Catalog of Ancient and Modern Maps in Chinese and Foreign Languages (6827 Items) in the Collection of the Beijing Library

Author: Wang Zhongmin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-12-01
Features: Preface to the Publication The posthumous work A Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books by the renowned expert in bibliographical studies, Wang Zhongmin, was published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House in 1983. After the publication of A Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books, Wang's wife, Liu Xiuye, discovered a batch of previously uncollected manuscripts, including 770+ entries in the History section and 10 in the Philosophy section. Liu revised and compiled these manuscripts into A Supplement to the Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books and entrusted it to our publishing house for publication. The format of the supplement is largely consistent with that of the original catalog. During compilation, minor errors were corrected, while the rest of the content remained as originally written.
Book and Literature Publishing House
October 1990
Excerpt: A Supplement to the Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books
History Section - Biographical Works
[The Compendium of Histories] 186 volumes, 151 copies (General Catalogue of the Four Treasuries, Volume 50) (National Library of China) Yuan edition [9 lines, 21 characters (29.2×19.5)] Written by Zheng Qiao of the Song Dynasty. This edition is missing volumes 11, 18, 97, 103, 171, and 192–200, totaling 14 volumes. According to the National Library of China, five incomplete copies exist, which can be pieced together to form the complete work. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, to ensure the safety of rare ancient books, the National Library of China packed all rare books into 300 boxes and transported them to Shanghai, storing them in the Science Society Library in the French Concession. Later, they were moved to the Zhendan Museum on Louban Road. In June 1940, due to France's temporary defeat in World War II and the looming threat of Japanese searches in the French Concession, the director of the National Library of China, Yuan Tongli, sought assistance from the then-American ambassador Hu Shih. After discussions, Hu and Yuan decided to transport the rare books to the United States and store them in the Asian Division of the Library of Congress. Hu later sent Wang Zhongmin to Shanghai to assess the situation and prepare for the transport of these books. On February 5, 1941, Wang arrived in Shanghai at great risk to his life, rushing to transport the rare books. However, due to the Japanese control over China's customs at the time, the book transport faced difficulties. Eventually, Wang spent three weeks opening the 300 boxes, selecting the best among them, and repacking them into 100 boxes, totaling 2,720+ species of books. Due to the Nationalist government's insufficient attention to China's cultural heritage, the process of transporting these 100 boxes out of Shanghai was delayed. Wang had to return to the United States in late May to seek solutions with Hu. After Yuan Tongli's efforts, the books were eventually transported to the United States. Wang spent four years writing catalog entries for these 2,720+ books and compiling microfilm copies, which are now stored in the Rare Book Room of the National Library of China. Wang made significant contributions to preserving China's precious ancient books.
After Wang's passing, while organizing his manuscripts, I discovered that some of his catalog entries had been lost. Due to the urgency of publication, I first compiled the available entries into A Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books, which was edited by Mr. Yang Dianxun and Mr. Fu Zhenlun and published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House in August 1983. In the spring of 1983, when I moved from the 10th Apartment in Langrunyuan to the 34th Floor of Yandongyuan, I further organized Wang's manuscripts and books and discovered 770+ missing entries in the History section and nearly 10 in the Philosophy section (detailed in Mr. Fu Zhenlun's preface to the supplement). These are the entries included in the supplement, mostly from the History section.
After the supplement was compiled, it was reviewed by Mr. Fu Zhenlun and Mr. Yang Dianxun, checked for accuracy by Mr. Ding Yu and Mr. Chen Shaoye at the National Library of China, and provided with reference materials for borrowing. Ms. Ji Shuying offered constructive suggestions for the arrangement of local chronicles, Mr. Pan Huiren compiled index cards, and Mr. Zang Jian compiled the index. The Book and Literature Publishing House later published the supplement as a separate volume, making Wang's catalog entries available to readers sooner.
The preface I have written draws heavily on Mr. Cui Wenyin's Biography of Wang Zhongmin, included in Biographies of Modern Chinese Social Scientists (Volume 8), edited by the Jinyang Academic Journal Editorial Department of Shanxi People's Publishing House in July 1987. I also sincerely thank Mr. Cui for reviewing and refining the text during his busy schedule.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to the above organizations and individuals.
While in the United States, Wang Zhongmin visited the Gestalt East Asian Library at Princeton University to appraise their collection of rare books and wrote catalog entries for 1,000 books. However, the manuscripts remained at the library. Later, Mr. Qu Wanli was commissioned by the library to write prefaces for all their rare books and to revise Wang's catalog entries, compiling A Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books at the Gestalt East Asian Library of Princeton University, published by the Taiwan Arts and Literature Press in 1974. Therefore, these 1,000 entries are not included in the supplement.
In my preface to the 1983 Catalogue of Chinese Rare Books, I mistakenly described the biography of my brother-in-law, Professor Shi Youzhong. He originally taught English at Zhejiang University, later moved to the United States, and taught Chinese literature and philosophy at the University of Washington in Seattle. I previously recorded him as teaching at the Chinese Department of Hangzhou University and mistakenly wrote "University of Seattle" in the United States. I sincerely apologize to Professor Shi Youzhong for this error.
Recorded on the 15th anniversary of Wang Zhongmin's passing, April 16, 1990.
Liu Xiuye