History of the Chinese Rare Book Collection
In ancient China, books that have been closely scrutinized and collated so that there are no errors in the text, or finely printed with no missing text, were called “shanben” （善本）. Nowadays, the term “shanben” is not limited to fine text or fine editions but has expanded to include ancient materials with scholarship value, historical and cultural relics, or works with high artistic quality. For the CUHK Library, books printed before the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty (1795) are classified as “shanben”. At present, the Library holds over 900 titles in more than 16,000 volumes of “shanben”, commonly called rare books. Among these rare items are volumes dating from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, manuscripts, and Japanese and Korean editions of Chinese classical works.
The Library’s Rare Book Collection originally comprised two parts. The first was the collections that came from New Asia College, Chung Chi College and United College. The second part was built up in the 1960s through the extraordinary effort of Dr. Kaiming Chiu, the founding University Librarian and a well-known scholar. There were also gifts and donations from scholars, individuals, and institutions. The largest donation of Chinese ancient books was received from the Bei Shan Tang Foundation in 2008. It was the private collection of the late Dr. Lee Jung-sen, containing 1,383 titles of Chinese ancient books in 9,886 volumes, among them, 52 titles are rare books. The 15 selected Chinese rare books for the National Catalogue include 6 titles donated by the Bei Shan Tang Foundation. Notable titles in the list include Yi Benyi Fulu Zuanshu（易本義附錄纂疏）of the Yuan Dynasty, Qinghu Xiansheng Wenji （青湖先生文集）, Ji Gu Dian Shuoyuan Ji （紀古滇說原集）and Zongxuan Xiansheng Wenji （宗玄先生文集） of the Ming Dynasty, and Shuying （書影）, Zhongcheng Ji （中丞集）, Yihai Jianwen （乙亥見聞）, and Nenger Zhai Yinpu （能爾齋印譜） of the Qing Dynasty. The editions are comprehensive, including woodblock printing, multi-colour printing, manuscripts, and handwritten copies.
Preservation and Digitization of Rare Books
Over the years, the rare books were scattered throughout the University Library and the branch libraries of the three colleges. In 2002, the Library decided to establish a permanent home to house and preserve the collection centrally. With special funding from the University, a well-designed Rare Book Room was set up to house these rare books and other special collections. The room is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to monitor air quality, temperature, humidity, lighting controls, security systems, and a sophisticated waterless fire suppression system. With the advancement of technology, the Library has digitized Chinese ancient books since 2006 for the preservation of their cultural heritage. At present, all print books in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, ancient texts of traditional Chinese medicine, Daoist texts, and 15 selected Chinese rare books for the National Catalogue have been digitized. To share these national treasures with the public as well as for dissemination of knowledge, all these books are available for open access in the CUHK Digital Repository.
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