Master of Martial Arts: A Collection of Academic Papers Commemorating the Centennial of Mr. Liu Guojun's Birth

Author: Xiao Dongfa, Liu Ziheng, Wang Yuguang, Zhang Han, etc.
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Publish Date: 1999-11-01
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Excerpt:
Biography of Mr. Liu Guojun
Mr. Liu Guojun, styled Hengru, was born on November 15, 1898, in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and passed away on June 27, 1980, in Beijing. He was a renowned librarian, educator, and member of the China Association for Science and Technology. During his lifetime, he served as Honorary Director of the China Library Society, Advisor to the Translation Committee and Classification Committee of the China Library Society, Director of the Library Department at Peking University, Member of the Academic Committee of Peking University, Member of the Library Working Group of the State Science and Technology Commission, Advisor to the Beijing Library, and Researcher. From the 1920s to his passing in the 1980s, Mr. Liu dedicated 60 years to research, publishing numerous articles, monographs, and translations in library science and the history of books, making significant contributions to the development of theory and methods in library work. He was erudite and knowledgeable, with extensive interests in philosophy and religious studies. In 1915, Mr. Liu entered the College of Arts at Jinling University. After graduating in 1920, he remained at the Jinling University Library. At that time, China was in a turbulent yet transformative era. The New Culture Movement, which began in 1917, infused new vitality into Chinese academia and intellectual circles, making democracy and science the pursuit of the time. Many Western scholars came to China to teach, introducing advanced academic ideas to Chinese intellectuals. Against this academic backdrop, the "New Library Movement" emerged in China's library field. Prior to this, library science had not yet become an independent discipline but was integrated into traditional fields such as bibliography, textual criticism, and codicology. Libraries still retained many traces of old book collections. Although some Western library ideas, methods, and technologies had entered China, both modern libraries and modern library science were still in their infancy during this period. The New Library Movement applied the ideas of the New Culture Movement to library work and research, advancing the modernization of Chinese libraries. The of this period had a profound impact on Mr. Liu, instilling in him a deep sense of democracy and science, which became the starting point and impetus for his academic research. After working at the Jinling University Library for some time, Mr. Liu studied abroad in the United States, attending the Department of Philosophy, Library School, and Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy. His time in the U.S. gave him the opportunity to directly engage with advanced American library thought and theory. At that time, Dewey's pragmatic philosophy was deeply reflected in library construction, giving the American library field a vibrant and upward momentum. Witnessing the vast differences between Chinese and American libraries, Liu Guojun wrote a series of articles introducing modern libraries, such as "The Nature and Function of Modern Libraries," "Children's Libraries and Children's Literature," "An Overview of American Public Libraries," and "On the Organization of Cataloging Work in Large Libraries." In 1925, after completing his studies, Mr. Liu returned to China and served as the Director of the Jinling University Library, concurrently teaching as a professor in the College of Arts. In his practical work in libraries, he focused his efforts on the study of classification systems, a pressing issue for Chinese libraries at the turn of the 20th century. During this period, a large number of Western scientific and technical books were introduced into China, but the traditional Four-Part Classification System could no longer meet the needs of the new situation. To address this, many libraries adopted a mixed system of old and new methods, classifying Chinese books by the Four-Part System and Western books by new methods. However, this approach, lacking completeness and scientific rigor, was merely a temporary solution. In 1909, the Dewey Decimal Classification was introduced into China, and many attempts were made to develop a unified classification system for both Chinese and Western books based on it, such as Shen Zurong and Hu Qingsheng's "Dewey Decimal Classification," Du Dingyou's "World Book Classification," and Wang Yunwu's "Unified Classification System for Chinese and Western Books." However, these classification systems did not break free from the Dewey framework, either imitating or supplementing it, and were not entirely suitable for the specific circumstances of Chinese books. Therefore, Mr. Liu's goal was to develop a practical classification system that abandoned the Dewey decimal system. While conducting research, he also actively participated in academic conferences and activities. In September 1925, the China Library Association established five committees: Library Science Education, Classification and Cataloging, Indexing, and Publishing. Mr. Liu and Du Dingyou were appointed as the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Publishing Committee, respectively. In the autumn of 1928, the College of Arts at Jinling University began offering library courses, and Mr. Liu taught alongside Xiaoliyuan, Wan Guoding, and others.
Postscript:
Postscript
Mr. Liu Guojun was one of the most outstanding, prolific, and influential academic masters in the history of 20th-century Chinese library science. To commemorate the centennial of his birth, the Department of Information Management at Peking University, the Department of Information Management at Nanjing University, and the Gansu Library jointly initiated and organized the "Academic Symposium in Commemoration of Mr. Liu Guojun's Centennial." The theme of the symposium was "Liu Guojun and the 20th-Century Chinese Library Cause." Since the call for papers was issued in August 1998, it received an enthusiastic response from researchers both at home and abroad. By September 15, 1999, over 70 papers had been received, with several more received subsequently, making it impossible to include them all in the proceedings. This collection is divided into five parts: Part I includes biographical articles and commemorative essays on Mr. Liu Guojun, covering different historical periods such as his studies at the University of Wisconsin, his tenure at Jinling University, his pioneering work at the National Northwest Library, and his teaching at the Library Department of Peking University; Part II contains papers that discuss Mr. Liu Guojun's academic achievements in various fields of library science, including library theory, library services, library education, the history of Chinese books, the history of bibliography, book classification, library catalogs, and library automation; Part III includes more broadly focused papers from the field, some of which had to be slightly abridged due to their length, and the authors are kindly requested for their understanding; Part IV consists of abstracts of selected papers due to the limited space of this book; Part V is a chronological directory of Mr. Liu Guojun's publications and translations. Through these articles and the directory, we can see that Mr. Liu Guojun's life was one of continuous learning, progress, innovation, and dedication, yielding abundant achievements. He loved and remained loyal to the library cause he served, always standing at the forefront of academic research, closely tied to societal needs, and promptly addressing pressing issues in the development of the field. He adhered to the principle of linking theory with practice, continuously enriching and developing library science theory based on practical experience. Through this book, we can also see that Mr. Liu Guojun's contributions and writings have had a far-reaching and profound impact, educating and nurturing a large number of talents who have used their numerous academic achievements to honor this master. This fully demonstrates that Mr. Liu Guojun's legacy and works have been inherited and carried forward, with even greater significance. In compiling this collection, Xiao Dongfa, Liu Ziheng, Wang Yuguang, and Zhang Han were responsible for the textual editing and processing, with strong support from the Beijing Library Press. Xue Meihua and Zhao Lishen also contributed significantly. Due to time and skill limitations, any shortcomings in this work are hoped to be pointed out by the readers. September 20, 1999