Trove of Chinese Classical Texts Comes to Stanford
Stanford researchers, instructors and students interested in Chinese
classical texts will soon have convenient access to a vast number of
Chinese rare books. The East
Asia Library is only the second repository
in North America of the Reproductions of Chinese Rare Editions
Series (Zhonghua zaizao shanben), a series that reproduces hundreds
of rare books titles printed in the Tang, Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties.
In the U.S., only Harvard-Yenching Library houses this series other
than Stanford.
The Reproductions of Chinese Rare Editions Series (Zhonghua zaizao
shanben) is
a project started in 2002, sponsored by the Chinese government and
published by National Library of China to conserve existing rare books,
forestall any future losses, and make these resources accessible to
more users. When it is completed, the Series will have five
parts: publications from the Tang and Song Dynasties, Jin and Yuan
Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and written documents
of the Ethnic Minorities. Each of these five parts is further divided
into classics, history, philosophy, and literature. Stanford has acquired
the first two parts of the Series, including 758 titles of
rare books in 9,131 volumes. The volumes arrived on campus recently
and are expected to make their way to stacks and the online catalog
in Fall Quarter.
“The acquisitions of this set greatly enhances the strength of our collection
on pre-modern China, which has been a weak area up to now,’’ said
Dongfang Shao, Director of the East Asia Library. He added that these
acquisitions would help Stanford meet the growing demand from faculty
and graduate students in Chinese studies for Chinese classical text
and historical materials.
Before the Series project, it would have been extremely difficult
for individual scholars to gain access to these rare books, which are
scattered in libraries and museums across China, often in incomplete
sets. Now, with
the support of many rare-book holding institutions in China, complete
titles and sets are brought together in the printed Series. The reproduction
provides access to an extraordinary cultural heritage to a broad audience
via up-to-date reprinting technologies.
According to Michael Keller, University Librarian, the Series is
among the most valuable holdings of the East Asia Library so far, and
well serves the needs of Stanford researchers to access first-hand
research materials. Stanford’s
Libraries are especially grateful to the Ministry of Culture of the
Peoples Republic of China for facilitating this acquisition from the
National Library of China.
For more information about the Reproductions of Chinese Rare Editions
Series, please contact Dr. Dongfang Shao, dfshao@stanford.edu,
(650) 724-1928.
