• 2015-04-07

On April 7th, the National Central Library (NCL)’s Director General Shu-hsien Tseng and Deputy Librarian Catriona Cannon from the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, cooperatively signed a memorandum for a Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies (TRCCS), as well as the MOU on the Union Catalog of Chinese Rare Book database. The opening ceremony was followed too. This TRCCS is the 14th established around the world and the 2nd in the U.K.. Such agreement was witnessed by Deputy Representative Fen-chuan Hsu from the Taipei Representative Office in the U.K., professors and colleagues from the Bodleian Libraries, the Bodleian KB Chen China Centre Library, and many sinologists.

The University of Oxford has 38 Colleges and all colleges have their own libraries. The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is second in size only to the British Library in the U.K. with over 11 million items, including valuable collection of books and manuscripts. It is also one of six legal deposit libraries for works published in the U.K..

The first Chinese book arrived at the Bodleian Library in 1604 and the China Centre Library has approximately 60,000 volumes on Chinese studies collection. Oxford therefore has a long tradition of scholarship on Chinese studies and is a hub of Chinese studies in Europe.

Moreover, Oxford Taiwan Studies Programme is being implemented yearly by Oxford and it indeed has a long-standing close relationship with Taiwan.

The NCL will assist Oxford in converting and uploading the bibliographic records of their valuable holdings onto the Union Catalog of Chinese Rare Book database. The database contains more than 640,000 bibliographic records and is the important source for researchers to do Chinese Studies. This cooperation project will certainly strengthen our scholarly exchanges.

Beginning in 2012, the NCL promote and expand international cooperation in Chinese studies, providing more relevant resources to broaden service locations. The NCL established the TRCCS at the academic institutions and universities with a high number of sinologists that function as overseas service points for the NCL. Upon the establishment of TRCCS, the NCL will ipso facto donate locally published Chinese books and audio-visual materials to the overseas TRCCS and will continue to do so from the second year onwards. The NCL donated 448 titles (514 volumes) to the TRCCS at the Oxford this year.

During the opening ceremony, Director General Tseng particularly donated replicas of The Annotated Poetry of Su Dongpo, a national treasure of the Republic of China that is more than 800 years old, and The Diamond Sutra which is the earliest wood block print book with dual color in the world. The NCL also provides the digital resources, including Taiwan’s digital archives and electronic databases for the teachers and students at the Oxford.

Prof. Glen Dudbridge, who specializes in Chinese literature and has published books in Chinese, represented Oxford University in welcoming the NCL’s delegation. In his remarks, he especially thanked the NCL for providing the professors, students, and researchers at Oxford more replete resources in Chinese studies. Deputy Representative Hsu also affirmed the value of the Taiwan Chinese Studies Resource Center established at Oxford, stating she believes it will greatly augment future scholarly exchange between the two countries. It also will raise visibility of Taiwan’s abilities in Chinese studies.

Director General Tseng noted that setting up a TRCCS at world-renowned Oxford has far-reaching implications in the promotion of Taiwan-styled Chinese studies, as well as in extending the influence of Taiwan’s research achievements and publications in Europe.

During Director General Tseng’s remarks, she especially thanked the Bodleian Libraries’ support and the Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. for their assistance. She is also optimistic that the TRCCS will considerately promote cooperation and coordination among Oxford, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of University of London and the other sinology institutions in U.K.

Oxford also arranged the guide tour of the Queen’s College Library, the Old Bodleian Quadrangle, Divinity School and Duke Humfrey’s Library, as well as a display of a selection of Chinese Special Collections in the Conservation Studio of the Weston Library. Participants were impressed with Oxford’s historical architecture and rich collection.