . The library is both a significant
channel and an important organizer of dissemination. The idea of book dissemination can instruct
contemporary cultural exchange activities. Book exchange is a constituent of cultural exchange at
home and abroad, which helps to strengthen the integration of book dissemination in and beyond