Newsletter No. 205

CUHK Newsletter No. 205 19th June 2002 3 Treasures Hoarded by the ULS in the Rare Book Room H ave you ever seen the world's first t r i - c o l o ur p r i n t ed t i t l e i n s i l k - stitched fascicles, or a 16th century book o n me d i c al h i s t o ry i n L a t i n b y the philosopher Galen, or the first Chinese- English dictionary published in the 19th c en t u r y? These and coun t l ess o t her jewels can be found in the new treasure vault o f the University L i b r a ry System (ULS ): the Rare Bo ok Room. A f t er t wo years o f intensive preparation and four decades o f painstaking book-collecting, the Rare Bo ok Ro om o f the Un i ve r s i ty L i b r a ry System opened in late A p r i l on the t h i r d f l o o r o f t he T i n K a P i ng B u i l d i n g . T h e r o o m is t he m a i n repository for Chinese and Western rare books, manuscripts, and other collections o f special interest on campus. Wh a t makes a b o o k rare? ' F o r Western books, pre-1900 is rare, wh i le f o r Chinese book s, p r e - 1795 or pre- Q i a n l o ng is rare, because o f Ch i na 's longer p r i n t i ng history, and 1796-1911 is semi-rare. I n the West, the idea o f a r a re b o o k has a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e nt emphasis f r om that i n China. Western rare books aren't necessarily very old but may be 'rare' in terms o f being sought after for a specific association,' explained D r . C o l i n S t o r e y, t he U n i v e r s i t y Librarian. The Rare B o o k R o om con t a i ns valuable collections f r om ma in library a n d t he U n i v e r s i t y ' s t h r ee founding colleges. ' Long before I c ame ,' sa id D r . S t o r e y, ' t he Un i v e r s i ty L i b r a ry System saw t he n e ed to b r i n g a l l t he se collections together to preserve and conserve t hem in a 24-hour c o n t r o l l e d e n v i r o n m e n t, to demonstrate what the University has i ll terms o f rare items, and, most importantly, to make these items into a living, dynamic, and g r ow i ng collection. We want to create a venue where scholars can go back to the o r i g i nal artefact, e.g. a hundred-year-old book.' The Chinese Rare Book Collection consists o f over 850 classical titles i n more than 14,000 volumes in traditional silk-stitched fascicles. They date f r om the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368) to the end o f the r e i gn o f Q i a n l o ng o f the Q i n g D y n a s t y ( 1 7 9 5 ) . T he stars i n t he collection include the world's only copies of Xiao xue shu ji cheng (小學書集成) o f the Yuan Dy na s t y, and Qinghu xian sheng wen ji (青湖先生文集)a nd Kou yin ji (鷇音集) of the M i n g Dynasty. Two au t hen t ic and v a l u a b le t i t l es o f the Wenlange edition (文瀾閣) o f Si ku quan shu (四庫全書) a re Zhong cheng ji (中丞 集) and Shu ying ( 書影 ) . The collection also bears testimony to China's printing history w i th titles in woodblock printing, colour printing, movable-type printing, and ceramic printing. T h e We s t e rn Ra re C o l l e c t i on con t a i ns three s i g n i f i c a nt g r oups o f books: Western books about China, a medical collection, and an architecture collection. The first category boasts such j e w e l s as Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China by Sir George Staunton ( 1798) and La Chine et Les Chinois by Escayrac de Lauture (1877). The second category consists o f a rare and s i gn i f i cant c o l l e c t i on i n med i c al h i s t o ry bu i lt up over the years by the Faculty o f Med i c i ne through donations and purchase. It includes Clavdii Galeni per gameni Ars medica, quae et ars parva b y Ga l en ( 1 5 4 9 ). The a r c h i t e c t u re collection is made up o f books acquired b y the U n i v e r s i t y 's D e p a r t me nt o f A r c h i t e c t u r e s i n ce i t s inception in the early 90s. The Rare Bo ok Ro om is furnished w i t h elegant rosewood shelves, antique chairs and tables, and a replica o f a 24- history shelf f r om the M i ng Dynasty. The r o om is equipped w i t h state-of-the-art facilities to monitor air quality, temperature, and h u m i d i t y, a s o p h i s t i c a t ed waterless fire suppression system, and, o f course, security systems. The special lighting does not light the books directly and makes a wa lk through the r o om an amazingly soothing experience. Adjacent to the r oom is an elegant wood-panelled reading r oom for research activities. To consult the materials in the r oom for academic purpose, scholars need only register at the Reserve Books and Special Collections Counter on the ground floor o f the University Library. Details o f the service are available at h t t p : / / www . l i b. c u h k . e d u . h k / i n f o r ma t i o n / r a r e b o o k s/ rbroom.htm. The ULS w i l l reprint and digitize the rare books in order to be i n line w i t h the Un i ve r s i t y 's mission o f promoting culture and heritage, said Dr. Storey. However it may take 10 to 20 years to finish d i g i t i z i ng the whole collection. 'We hope the University is p r o u d o f its r a re b o o k collection. We as librarians c e r t a i n ly t r easu re such a heritage,' said Dr. Storey. Piera Chen Snapshots of the collection and the facilities of the Rare Book Room 中大通訊 CUHK NEWSLETTER 網址 website http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/puo/ 1. 本刊逢四日及十九日出版。 2. 來函或投稿請寄沙田香港中文大學秘書處出版事務處《中大通訊》 編輯部(電話 2609 8584, 圖文傳真 2603 6864 ,電郵 pub2@uab. msmail.cuhk.edu.hk) 。 3. 投稿者須附真實姓名、地址及聯絡電話,文章則可用筆名發表。 4. 編輯有權刪改及決定是否刊登來稿,不欲稿件被刪者請預先聲明。 5. 本刊所載文章只反映作者之觀點和意見,並不代表校方或本刊立場。 6. 所有內容未經編者書面准許,不得轉載。 7. 本刊每期發行三千八百份,免費供校內教職員索閱,部分郵寄本地教 育機構及與大學有關人士。私人索閱,請致函本刊查詢。 1. The Newsletter is published on the 4th and 19th of eachmonth. 2. All contributions and suggestions should be sent to the Editor, CUHK Newsletter, Publication Office, University Secretariat, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (tel. 2609 8584; fax. 2603 6864; e-mail pub2@uab.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk) . 3. Contributions should bear the writer's name and contact telephone number, and may be published under pseudonyms. No anonymous letters will be published. 4. The Editor reserves the right to reject contributions and to edit all articles without notice for reasons of clarity, length or grammar. Those who do not want to have their articles amended should indicate clearly in writing. 5. The views expressed in the CUHK Newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University or the Editor. 6. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the Editor. 7. This publication has a circulation of 3,800 and is primarily intended for staff members of CUHK. Copies are also sent to local educational institutions and individuals associated with the University. Those who wish to be included on the mailing list please contact the Newsletter direct. 截 稿 日 期 Deadlines for Contributions 期數 Issue no. 出版日期 Issue date 截稿日期 Deadline for contributions 暑期特刊 Slimmer Supplement 19.8.2002 5.8.2002 206 4.9.2002 20.8.2002 207 19.9.2002 4.9.2002 208 4.10.2002 17.9.2002 209 19.10.2002 3.10.2002 210 4.11.2002 21.10.2002 211 19.11.2002 4.11.2002 香港中文大學出版事務處出版 編輯:梁其汝 助理編輯:蔡世彬 李琪 陳偉珠 製作:黎寶翠 Published by the Publication Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Editor: Amy K.Y. Leung Assistant Editors: Piera Chen, Lawrence Choi Graphic Designer: Stella Lai 印刷︰鮑思高印刷有限公司 Printing: Don Bosco Printing Co. Ltd.

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