The first libraries in China came into being during the time of the Shang dynasty (the sixteenth to eleventh centuries B.C.) as intellectuals known as the Shi (historians) and Wu (diviners) emerged from manual labor to special occupations for the creation and spread of culture. Among the documents that these occupations managed were "the country's statute books, genealogies of imperial kinsmen, issued notices and orders, and recorded important events and natural phenomena. For future verification and reference, they built storehouses to keep records in different media. To meet the needs of more and more complicated affairs and to ensure easy use, they began to collect and sort out those records according to chronological order and category. Thus, the earliest library in China came into being. The numerous kinds of media loaded with information and knowledge emerged in human society, resulting in the concepts of preservation and collection. Accordingly, the earliest libraries and archives were the result of conscious collection, process, coalition, and utilization." Early in the

history of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

, scholars had extensive private libraries, and all of the imperial

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

constructed

libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

and

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

s to house literary treasures and official records. These early private libraries acted more as book repositories than libraries. The actions of book repositories were often limited to basic functions such as collecting, preserving, and compiling books. There were four major types of book repositories in the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

(1636 AD–1911 AD): Government, private, academy (

shuyuan The ''Shuyuan'' (), usually known in English as Academies of Classical Learning or simply Academies, were a type of school in Imperial China. Unlike national academies and district schools, ''shuyuan'' were usually private establishments built awa ...

), and temple book repositories. The first modern libraries, however, did not appear in China until the late nineteenth century; even then, library service grew slowly and sporadically. In 1949 there were only fifty-five public libraries at the county level and above, most concentrated in major coastal commercial centers. Following the founding of the People's Republic, government and education leaders strove to develop library services and make them available throughout the country. The National Book Coordination Act of 1957 authorized the establishment of two national library centers, one in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

(

National Library of China The National Library of China (; NLC) is the national library of the People's Republic of China and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It contains over 41 million items as of December 2020. It holds the largest collection of Chines ...

) and the other in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

(

Shanghai Library The Shanghai Library, which also houses the Shanghai Institute of Scientific and Technological Information, is the municipal library of Shanghai, China. It is the largest library in China. At 24 stories and 348 feet (106 m) tall, it is the second ...

), and nine regional library networks. Even so, libraries still were scarce, and those facilities that were available were cramped and offered only rudimentary services. Seeing the lack of libraries as a major impediment to modernization efforts, government leaders in the early 1980s took special interest in the development of library services. The special concentration of funds and talent began to produce significant results. More than forty Chinese institutions of

higher learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams ( Omar Epp ...

also had established

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...

information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of informatio ...

departments. There were more than 2,300 public libraries at the county level and above, containing nearly 256 million volumes, and below the county level some 53,000 cultural centers included a small library or reading room. At the end of 2004, China had 2,710 public libraries with a collection of over 400 million copies. There were 2,925 public libraries in China in 2011. Of the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

libraries, the collections of Peking University and

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the n ...

libraries lead the nation. The national library network also includes scientific research institution libraries, trade union libraries, plus libraries and reading rooms attached to government institutions, army units, primary and secondary schools, townships, enterprises and local communities.

National Library

The country's main library, the

, housed a rich collection of books, periodicals, newspapers, maps, prints, photographs, manuscripts, microforms, tape recordings, and inscriptions on bronze, stone, bones, and tortoiseshells. The National Library of China, with a collection of over 26 million volumes, is the largest library in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, housing the largest collection of Chinese books in the world. In the library's collection are over 35,000

oracle bone Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. '' Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for ...

s and tortoise shells carved with

ancient Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

, 1.6 million volumes of traditional thread-bound books, over 16,000 volumes of documents from

Dunhuang Grottoes The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

, 12 million volumes of

foreign-language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at school ...

books, and dozens of electronic databases. The library started to accept the submissions of official national publications in 1916, becoming the main national database; and began to accept submissions of domestic electronic publications in 1987. It is also the country's ISSN ( International Standard Serial Number) Center and Network Information Center. At present, the National Library of China has formed a

digital library A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital ...

alliance with some 90 other libraries around the country, making joint efforts in promoting the development and application of China's digital public information service. The second phase of the National Library – China Digital Library, whose foundation was laid at the end of 2004, is planned to be completed and commissioned in October 2007. The expanded library will be able to meet book storage demand for the next 30 years. The Digital Library will make it the world's biggest Chinese literature collection center and digital resources base, as well as the most advanced network service base in China.

Other libraries

The

Shanghai Municipal Library The Shanghai Library, which also houses the Shanghai Institute of Scientific and Technological Information, is the municipal library of Shanghai, China. It is the largest library in China. At 24 stories and 348 feet (106 m) tall, it is the second ...

, one of the largest public libraries in the country, contained over 7 million volumes, nearly 1 million of which were in foreign languages. The Shanghai Library, well known at home and abroad, is China's largest provincial-level library. Of its collection, the over 1.7 million volumes of ancient documents are the most valuable and representative, including 25,000 titles of rare ancient books in 178,000 volumes, many being the only copies extant in the world. The oldest document dates back nearly 1,500 years. The Peking University Library took over the collections of the Yanjing University Library in 1950 and by the mid-1980s – with more than 3 million volumes, one-fourth of them in

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at school ...

s – was one of the best university libraries in the country. It is one of the earliest modern new libraries in China. Approved by the State Council as the first batch of national key ancient books protection unit, has developed into a resource rich, modern, comprehensive, open research library.Lib.pku.edu.cn. (2017). Overview and History , Beijing University Library. nlineAvailable at: http://www.lib.pku.edu.cn/portal/bggk/bgjs/lishiyange etrieved 16 March 2017

Major provincial libraries

* Anhui Library * Capital Library in

* Chongqing Library * Fujian Library * Gansu Library * Guangdong Library *

Library of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region The Guangxi Library (), also known as the Library of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region-level public library of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, located at No. 61, Minzu Avenue, Nanning ...

* Guizhou Library *

Hainan Library The Hainan Library () is located in the Hainan Cultural Park at 36 Guoxing Avenue, Haikou, Hainan, China. It was established on February 2, 2007. The facility is one of three large, public works projects constructed around the same time on Guoxing ...

* Hebei Library * Heilongjiang Library * Henan Library * Hubei Provincial Library * Hunan Library * Library of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region *

Jiangxi Library Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...

* Jilin Library * Liaoning Library *

Nanjing Library Nanjing Library () is the third largest library in China with over 10 million items. It houses important scientific, cultural and arts literature relating to Jiangsu province and other national historical records such as ancient Chinese and foreig ...

* Library of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region * Qinghai Library * Shaanxi Library * Shandong Library *

* Shanxi Library *

Sichuan Library The Sichuan Provincial Library (), also known as the Sichuan Library, is a Chengdu-based comprehensive provincial-level public library, located at Tianfu Square. It was formed on 20 October 1912, then named the Sichuan Province-established Library ...

* Tianjin Library * Tibet Autonomous Region Library * Library of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region *

Yunnan Library Yunnan Provincial Library (YPL) (), founded in 1909, is located in Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre o ...

* Zhejiang Library

References

External links

National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院国家科学图书馆)
– functions as the key library nationally for collecting information resources and providing information services in natural sciences, inter-disciplinary fields, and high tech fields, for the researchers and students of

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

and for the researchers around the country.
Chinese Library Network – SinoLib.com
– offers abundant science and technology related archive and information. Since 2002, the site upgraded to provide new services, such as Union Public Catalog, Periodical Catalog, and Experts Consult.
Tsinghua University Library
– Presents the homepage of the

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

Library. Includes introduction to the Library, its services, user's guide, feedback, news, online catalogs, web directories, electronic resources within and beyond the Library. Categorizes online libraries in China by province.
Peking University Library
– Provides online access to its catalog and allows searching in English, Pinyin, and Chinese characters.

– A system of 5 libraries that provides comprehensive access to the university's library holdings. ZJU Library is also the host of the China-America Digital Academic Library (CADAL).

Asian Reading Room, U.S. Library of Congress {{Asia topic, Libraries in Educational organizations based in China

National Library

Other libraries

Major provincial libraries

See also

References

External links