• 2024-02-01

From August 5 to December 31, the National Central Library will be hosting the Academician Chang Hao Book Donation Exhibition on the sixth floor and the Matteo Ricci & Pacific Studies Reading Room. On February 9, 2022 (5 pm on the 8^th US time), NCL received a book donation from Academician Chang Hao at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco. Academician Chang and his family were in attendance. That NCL would be the recipient of Academician Chang’s collection he has spent his entire life acquiring was in part because of the support of his two daughters Hsiao-jung and You-ting, as well as assistance from Fan-sen Wang at Academia Sinica. As a way to express NCL’s sincere thanks and to remember Academician Chang’s amazing donation, we invited his two daughters, their families, and friends from academia to NCL to witness the opening ceremony for the exhibition of this significant donation.

Academician Chang’s good friend, Academician Fan-sen Wang, former National Palace Museum Deputy Director Lin-sheng Chang, Prof. Chao-duan Chou, and Dr. Kung-fang Chen, McGill University’s School of Religious Studies Numata Visiting Professor Lawrence Y.K. Lau, and his family members were all in attendance at the unveiling ceremony. For academic institutions in Taiwan, being able to receive this donation not only enriches the overall collection of Chinese studies books but also aids scholars in exploring the essence of Chang’s research.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Director-General Shu-hsien Tseng. Director-General Tseng first thanked and welcomed Academician Cheng Hao’s daughters and his family and friends for traveling great distances to be in attendance. She also thanks Academician Wang for his willingness to be the middleman in communication and for his efforts in bring this about. Director-General Tseng then stated, “National Central Library has for many years strove to acquire the collections, materials, letters, and manuscripts of scholars to add to NCL’s collections and benefit other scholars. I hope this exhibition can help attendees understand at a glance the body of research thought of an international scholar of Chinese studies and how this body formed. The research model of a great scholar is now again before our eyes.”

Academica Sinica Academician Wang was invited to speak. He first thanked Academician Chang’s approach to life and his scholarly contributions to the world’s history of thought. He was very approving of NCL archiving Chang’s manuscripts and notes. He thinks that “the works he completed are like a large building, but his manuscripts and notes are like living forest.” NCL has undertaken to preserve this very significant forest so that it can cultivate the next generation of pupils.

Next, Chang’s daughter Xiao-jung spoke and stated that their home was always filled with piles of her father’s books. That the National Central Library is willing to preserve her father’s books is such an amazing gift. Today seeing this exhibition of his collection is a very moving sight. His second daughter You-ting was touched to see her father’s lifetime of effort find its permanent, ideal home in the National Central Library. She was also very grateful that NCL took in her father’s most important belongings.

To help academics and readers in Taiwan understand somewhat the ways of an intellectual, to see the research charm of an international pillar of Chinese studies, and to step into the research world of Academician Chang, the exhibition highlighted his research manuscripts and notes. The public is invited to come to the National Central Library to enjoy the exhibition and see the elegance and charm of an outstanding scholar.